An Object Agency Tradition: Letterpress

by admin on December 20, 2011

In a world dominated by digital imagery and special effects, the traditional craft of printmaking stands out in the crowd. Object Agency creates holiday cards (among other client letterpress projects) that are tactile, dimensional, labors of love, and objects of art.

Here’s how it’s done.

This letterpress press is at our cooperative printmaking studio, The Arm NYC, in Brooklyn.

A dimensional printing plate is produced from artwork created in Adobe Illustrator.

The rollers of the press are inked.

Ink is transferred to the plate by the roller. Then card stock is rolled over the plate to deboss the artwork and transfer the color.

Artwork is “blind” debossed by a plate without ink.

Once the card fronts are printed, turn them over and print the backs. Then trim at the crops.

 

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