Letterpress
As a graphic designer, letterpress is something I find lovely and tactile in an often purely digital discipline. Letterpress machines are not made any more and most who make them use old presses. This makes acquiring one difficult as they are very heavy and very pricey. I wondered if there was a way to do it without having to acquire an original press. The internet to the rescue with this tutorial. Finding this tutorial has been instrumental in my creative practice. The roller machine mentioned there is something I use regularly for both letterpress printing and monoprinting. It’s essentially a letterpress and an etching press in one for me. The tutorial also mentions Boxcar Press for making the letterpress plates. They have made all of my plates and I highly recommend them. I followed that tutorial and got the same materials listed and made some great prints. The only change I have made since beginning my letterpress journey is the type of ink I prefer is Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink.
For my botanical letterpress prints, I scan images of cyanotypes and monoprints to get the plant shapes. I turn them into black and white in Photoshop and do a little cleanup. They then get sent off to Boxcar Press to have plates made of them. Recently, I have been experimenting with using my handmade paper. It’s worked out great for getting deep impressions of the plates.
