We're seriously looking forward to National Ice Cream Day on Sunday. We got a head start and took an ice cream break today!
It's been hot and muggy and we've got a lot in the print queue. A little break to laugh, cool down, and eat something sweet was just what we needed.
Here's to celebrating silly holidays and always having fun (even when there's lots of work to be done)!
Have a happy weekend. :)
Summer is such a great time to try out new recipes because everything's in season! We've been talking a lot about the recipes we come back to time and again and the ones we're planning to test in the coming weeks. Cook along with us!
Bourbon-and-Brown-Sugar Cake with Berries from Martha Stewart
I just made it for the first time (pictured above!) and it's yummy and not too difficult to make. Plus, it was an easy thing to bring to a summer cookout! I also want to try making this one! -Erin
Charred Corn Salad from Williams Sonoma
This is a recipe my mom has made and I tried it myself last summer when we finally had a grill of our own! It’s hard to be polite and take a “normal” serving. I usually want two or three. :) -Megan
Heirloom Tomato Caprese from Bon Appétit
When tomatoes are in season they are soooo good! It's so easy salad to throw together and it's so refreshing. -April
[Photo of Bourbon-and-Brown Sugar Cake with Berries courtesy of Erin.]
Originally, letterpress printing was not letterpress at all, but simply “printing.” As other methods of printing became the industry standard, letterpress referred to the actual, physical letters that were handset and printed. The old-timers prided themselves on a kiss impression, hitting the paper just enough to cleanly transfer the ink. Not only was a deep impression bad form, it also risked damaging the type or press. These days, it’s the impression that brings clients through our doors. As the forms used for printing, the substrates to be printed on, and the desired results continue to evolve, letterpress, as we know it today, is described as a form of relief printing (printing from a raised image) done on presses with a bed that is type-high (0.918 inches).
HANDSET TYPE AND BLOCKS
Traditionally, individual, movable, pieces of type and image blocks were assembled by hand. Each line of type, each image, had to be placed one-by-one within a form. It also had to be set in reverse in order to achieve a right-reading print. Line spacing was created using actual strips of lead (hence the typography term “leading,” which we still use today). Additionally, before the use of zinc and magnesium for printing blocks, the images all had to be carved by hand.
movable lead type, acid etched blocks, linotype cast type
In today’s economy, with a commercial, production-minded, profit-driven viewpoint, the downfalls of handset type and hand-carved blocks are easy to spot: the final design of a piece is limited to the type that the printer has available in his/her shop and the quality of image is limited to their ability. There is no such thing as a “quick” turn-around.
However, from an artist’s or printmaker's perspective, the pros of handwork more than make up for any negatives:
You would be hard-pressed to find any moveable type or blocks in our pressroom, but that doesn’t mean we don’t respect our roots. We hold a deep-rooted respect and admiration for the work of those like Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN and we take Jim Sherraden’s motto - “preservation through production” - to heart as the pressroom comes to life each morning. What better way to preserve this craft, its materials, and its equipment than by printing?
PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES
Photopolymer is a photosensitive material that works much like the light sensitive emulsion that is applied to a silkscreen for screen printing. The polymer is exposed to ultraviolet lights through a negative film. The areas beneath the transparent film are exposed and the part of the plate beneath the opaque portion of the film is not. After exposure, the plate goes through a water washing process where the unexposed polymer is washed away leaving the exposed polymer hardened as a relief surface which can then be used for printing. Before printing, the polymer must have a backing applied. There are steel backed plates to be used on magnetic bases or adhesive-backed plates which do not require a magnetic base. The polymer and backing, once mounted on the correct base, are type-high.
Polymer plate pictured with printed Vespa anniversary card
In many ways, it’s the use of photopolymer plates that has kept the custom letterpress industry alive:
Ultimately, it comes down to your needs and the aims of your project. I often think of the letterpress world as two sides of the same coin: print-makers and printers.
PRINTMAKERS are artists. They’re a designer/printer combo. They can use the same supply of type to create endlessly varied results. They’re likely to know the trade’s history, to name a typeface at a glance, and to know which foundry cast it. They can range anywhere from very loose in their style of printing to tight enough to put a production printer to shame.
PRINTERS will bring your vision to life, not their own. They have enough design knowledge to offer you solutions and compromises to get your vision to work best with letterpress and enough wisdom not to make choices for you. They'll match a PMS color exactly, no matter the trouble. They'll turn things around in a rush to meet your production schedule.
To be fair, many of us reside with one foot in either world. It was my discovery of wood type and a respect for the history of the trade that eventually led me to my current place slinging ink with polymer plates and automatic presses.
{image source: Tom Heyes on Flickr}A Google image search of JTT is pure gold. It makes us happy every day, not just Friday! -Sarah
It doesn't matter how many times I watch this. It always ends up being a cross between peeing-my-pants laughter and shock-and-awe and how crazy talented Jamie Foxx is. These clips are both fail-safe, instant day-makers. -George
You won't believe this little guy's moves! -Haley
Because animals and sport always mix. Can’t wait for Wimbledon starting July 3rd! -Megan
Just look at how squishy they are!! -Erin
This dinosaur ladle set is brilliant, cute, practical, and humorous all at the same time. How could this not make you smile? -Clayton
One of our favorite parts of the National Stationery Show is seeing the amazing work of our friends and peers in the industry. Here are few of the booths we were totally crushing on at the show this year!
CLAYTON'S PICK: LARK + RAVEN
Lark + Raven has a pretty darn rad Instagram, and I've always been most attracted to their gram's remarkable use of color and playful graphic imagery. Their booth boasted the same sophisticated and playful use of color as their gram. Their swankily fun highlighter yellow sofa and funnily taboo graphic throw pillows were standouts. I was tickled pink to have met the owner Allie and her cousin at their booth. Allie used to work in the design world for a bit and decided to embark on the road to greeting cards three years ago with Lark + Raven's first official NSS Show in 2015.
SARAH'S PICK: EGG PRESS
Egg Press is a favorite of mine because the first letterpress card I bought was their creation! I love the silliness, originality and especially the quality of each and every design. They were gracious enough to let me poke around their booth and take some photos of my favorite card (the camel Valentine!) and a few of their awesome holiday offerings. Thank you, Egg Press!
ERIN'S PICK: FROG & TOAD PRESS
The booth I was really excited to see at NSS was Frog and Toad Press from Providence, RI. I've been admiring their cards and Star Wars pennants for a while now, and I was looking forward to seeing them in person. The booth was bright and inviting, and I loved the fun little details (googly eyes on the wallpaper animals!).
APRIL'S PICK: WISHBONE LETTERPRESS
I was so happy to see Wishbone Letterpress at NSS this year! Danielle and Joe have great senses of humor and that shows in their work. I love their use of color to make simple designs really pop and feel special.
