I have been looking into an old form of printing called letterpress. This is a form of relief printing of text and image using a press with a “type-high bed” printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. Dating back to the mid 15th century it slowly lost favour in the second half of the 20th century.
Image from Sunlit Letterpress
There is a slow revival for this form of printing, especially in the US, and specificially for weddings and formal invitations.
I think it is just beautiful, it’s just so classy and a real tactile form of design. There are a few specialists printers still knocking around in the UK, but it is a bit of a dying artform, which is a real shame. I would love to design something for this medium and have been toying with an idea for a calendar – so watch this space!
One reply on “Letterpress printing”
It looks so lovely – quite different. I really love old methods of printing – especially those old boxes full of letters to go in trays (can’t remember the technical term!).
Pomona x