Letterpress Techniques for Handmade Stationery

Letterpress stationery is produced through a sequence of interdependent adjustments: the makeready determines impression depth, packing affects roller height and ink distribution, registration governs accuracy across a run, and finishing converts a printed sheet into a finished piece. Each step builds on the previous, and errors compound. A systematic approach reduces waste and produces more consistent results across a run.

The Form and the Chase

The "form" is the collection of printing elements — whether hand-set metal type, wood type, or a polymer plate — locked into a rectangular metal frame called a chase. The chase holds everything under tension using furniture (spacing material) and quoins (adjustable wedges) tightened with a quoin key.

A properly locked form is solid: nothing shifts when the chase is lifted by two corners and gently shaken. A form that moves at all will shift under impression and produce smeared or doubled images. Before going to press, every form should be locked tight enough that a fingernail slid across the surface meets resistance on every element.

Polymer Plates

Most contemporary small studios use photopolymer plates rather than hand-set metal type. A polymer plate is a UV-sensitive plastic sheet exposed to artwork, then washed to reveal the relief image. Plates are mounted to a base (typically a precisely machined aluminium base) at a standard height — type-high in the Anglo-American system is 0.918 inches (23.32 mm).

The base must be clean and free of contamination. Even a small piece of paper or dried ink under a plate will cause an impression bump across the entire form. Plates should be mounted on the base with care to avoid air bubbles, which produce soft spots in the impression.

Packing and Impression Depth

Packing is the material placed between the cylinder (on a proof press) or platen and the paper. Its thickness sets how hard the form strikes the sheet. More packing creates deeper impression; less creates a surface-only "kiss" impression.

Two approaches define the aesthetic divide in contemporary letterpress work:

• Kiss impression: The form contacts the sheet with just enough pressure to transfer ink without compressing the fibres appreciably. Preferred in traditional fine-press work and in commercial reproduction of fine detail.
• Deep impression: The form is pushed into the sheet deliberately, creating a visible deboss. Common in modern wedding stationery and craft printing.

Deep impression requires papers with sufficient bulk to take the pressure without cracking. Cotton rag papers at 280 gsm or above handle this well. Deep impression also accelerates plate and type wear; it is not advisable for long-run production or when preserving metal type is a priority.

Ink Distribution

Letterpress ink is oil-based and transfers to the form via rollers. The quantity of ink on the rollers must match the coverage area of the form. A large solid area requires more ink than fine text. Starting with too little ink produces uneven coverage; too much ink fills in the counters of letterforms and spreads impression edges.

Working Towards Correct Ink Volume

Begin each new job with less ink than you think is needed. Pass the rollers over the form without printing and examine the form: the ink should be evenly distributed as a thin, consistent film. Add ink in small increments — a pea-sized amount is significant on a small proof press — until coverage is correct.

The standard test is to look at the rollers in raking light as they pass over the form. They should show a consistent sheen across their width. Dry patches indicate insufficient ink; overflow indicated by ink squeezing out the sides of the roller tracks means too much.

Ink Consistency in Canadian Winter

Oil-based letterpress inks stiffen below 15°C. If the studio is cold in the morning, ink taken directly from a tin may be too stiff to roll out correctly. Bringing the ink tin into a heated room for 30–60 minutes before use is the simplest remedy. Do not thin cold ink with solvent to compensate — this changes the tack and can cause ink to over-penetrate the sheet.

Registration

Registration is the consistency with which each sheet is positioned in the same location relative to the form on every impression. For single-colour work, consistent registration ensures straight margins. For multi-colour work — printing in register — it determines whether two separate forms align precisely on the finished sheet.

Guides and Gauge Pins

On a proof press, the sheet is positioned against guides: typically a side guide and a front guide set against the leading edge of the paper. On a platen press, gauge pins or guides are positioned in the tympan to locate each sheet by its corner and edge.

Gauge pins must be set consistently and checked after every few impressions. On a press that is warmed up and running cleanly, registration drift of more than 0.5 mm over a run of 100 sheets typically indicates either inconsistent sheet feeding or gauge pins shifting.

Proofing and Makeready

Makeready is the process of adjusting packing, impression, and guides before starting the production run. A proper makeready is the most time-consuming part of letterpress production and the most important for quality.

A standard makeready sequence:

1. Lock up the form and mount to the press
2. Pull a rough proof on newsprint or inexpensive bond paper
3. Assess ink distribution, impression depth, and registration against the layout
4. Adjust each variable individually — change one thing at a time to isolate effects
5. Pull successive proofs until the sheet matches the target
6. Pull a final proof on the production paper before beginning the run

Rushing the makeready to save time typically results in more waste during the run and more time spent troubleshooting mid-production.

Finishing

Finishing converts a printed sheet into the final piece. For stationery, this typically involves one or more of:

• Trimming: Cutting parent sheets to final size on a guillotine or rotary trimmer. Grain direction should be considered — see the paper stock article for details.
• Scoring: For folded cards, a score along the fold line prevents cracking. On letterpress-printed cotton stock, scoring is typically done on the inside of the fold before printing.
• Edge painting: Applying colour to the trimmed edges of a stack of cards. Typically done by clamping the stack and applying watercolour or gouache with a brush or foam roller.
• Envelope lining: Cutting liner paper to shape and adhering it inside the envelope before folding the flap. Some studios offer this as a production service; others supply pre-lined envelopes.

External References

• Briar Press — letterpress community reference and equipment listings
• TAPPI — technical resources on paper and printing