


Specific images or designs, however, still needed to be carved to one’s liking in wood or metal plates. These plates, called movable type, could be arranged in a sturdy wooden frame to create any desired word or sentence. Gutenberg’s attempt to change this method began with small plates of individual, backwards letters. For this reason, original letterpressing did not result in the debossed look and tactile feel that is so popular today. Next, ink was applied to the raised letters, and craftsmen would lightly touch pieces of paper to the inked, wooden plate. To complicate this further, all of the letters and words were backwards, since printing results in a mirrored version of whatever stamp or plate one uses. The letters remained untouched while the rest of the space was carved away, resulting in raised letters.

Book pages were individually carved into single plates of wood. Gutenberg was additionally driven by his desire to make books more accessible to common people and to increase literacy.īefore the invention of letterpress, printing was time consuming, work intensive, and tedious. Unsatisfied with contemporary printing practices, Gutenberg saw an opportunity to create a more effective printing technology. “Letterpress” or “letterpressing” refers to a printing technique developed by Johannes Gutenberg, a German innovator, in the fifteenth century. Then search among Minted’s hundreds of luxurious letterpress holiday cards and letterpress wedding invitations to find something that suits your style. Step behind the scenes to see how Minted pays homage to this centuries-old art form and learn why letterpressing is such a unique culmination of past and present. Contemporary letterpress products could not have come into existence without hundreds of years of improvement of ancient letterpressing methods in combination with the modern technology of polymer plates. Most people are unaware of the deep history behind letterpressing techniques and tools. Today, letterpress products are mostly recognized for their high-end, exclusive, and refined qualities. You may have seen letterpress stationery before: the majority of modern letterpress stationery is identifiable by the pronounced impression it makes on thick paper. Letterpress printing is also a form of relief printing, a method that consists of carving away a surface and printing from the raised remains. What is letterpress printing? Letterpress printing, or letterpressing, refers to the specific and specialized printing process that creates letterpress stationery. The Art of Letterpress and Relief Printing
