What is letterpress?

Filled with history and tradition, the letterpress technique is a legacy of the origins of printing. During the 15th century in Germany, Johannes Gutenberg invented the first movable type printing, which allowed information to be replicated for distribution to people. Prior to that, information had to be copied by hand. Also it is believed that the Chinese developed a similar type of relief printing as early as the 2nd century. What they had in common was that most early printing was made using type carved from blocks of wood. Later, letters and images were cast or engraved in metal, allowing a more refined printed image.

The technique quickly spread throughout Europe and later America up until the late 1800s when newer and faster printing methods overtook letterpress. In today's digital world, the letterpress technique has left the mainstream because it is so labor-and time-intensive and requires a degree of skill that has begun to disappear.

In recent years artists and designers have rediscovered letterpress for printing authentic stationery, invitations and limited-edition books. While computers have allowed text and graphic elements to be created electronically and transferred to a physical printing plate, one thing hasn't changed: Each image is still printed by hand, one piece at a time.

How it's made

Rich-colored ink is rolled over a molded metal or polymer plate containing raised letters or images, and a heavy steel plate pushes the image into the paper one piece at a time. No mass production here! The presses on which Hollycake stationery is made are from the 19th century, and our press operator has 40 years of experience crafting precise printed pieces.

How is letterpress different from "regular" printing?

What we call "regular" printing is typically either offset printing or, more frequently, digital printing. Offset is a flat printing method where 4 colors of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) are mixed together and blotted onto big sheets of paper as it runs through a press. Digital printing is much like your desktop printer, where ink is electrostatically sprayed onto paper. Both can produce a high-quality vivid image inside a machine, but neither modern method embosses the image, and typically there are limits as to the weight (thickness) and type of paper that can be used. Most mass-produced stationery is offset-printed on light-to medium-weight paper, which results in a flat image. Letterpress "embosses" the ink into the paper for a three-dimensional image. There is a difference!

Why choose letterpress?

Only engraving and letterpress offer the tactile, hand-crafted quality of printing that signifies superior quality stationery. Engraved stationery is beautiful, but often prohibitively expensive. Letterpress offers the best of both worlds. Crisp type, pressed deep into thick paper. A moderate price. The result is something both beautiful and authentic, rare in today's world. We believe it makes the effort of writing and receiving a letter worth the time.