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...

One Wondrous Little Coaster and a Whole Slew of Challenges

We print a great deal of coasters.  Just when you start to get ahead of yourself and think that it's going to be a breeze- you realize you were wrong!  The easiest project turns out to be a challenge.

First, the color stripes had to be printed.  Now, when I create designs for the coaster I work through the printing in my head.  I try to make sure that it is feasible.  Throwing a circle in seems easy, right?

Well- those little stripes go to the end of the coaster.  How does the coaster stay in place?  Usually we have little pins(affectionately called frogs) to hold the paper in place.  When a design goes to the edge, you can't do that.  It gets a little tricky.

Once the stripes are printed- it is time to print the black "cheers."

Not so bad?

Well, each little coaster has to be placed in the correct orientation. Vertical strips need to be 100% up and down. And this has to be done by hand.  Each coaster.  This isn't about speed- it's about accuracy.

Oh, and what happens when one of those coasters sticks to the form in the press?  The rollers run right over the back of the coaster- giving a solid coast of ink.  (that one did not get sent to Australia!)

Happy Halloween All!!!

Happy Halloween! 

 For all intents and purposes, our family looks upon this as a time to slip in a little creativity and fun.  A time to hit the pumpkin patch, carve pumpkins and create darling costumes for the little guys.

And as always, create some new coasters for the shop.  This year I wanted to make something  a little fanciful.  Last year my sketchbook was filled with ideas.  At one point I spent some time contemplating pointy boots with some old striped stockings.  Even though I wanted to create those they got put off to the side burner.  So this year I decided they were the ones.  Those sagging stockings and curved toes were going to come to life.

As far as the results, I couldn't be happier.  Being a lover of lines, I wanted something that really looked like it was hand drawn.   I whipped out the drawing tablet and worked a bit- referring to last years sketch.  And when I finally put them into the press, I must say that I smiled a bit at those witches shoes.

Then I printed up the tags and tied 'en up.

And then...

Well, they sat as I got extremely busy.  Neglected for a month and a half!  Everyday I would walk buy them and smile and say "tomorrow I will take your glamor shot."  Yet, these little guys sat around waiting for me to photo them and put them up.

Now as the pumpkin is roasting in the oven (to get turned into soup) and the kids are getting ready to go for their candy lap- Here I am putting these up.

So sad.

Oh well, next year. 

Moving into the new studio

Just a couple random pictures from the new studio.  Until there is more time...
New shelves for the ink- everything is so clean.  Until that first time I drop a gob of ink on the floor and track it through the studio (oh, wait- it happened last night!)

Our shop dog, Ronin, posing in front of our "new cabinets"- in the truest sense of Vermilion Star Press, these cabinets were taken from the location and refinished.  (By us- many long hours cleaning, sanding, priming and painting)  Rather than buying new ones we just made these work- and the hubby created the countertop for me- nice and shiny- a great "clean area".

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....

1500 Coasters

 

1500 coasters is a formidable pile of paper.  15 stacks of 100 paper coasters.  

It all started with my friends moving party.  I talked her into the coasters because I thought they would be a challenge to design and print.  The result (for my animal loving friend) was a way too cute lab, in bright fushia.

  Yes, Rush (the labs name) stole my heart.  And began my odessy with coasters.

Before I could step up to the press I had to locate the coasters to print on.  Easy enough I thought.  Well, as it turns out, you can either by a few for way lots of money OR you can get 1500 for pretty cheap.

1500 coasters!!!! What was I going to do with enough coasters to build a dog house?  

Ha! 5 months later I placed my second order for 1500 coasters.  Turns out, coasters are a hot item. 

This posting is a look at some of those coasters that started coaster mania at Vermilion Star Press.

Note: printing on a circle takes a little care and practice.  Registration is a challenge- But hey, those 4" circles are hot.

 Simple and elegant, I received a request for this coaster.  Script reading "coup de foudre" (which is basically love at first sight in French-) and the location in a wonderful chocolate brown graced this coaster.

Vegas, anyone?  Sweet Roeanne from Guam needed some coasters delivered to the resort for her wedding. She requested something in yellow and navy blue.  She also needed a swanky font that fit the mood of a Vegas wedding.  (Here I would like to say that it is so interesting to work with people from all over!)

Okay, Halloween.  How could I resist?  These were mainly for fun.  A set witches printed in purple, green and orange paired with a couple of  pumpkin coasters.

Julia contacted me with a design pretty much already laid out.  In fact, she sent a cute rough sketch for me to check out.  A little fine tuning, selection of related fonts and we were pretty much in buisness.  On a print like this, it is always a little bit of a challenge to get the solid areas to print well without the smaller font/areas filling in.

 Martinis anyone?  The challenge was to create a coaster that would convey a clear message but still be stylish enough for the event.

A ton of Christmas coasters!

























And then there was the coaster that we printed for Stephanie and Kelly.  Which in itself deserves it's own blog posting.
Why you ask?  Well, each color is printed seperatly.  Lined up precisely.  This coaster was front and back.  Three colors on the front and two colors on the back.  hmmm.  Yes, that means that each coaster was ran through the press 5 times!!!!

Okay, again the weakness for the marvelous color.  Another sweet dog lover contacted us for coasters.  Julie will get her own posting as well- because she sent great photos of her boston terrier.  Her new address and contact info is on the reverse making it great to sent off in the mail!!!