The Trolley Tickets

The wonderful mother of the bride, Kathleen, contacted us a bit ago asking for a project I couldn't resist.  She wanted us to create trolley tickets for her daughters wedding.  Paper products of the unusual size intrigue me.  Additionally, the idea of something off beat was marvelous (I really enjoyed creating the drink tokens last year).  Ms. Kathleen asked us months ago, and a our busy schedule goes it go pushed aside for a bit (sometimes no matter how hard I try it seems impossible to get caught up).  With a gentle reminder and a bit of patience these little tickets made it to press, complete with a perforated ticket stub.

We perforated the ticket so that you could easily tear off the stub- it was so

much fun to perforate this extra thick paper...

In the background you can see the ink swatches that we create with each order, matching

it to the clients preference and to our Pantone book

A Few More Coasters

My how time flies.  We have been busy here crankin' out the coasters...
We had the lovely pleasure of working with Miss Angela and coming up with a wonderful save the date.

She wanted something in dark purple/plum and a a deep raspberry red.  She sent along her lovely wedding inspiration photos; these always help when creating a custom design.  She needed something elegant and regal...

The result was combination of multiple designs combined (and several revisions!).  The bride to be was pleased with the results (which always pleases us!)

Next we worked with Kara.  Simple. Direct. Lovely.  I am always fond of these.  Red is elegant and bold, the type is simple and direct.  Marvelous!

Something about that stymie font...

Wedding Invitations:Registration

I have a certain weakness for DIYers ("do it yourself" ers).  I usually don't print other graphic artist's designs.  (The problem with that is if you aren't careful you become a job printer- and tend to get sucked into only printing other's designs.)  However, I found Jessica and Jonathan's request touching!

After hearing that they wanted to design their own invitation I decided to take a look at it.  After a little consultation (and a little reworking of their initial design) they came up with this lovely invitation.

This is a two color job.  And as with any letterpress project, only one color at a time can be printed.  What does that mean?

Well, first you print your base color, so to speak= yellow in this instance.

Registration is critical in any overlapping design.  If your first run is off by a few centimeters or has inconsistencies in the printing it can ruin your whole run.  What does that mean?  If the paper is put in the press but doesn't make it all the way over to the gauge pins your print will be off.

Next the text is printed on top of all those glorious yellow roses.  This also includes the rose outline.  (A special note here- letterpress is really a system of ink and pressure.  When you have large areas to print you have to pay certain attention to overall print; making sure that some areas don't drop out while other areas become too dark or fill in.  Sometimes it can be frustrating.  This is the nature of letterpress...)

Again, registration!!!  I think most printers develop their own little technique for tight registration.  Whatever they use, it can make or break your print.

Here you can see the tight registration.  During the run I check every 10th print to make sure the base color hasn't started to peak through the sides.

You can also see the impression that has been put in the paper.  (Run your fingers over letterpress. turn it over and feel the back... Defiantly a richer experience than your inkjet printer or other options...)

Special Notes:

1. Letterpress prints one color at a time.  Which is why multiple colors cost more.  Double the time on the press, regardless of how big that second color might be.
2. Letterpress works best with line work. After all, letterpress was designed for type forms (which are essentially- line work)
3. Overall design weight is important- heavy dark areas next to small fine print can be especially troublesome to print.
4. Compare letterpress to a big stamp.  If it couldn't be printed in rubber stamp form it probably would need another print method.  Ultimately, you need to ask the printer if the design is suitable for letterpress. 
5. The printer needs control over your computer files.  The printer is the one that sends the files off to the platemakers.  We have to take a file and essentially run the whole printing process through our minds.  (will this print, what is the best way to do this, do I need to thicken the stroke, what is the best overlap, how will those colors look together...)  
6. Communication between printer and client is important.  This seems like something that shouldn't have to be said.  But, I am amazed when people comment on how easy and fun it was to work on a project together.  Of course, it should be!  The printer has to love letterpress/printing.  We are custodians of this centuries old craft- it doesn't help buiseness to scare away customers. The best way to print more is to make wonderfully beautiful items in a manner than makes it a pleasure on both sides....   Did I say affordable too?! 

I hope that Jessica and Jonathan enjoy their invitations.  They were a pleasure to work with and I hope they love the feel of their own designed letterpress in their hands.

I loved all these roses drying- it was like an endless field in the studio... All 150+

visit (oh, hello friend) for a week of letterpress- and giveaways

letterpress week at oh,hello friend!
image by: slimjim

This is a beautiful, sophisticated blog. All things design related- and this week she is featuring letterpress. Complete with studio tours, interviews and letterpress giveaways. Vermilion Star Press will be giving aways a set of our new calling cards...

New Tags: Recycle

At any given moment in our little shop, we have a very large amount of paper waste hanging around: paper scraps, items that got printed a little off, make- ready, color samples... Lots of paper.  And yes, I have huge boxes strategically posted to catch the waste.  At one point they started to over flow.  Boxes busting out with thank you notes, coaters, calling cards, invitations.

Something had to be done!  I knew that I wanted to recycle it all, but as an artist and printer I saw potential.  That's money hanging out there after all.  Everything that I print on has to be bought.

So...

I made paper.  Okay, it's pink.  But that happened by default.  Our paper waste had lots of printed pink material, which in turn created pink paper.  I wasn't going to bleach it, and it was more of an experiment after all...  Plus, I am still working on the texture.  My first batch was kinda thick and chunky.  The thickness is great but the chunky prohibits the use of a pen or pencil on it...

So I had these huge sheets of paper hanging around and finally decided that  I would make some new tags to adorn our products before we ship them out.

It just so happened that I had some pink to print- perfect timing for the little tags.

The tags ended up being 1" by 4"- perfect to punch a hole and attach.  The recycled cotton paper printed marvelously on the press.  It too a deep impression.  I am assuming because I left the paper so chunky and didn't pack it too tight when I spread the pulp on the screen.

Some interesting tidbits:  We use cotton paper- and cotton paper has long fibers 

The cotton paper we buy has already come from recycled sources- they use left over fibers after ginning called linters.

No trees cut down, no extra cotton grown.

And now-it is being recycled again.

The type is vintage- rescued from a barn in Upstate New York- late 1800's early 1900's.

When we start a custom project I am always interested in the people that we get to work with.  Perhaps this is one of the best parts about being a small letterpress; we get to give them the attention that they need. Each client has their own unique personalities and tastes. This is especially important with custom work.  You have to figure out what they really want and what they need their design to convey.
Maybe that's why  I spent an evening altering the Boston terriers profile to fit Miss Julie's terrier.  (Or maybe I liked the spunk she had to send photos of her little guy without reservations!)  Or secretly I was thinking our next move will sport coasters announcing a new address!!!


At any rate, I loved her coasters.  The back contained their new address and made a tight little design package.  And yes, it is pink.

the little guy himself

the final product hot off the press- notice the ink disk in the background

Recipe Cards

Recipe cards...  
When it comes down to it, I am a collector at heart.  I try to keep it in check, no sense in storing up riches... 
But, there are some things that I just hang on to:  favorite books, sea glass, great yarn, buttons, paint brushes, pictures, momentos from the boys, sweet reminders from the hubby, and of course recipe cards.  
   I like to search out recipes, I like to write them out, I like to share them and of course I love to cook them!  I adore new recipes.  I suppose recipe cards are one way that I collect cooking.  I like to write little notes on them, what I tried different, what worked and what didn't.  Or I write the date on it, as if I passed it after a music lesson! (you know, after you sufficiently accomplished a musical score you get the date put on it)
At any rate, recipe cards are on little paper product that I find endearing.  (Can I say that?)


Obsession with Pink
I can't put my finger on the exact date when fushia/ pink became a problem.  No, I wasn't a pink lover as a child.  There were no pink comforters and pillow cases, I didn't wear pink ribbons.  If you asked me what my favorite color was, I would have told you blue.
So what happened? I don't know.  If you ask my husband I am color blind, or suffer from color dementia; some days I just don't know green from blue....

I splash fushia/ pink with out shame across the blog and etsy site. I take artistic liberties with our name (Vermilion is not a fushia pink red, it is an orangish-red). I get tickled when I mix up that glorious color.  And Mr. Henry always, always looks best when his rollers are inked in that color.


If I were asked to pick a color that best described me, I would not pick pink...
I must be in pink denial.

Eat Your Cake Too


Photographing your letterpress isn't always easy.  I mean, it's a flat piece of paper!  There are no angles on paper, again it's flat!  So I have to get creative with the photography.  Looking at photo after photo of pieces of paper gets menotinous pretty quick. Not to mention I loose motivation.
So generally, I end up using props.  (Sounds so silly to say it).  Props of something that is related.  
Today= PINK CAKE!!!


And yes, I ate some....  I thought it made the photo...

Here is another treasury with some cute recipe cards....

Anatomy of Type

The jargon of type...

Yes, even type has it's own special terms and names. 

Of course, it might seem like more meaningless vocabulary.  Yet, knowing knowing the the anatomy of type can help to describe it, identify it and create it.  Amazing how that works.

Capital height- the height of a capital letter( or the length from the baseline to the top of a capital letter)

meanline- this tops letters such as "s", "r", "e" and runs across the curves of "h" and "d"

x-height- the height of a lower case letter (not including the ascenders or descenders)

baseline- what your lovely letters will sit on

serif-the cross strokes (horizonal for slab) at the begining or ending of letters-

stem- consider this the main part of a letter- it can be a vertical stroke (as in "T" or diagonal as in "X")

ascender-the part of a letter that extends above the meanline (or above the x- height)

descender- the part of a letter (character) the hangs below the baseline ("g", "p"...)

bowl- part of a letter that creates a closed area- such as in "p"

counter- the inside space created by the bowl

Small Capital- These are a set of capital letters that are all the x-height of the normal alphabet

Some useful things to keep in mind- the larger the x-height compared to the normal capital- the bigger the letters will appear- in other words type faces with the same point size may variy according to their x-height

typeface is measured from the top of a capital letter to the bottom of a descender (plus a tiny space)

type size is based on  traditional typesetting: the space that letters would occupy when cast out of lead

 

These are just a few of the basics- but there are tons of books and websites to read up on.

I plan on adding some more stuff- especially the history of type (fun stuff)

books:
American Type Design and Designers  Consuegra
From Gutenberg to Open Type Dodd
The Concise Guide to Type Identification Apicella,Pomeranz, Wiatt
Designing with Type ,The Essential Guide to tYpography Craig
thinking with type ellen lupton

http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/typographyfonts/tp/letter_anatomy.01.htm
http://typedia.com/learn/only/anatomy-of-a-typeface/     (this is a great one!)

A Little Font Tutorial- Onyx

                                      

Fonts...

Before I became involved in letterpress fonts were just a tool.  That Type and Desgin class- just a requirement.  The idea of handset type- a novelty.  Those words in an advertisement (who considers those?)

Yet, they are so intriging.  Really, once you get to know a little about them you realize that each font has it's own character- so to speak. 

  Today, fonts are abused and misused.  Much can be said about a graphic designer (or not said) that carelessly throws a font to use without understanding it's feel, it's origin, it's classification.

Around the 19th century printers wanted a way to classify their craft.  They needed a system to refer to their fonts.  And while today these classifications have been broken down even further into smaller classes- there are five basic groups: Humanist or Old Style, Transitional, Modern, Egyptian or Slab Serif, and San Serif.

Well- this isn't really going to be a blog posting of typography (I am not an art historian). Yet, as I was printing 300 Thank You cards in Onyx, my eyes continually traced their thin straight serifs and the sharp contrast between thick and thin. 

Maybe this is why one card flew off my feed table and landed two feet away in the middle of my ink. Oops!  My husband took the opportunity to photograph this wonderous moment.  The result is that beautiful crisp print in a big, glopuous blob of ink. 

So much for profound thoughts on type....

                                                     

When I think of Onyx- I think of the the glamour, the glitz.  Gretta Garbo, black and white films, long silky dresses, pinstripe suits, the Empire State Building,  Art Deco (Le Style Moderne), New York City...

Onyx has a strong vertical stress- which I always associate with skyscrapers.

This font is beautiful.  I find it timeless and classy, much like Gretta Garbo or those old flicks.

Even if Risa and Ryan accidently ended up in a blob of ink- I love their cards and the font.

Treasury

Letterpress Free Sunday

Tomorrow is Sunday.

Tomorrow is Letterpress Free.

Wow!

Breaks are so important!

I thought that I would just put up a few photos of some current things I have been working on.

This is one of my favorite vintage fonts.  It is called Bernhard Tango and was design in the 1920's.  I bought it vintage- thus it is missing capital "k" and a few of the letters are dinged.  Making it hard for me to offer this font to customers until I can find more of it.  (It is not made any more)

Aren't they marvelous tags?  Thick cotton paper, vintage type, silver ink and of course handprinted.

Another simple and bright tag- if I don't sell them all I might just use them on my packages.

TIS THE SEASON TO BE BUSY

(That counter keeps going and going)

WOW! I am taking a break.  But it feels like I have been printing non-stop.  That is a good thing, but I am tired.  I have declared that tomorrow will be NO LETTERPRESS.  And that feels and sounds pretty good!!!
Not that I am complaining.  But it will be nice to play with the boys.  Put up the Christmas tree.  Cook a good meal.  And spend a day without ink on my hands.  Maybe knit some (yep, I dream about knitting almost as much as printing and drawing- some sort of sickness I suppose)

Contest

Tomorrow I will also announce the winner to the give away.  (Which was supposed to me on the 1st- but of course that was when I walked into a wall of orders.)
Have patience dear friends.

Sketchbooks

I was very excited that one of my little handbound letterpress books made it on an etsy treasury.  (I happen to really like them.  But I am one of those people that has tons of sketchbooks around.) These little sketchbooks were completely handmade (except for the cotton paper) cut, folded, stiched and glue all by my busy hands.

At any rate, it looks like my little sketchbook was in good company.

Giveaway- Win Our Coasters

These coasters are so much fun!!! (I suppose I am a little biased)

Anyway- they are the perfect little package to slip into a stocking, give to a co-worker, or even hang from your ceiling and dance under.  (A little extreme I suppose...)

I thought we would make this a little fun! Contest ends December 1st.

Rules:

a. Become a follower (my lonely blog would love your face on the sidebar!)

b. Edit my letterpress tag! (this is the fun part- see images below)

c. Pick a favorite from my etsy shop (let me know you did that)

d. All the above (get an entry for each)

Here are the tags that I printed.  They are handset type (meaning each letter is a little piece of lead with a letter on it.  The tag on the right has the mistakes.  This font is 8pt (Bernhard Gothic Light) and  one of my favorites.

Find The Mistakes (Hint- I believe there are only three)

Send me a comment and let me know what I messed up on!!!

Mr. Lincoln will give you an idea of the size we are working with.

And this is what it looks like- the back of the tag is on the bottom half.  At the time I printed the tags - I also started printing recipe tags.  So this picture illustrates the Recipe tag.  (to save time I printed both sides at once and then cut them.  Originally I thought I would be able to fold the tag at the bottom and save time- nope it looked ucky.)

Good luck- you've got lots of ways to win!  These are on sale in my etsy shop if you want more- we have other styles too!

The Letterpress Story

I never was good at talking about myself or art.  So, it was extremely difficult for me to make this up for a shop that will be selling out Christmas coasters.  I knew it was time to put a face to the work...

Across Atlanta, Over 85, Corner Rounders, Quoins and Mr. Moss

    Across Atlanta, over 85, and it was, you guessed it, another letterpress adventure.  I needed a corner rounder.  A good one, one that would do stacks of paper, not just one at a time.  After months of rounding corners, one at a time, multiply the number of pieces of paper by four- 120 sheets times 4 corners equals 480 punches and sore fingers...
It was time.
But I didn't want to spend shipping on the item.  I'm in Atlanta.  Somewhere there has to be one!  So I called the company to find locations near my zip code.  It gave me three places of buisness.  I called them.  Only one had the item in stock.
That was the one that I was going to.
(Incidently, I found his buisness mentioned on Briar Press (which is an amazing site for letterpress- and just fun to poke around in - http://www.briarpress.org/ )
I drove to my destination and on the little spot that i was looking for a bindery supply I found a heavily wooded neighborhood.
Hmm.
I called my husband- can you check the number on my computer- and can you map quest it for me.  (My blackberry browser only proceeds in aggravating any and all situations.)
He confurmed that I was in the correct spot.
I called- and yes I was in the correct spot- "use the lower driveway."
And then- I entered not at all what I was expecting.
A spry man of 76 opened the door.  Sharp, impecibly dressed, assesories including a blue tooth in his right ear. 
He smiled and opened the door.  I felt as if I was entering a hobbit hole (or another basement)
"I am rebuilding the gas motor lawn mower for a museum.  I invented it- a long time ago."  he said this as he motioned to that mower parts and other various machine parts and ancient parts I cannot begin to name.
(See, see what  I mean)
We walked further into his building.  His office was littered with crowded bookcases, computers from every era, catalogs, more machine parts and an ajoining room with just as much amazing stuff. 
He went to get the corner rounder out of the other room all the time we were chit- chatting and he was telling me about his buisness.
Then I saw- on the floor- QUOINS.  "You have quoins!" (A quoin is a neat little item that belongs to letterpress- it is a little rectangle that expands and contracts as you turn the key that belongs to it.  It is used to "lock" type in a chase.)
He looked at me and smiled. "You know letterpress?"
"Yep, I own a C&P"
"That is neat, someone your age knowing about it.  What do you do with it?"
I described briefly what I was trying to do.  He nodded.
Thrown off guard I tried to think of other letterpress items that I needed.  Of course it was one of those stupid times when your head goes blank.
I did end up walking out with some guage pins- which holds your paper on the press to be printed. (otherwise it ends up on the floor when the press closes!)

All this to say that Mr. Moss is a valiable resource for someone like me.  Being relatively new to all this- (this little field that has all but exhausted it's life span) Mr. Moss has lived through it and carries the knowledge that only someone who has experienced it can.  He talked about ATF (American Type Foundries- the giant here for type- I asked about cataloges- SNATCHED by someone already!

In any event, I was excited that now I have a source to contact with questions who is local.  (Before the only source I had left for China and I have not been able to contact him.  See, those letterpress people...)

Sometimes it feels like I am the only crazy person taking this adventure.  I know it's not true.  There are little letterpress shops all over.  But it is nice not having to explain to someone...

If you need something in Atlanta- contact Mr. Moss at Moss Sales and Service.

Handset Type- A Pictorial

Sometimes when I mention handset type, I get a questioning look.  "What is that?" This little pictorial will help address that, I think.  While I am no expert, I can take pictures and I can set type.

This post will probably be extended over a few days- so check out the pictures and enjoy- let me know if you have any questions....

1. Simply put- each letter is a little piece of lead.  These are stored in type cases- which are held in cabinets.  (so, for each type of font- OR SIZE- you would have another case)

(Which is pretty amazing if you think of all the options you have with a computer- if it were handset type, how much room would it take?)

2.  You pick up your type- One letter at a time.

3. Put the type in a "composing stick."  You can adjust the stick to the appropriate size so it doesn't fall over on you.  (Also, you set you type right to left- kinda backwards.)

4. Each line of type needs space between it.  For that you have to cut a piece of lead- the correct length- measure, measure, measure.

5. You use a "slug cutter" to cut strips of lead in varying thicknesses.  I own a very old one (I think they might all be old!)  These give you the space between your lines of type- they also help to prevent your type from looking like it is sea sick.

6. Put those slugs in!  (Usually this is done on a galley tray- which you will see shortly)

7. (quick as this is, I am ready to PROOF- that means I run a proof of the form before production to check for mistakes.  (i.e. misspelled words, ,mixing up my p's and q's...)  I get to use my handy dandy proofing press- Lay down that ink!

8. Roll out the ink until it reaches the right consistancy-( it makes a wonderous sound- similiar to raincoat material rubbing against itself?)

9. Gently roll the ink over the form.- oh, see those rectangles?  They are industrial strength magnets that grip the press bed, not the lead type, and hold the type in place.  This prevents your type from getting squashed!

10. Roll the cylinder over the inked form to get an impression/proof.  The moment we have been waiting for...

11. Proofed!!! No backwards letters, no q's for my p's!

Final Product: The labels for our new rocket ship stationary

Now think about this; I only printed a few words.  What about paragraphs, pages, books...  The work involved.  At one point, not too long ago in our history, this was the only way to create printed material.

There are other means to creating type and using a "letterpress."  However, I try to use type whenever I can.  I strive to incorporate this in our work- even if I use a plate (as for the rocket ship that I drew) on other areas.