designing for letterpress by gilah press
TRANSCRIPT
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WhattoExpectWhenDesigningfor
LetterpressPrintingMay13,2011byKatFeuerstein,founderofGilahPress+Design
Ifyoureadesignerwithanunquenchablethirstforknowledgeofallthings
printkeepreading.Belowyoullfindtipsthatcovertheinsandoutsof
designingandpreparingyourworkforletterpressprinting.Letterpressisa
centuriesoldmethodofprintingusingmainlyhandfedpressestocreate
tactilereliefprints.Originally,eachleadorwoodcharacterwouldbesetby
hand,onebyone,butluckilyfortodaysdesigners,theprocesshasbeen
modifiedtoworkwithdigitalfiles.Wearenolongerlimitedtowhatbitsof
leadandwoodtypeareintheprintshopanyfontorvectorbasedartyou
createonyourcomputercanbemadeintopolymerplates.
Simpleconsiderationsinthedesignprocesscanhelptakeyourprojecttothe
nextlevelwhenitcomestimeforletterpressprinting.KatFeuerstein,founder
ofGilahPress+Design,tellsdesignerswhattoexpectwhendesigningfor
letterpressprinting.
1.Unlessyouarelookingtoachieveahalftoneeffect,itisbesttoavoidusing
photographsandcontinuoustoneimages,suchasgradients.(ex:1a)
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2.Screensofcolorscanbeprinted,butalsowillhaveavisiblehalftone
pattern.Ifyouwantamoresolidscreen,itisbesttouseasecondsolid
Pantonecolor.(ex:2a)
3.Floodsofcolorarenotassolidonletterpressastheyareonoffset.Thisdoes
dependabitonthetypeofpressyourprinterisusing.Aproofpress,suchasa
vandercook,iscapableofbetterfloodsofinkthanaplatenclamshellpress,
suchasaC&PorWindmill.Wehaveusedothermethodstoincorporatea
floodofcolor,suchashavingonepartofaproject(theflood)printedoffset
andletterpressprintingtheotherparts,orbyusingacustomduplexpaper.
(ex:3ac)
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4.Whendesigningforletterpress,nolineweightshouldbelighterthan.25
point.Lighterlineweightswillnotholdupintheplatemakingprocess.Keep
thisinmindforyourfontchoicesaswell.Fontswithverythincomponents
mayneedtohaveaslightstrokeaddedtotheminordertoholdupforplate
making.Ingenerally,trynottouseanytypesizesmallerthan4point.(ex:4a)
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5.Ifyouwanttoprintalightinkonadarkerpaper,plantousesilverorgold
ink.Thesearereallytheonlyletterpressinksthatareopaqueenoughtogive
amplecontrastforlegibility.Ifyouaregoingforasubtleeffectwithapattern
orsomethingthatdoesnotneedtobelegible,thenyoumightoptforwhite
ink.Ifyouarelookingforaverybright,legiblewhiteinkonadarksheet,
considerwhitefoilstampingorengravingratherthanletterpress.(ex:5ab)
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6.Aswithoffsetprinting,metallicinksdonotlookverymetalliconuncoated
whitepapers.Thepapertendstoabsorbthemetallicnatureoftheink,and
lessensthelightreflectionofthemetallic,makingitappearlikemoreofaflat
color.Ifyouaregoingforahighmetalliceffect,Gilahrecommendseitherafoil
stamporoffsetprintingonacoatedsheet.(ex:6a)
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7.Forasubtleeffectonpatterns,decorativeelementsorlargetype,ablind
deboss(letterpressprintingwithoutanyink)canaddanamazingtactilequality
toyourproject.Dependingonwhattheprojectis,itcanbeprintedwithout
anyink,oruseatintbase(clearink)tofurtherenhancetheimage.Wedonot
recommendusingablinddebossforanysmalltypeorthingsthatwouldneedtobelegible.Atoothy,cottonstockyieldsthebestresultsforthisprocess,
smoothstocksdonotworkaswell.(ex:7ab)
8.Whiletwosidedprintingisnotidealforletterpress,itcanbeachieved.
Typically,ifsomethingistwosided,wewillaskyouwhichsideofyourproject
willbethefeatureside,andthenwewillgoabitlighteronimpressiononthe
reverseside.Theimpressionwillshowthroughtotheothersideofthesheetabit,soitisoftenrecommendtomoveyourjobtoadoublethickcoverweight
paperorhaveacustomduplexmadeafterthejobisprinted,ifyourprojectis
wellsuitedforthat.(ex:8ab)
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9.Paperchoicesareimportantinletterpressprinting.Papersthatare
toothier/softerand100%cottonwillshowtheimpressionthebest.These
typesofpaperarefluffier,sotheyhaveabitmoreroomtoshowoff
impression,andthetoothinessisironedoutwhenprinted,givingavaried
texture,whichmakestheimpressionevenmorevisible.Stiffer,smoother
paperswilltypicallynotshowasmuchimpression,butcanstillyieldnice
results.Smootherpapersarebetterifyouhavealargerareaofsolidinkcoverage,astheyarenotasabsorbent.(ex:9a)
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10.Letterpresshasbeenmodernizedtoworkwithcurrentdesignsoftware
suchasIllustratorandInDesign.Negativesaremadefromthedigitalfiles,and
thenaraisedpolymerplateismadefromthenegatives.Thismeansdesigners
arenotlimitedtowhatleadorwoodtypefaceswehaveinhouse,rather,what
typefaceyouhaveavailabletoyouonyourowncomputer.(ex:10ac)
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11.Ifyouareusedtospecifyingjobsforoffsetprinting,youmaybeabit
surprisedatthepricejumpsinletterpressversusoffsetwhenitcomesto
quantityandinkcolorincreases.
Sinceletterpressisahandfedprocess,usingonlyonesolidPantoneinkcolor
atatime(nofourcolorprocess),youwillnoticeafargreaterjumpinprice.
Mostletterpressprojectsendupbeing1or2inkcolors,nottosaythat3,4or
moreisnotpossible,butyourclientwillneedtoponyupmoremoneyfor
theseprojects.Typicalquantitiesforletterpressareanywherefrom1toabout
2,000.(ex:12ac)
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Overall,Ifyouareunsureofsomethingorhaveaquestion,itisalwaysbestto
contactyourprinterbeforeshowingyourdesigntoaclient.Yourletterpress
shopwillletyouknowifyourdirectioniswellsuitedfortheprocess,andifitis
not,theywillusuallybeabletomakesomegoodrecommendationsonhow
youmightbeabletoachievetheeffectyouarelookingfor.(ex:14a)
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GilahPress+Designwasfoundedin2004byKatFeuerstein.Aftergraduating
fromMarylandInstitute,CollegeofArt(MICA)withagraphicdesignBFAin
1999,KatworkedasadesignerandartdirectorforBaltimoreareafirmsuntil
shebustedoutonherowntoexploretheworldofprintmakingasitrelatesto
design.Since2004,theGilahPressstudiohascontinuedtogrowandthrive.
StayintheloopbyfindingusonFacebookandTwitterunderGilahPress.
www.gilahpress.com