Letterpress

Letterpress, also known as relief printing is the oldest form of printing dating back to 1450 A.D. and Johann Gutenberg. Often, when people think of "printing" they're usually envisioning the old movies where a sheet of paper was hand fed into a large "screw type clamp" or "clam shell type bed" printing press and then removed as a finished, printed sheet. This is letterpress printing. It is the oldest form of printing, and the process is one of the easiest to understand.

This simple, efficient method of printing from raised metal type was the primary means of mass communication for over 500 years. While this process is no longer economically feasible for the commercial printer or publisher, letterpress has found new life and is experiencing a growth resurgence thanks to the greeting card and social industries. Greeting cards, wedding invitations and social announcements have always strived to create a product in which theirs stands above the others. The use of embellishments and unique printing processes has opened the doors widely for letterpress printing and their various applications.

With the advent of industrial mechanization, the early hand carved images and cast metal types have been replaced with computerized typesetting and photopolymer plates. However, the raised image, the ink, and the pressure, which defines letterpress printing, are still being applied using restored 19th and early 20th century presses. This old-world craftsmanship combined with new world technology, has enabled designers to create, and printers to manufacture, award-winning projects.

The unique attraction the consumer has to letterpress is that today this "relief process" leaves a deep, bold impression on the back of the card or paper. This not only authenticates the craftsmanship of letterpress printing but also creates an image that has dimension. You can see it. You can touch it. You can feel it. To a digital, one-dimensional generation, this "new process" is something many have never experienced before.

The cost for letterpress will be more than conventional offset but can be equally compared to other specialized graphic applications such as Engraving, Foil Stamping, Embossing, Die-Cutting, etc.

Diversified Printing Services began in 1969 with a Chandler and Price hand-fed machine.  Today we have an Original Heidelberg (Windmill) and a Kluge.  Together they are nearly 150 years old.  We are still family owned and operated and continue to dedicate ourselves to The Art, The Craft and The Time Honored Tradition of Letterpress Printing.

BRIDES Level I / GRAPHIC ARTIST Level II 

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