The L Letterpress can produce nice printing. No, really, it’s possible. Note: I didn’t say “easy.”
When I first saw the QuickKutz L Letterpress earlier this year I was troubled (as were many of the other professional letterpress printers I knew). It seemed like it would cheapen and denigrate our 550 year old craft and confuse people who are used to high quality letterpress printing. If you comb the internet, you might still be able to find some of my irate comments on blogs denouncing the machine.
But rather than writing the machine off, I’ve recently tried to come to terms with the machine. Whether I like it or not lots of people will be buying this press and hoping to have fun printing. (They’ll probably have a lot more fun than many of us professionals making a living by printing!) Some of the new printers will hope to sell quality printing made from it. It’s really in everyone’s best interest to make sure these new additions to our tiny letterpress community have the best materials and techniques at hand…so that they make letterpress look as good as possible. I don’t want letterpress to have a bad name!
My hope is that by sharing some time-tested letterpress techniques (that aren’t in the manual), I can help L Letterpress printers from getting discouraged. And without help, I think the press can be very discouraging. Eventually, my hope is that these new printers will use the L Letterpress as a stepping stone to a more substantial press, say a 13×18 Heidelberg Windmill, and that they will help preserve the craft and equipment for future generations to cherish.
After spending a few days tinkering with my own L Letterpress, I’m convinced that quality printing is possible on this machine, but it’s not going to happen “out of the box.” It’s not going to be very easy, either, but with enough patience and effort it can be done. Anyone who wants to make nice prints on this press is going to need to make five changes right off the bat. These often reflect techniques that letterpress printers have used for over 500 years, but somehow didn’t seem important to the L Letterpress manufacturer. The press itself is fine. Don’t tell anyone with a Kelsey that I said this, but for single-color printing it’s probably going to give you better results than an old cast iron Kelsey press, if you use it right! You just have to learn how to “mod” it to print well:
1) Throw away the supplied ink roller and buy yourself one that will work.
Why? This is the most important thing you can do to improve your printing on the L Letterpress. As with a big cast iron press, you will never get quality printing without quality rollers…and the manufacturer has not shipped a quality roller. The manufacturer’s ink roller was too hard for letterpress printing. It wasn’t even round, and had “dry spots” when I rolled out ink on an ink slab.
I didn’t even try to pull a print with the supplied roller because it was so obviously problematic. Fortunately I had a big printmaking brayer that’s used in hand printing woodblocks laying around the shop. (You don’t need one that’s nearly so big, this roller is definitely overkill. My point is that you need a soft roller that’s round and wide. )
How to do this? Purchase a printmaking brayer. You can get these for under $10 from your local art store, but I’ll recommend a few that are a little more “up-market” so that you can be assured your roller will work.
Here’s my top choice, if you have the money:
B4802 6.5” x 1.75” Japanese Soft Rubber Brayer $59.75
And then there’s this (along with a lot of similar rollers) which will get the job done:
54129 Speedball 6”x1.25” Soft Rubber Brayer #66 $11.70
(This second brayer is also available at many art stores around the world. The key is the word soft.)
You’ll see why I’m suggesting such a wide (6 inch) roller in my third tip. Also, you’ll probably want an ink knife (shown in the background of the photo above) from a hardware store—check the paint section. This should only cost you a couple bucks. I’ll post shortly with some more specifics on how to ink more consistently. Start here, though!
2) Throw away the supplied plates and make yourselves custom KF152 photopolymer plates.
Why? With just two impressions on the L Letterpress, we had shattered the plastic plates the manufacturer had supplied. A quick Google search showed that we were not alone. Clearly, the plates that ship with the press are made from a material that is not suited to the pressure involved in letterpress printing. Thankfully, we have been making custom photopolymer plates for years that do withstand the pressure of letterpress printing. Our plates are resilient and bounce back after each impression. They won’t shatter if you handle them correctly (keep them out of light when unused and sealed in the ziplock bag provided).
How to do this? Order letterpress plates from us! Our plates are designed to handle the stresses of letterpress printing. Just request the KF152 plate material from our online order form. Our plates come with adhesive backing already on the plate and with a letterpress-printed proof to show what the plate will print like when you start—and when you finish—your printing! You’ll receive them sealed in a bag, so all you have to do is remove them, peel, and stick.
Please note that every plate we made is custom, and we don’t have a catalog of stock plates. We just ask that you send us a PDF or a file suitable for graphic design (AI, EPS, etc.) and we’ll ship you back a plate of what you see on the screen. Also, read over our tips for file submission, which has detailed instructions on preparing custom artwork for letterpress. Real quickly: make sure everything is 100% black, line art, crisp. Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about sending us custom artwork for your L Letterpress!
The KF152 is the same thickness as the plates supplied with the L Letterpress:
3) Use roller bearers to ink your plate consistenly.
Why? You’re hand inking on an L Letterpress. Inking in letterpress is very touchy, so slight deviations in the pressure or the angle of the roller are going to be visible on the printing. This problem dates back to the handpress era of letterpress, when rollers were first invented in the 19th century. The solution always has been to put roller bearers to support the roller alongside the part that you want to ink. This will be easier to show with a photograph (again, ignore the massive roller, which is overkill):
You can see that two thin strips of plate material—which are the exact same thickness as the plate—are supporting the ink roller on either side of the plate. This keeps the roller parallel thereby keeping it from exerting too much pressure on the plate. You’ll know you need to do this if your printing appears splotchy, bloated, or isn’t crisp; it will probably never be crisp without roller bearers unless you are superhuman!
How to do this? There’s no additional cost—how about that? Prior to shipping your plate, we have a border around the plate material that would make perfect roller bearers. We usually cut this off prior to shipping the plate out because most people don’t ink by hand. You can simply request that the plate is not trimmed down when you place an order, which will give you strips of material which you can cut down to place alongside your printing plate.
This is our KF152 plate material, available for order via our Platemaking service
Ink up with the roller bearers perpendicular to the direction you’re rolling the roller. When you’re done inking for each print, remove the bearers and set them aside to use on the next print. It’ll add a few seconds to each print but it will improve your printing considerably!
Make sure to peel off the inked-up bearers when you go to pull your print (you don’t actually want these to go through the press). You can put them back down when you’re ready to ink up your next print.
4) Throw away the sponge foam for positioning the paper and use paper “gauge pins” instead.
Why? There are several things keeping you from printing in good “register” on the L Letterpress. The biggest problem is easily solved with a few pieces of paper and double stick tape. The manufacturer instructs you to position your paper with pieces of adhesive foam that stick down to the press bed. One look at that idea and I said, “no way!”
First of all, the foam pieces are not very re-positionable if I want to move them to align the printing. And secondly, the foam is very squishy so I can never be sure where the paper will rest. No letterpress printer in their right mind would use foam to hold their paper in position! We (printers) are accustomed to much more accurate placement of the paper because we have to print multiple colors in register on top of each other. If you’re planning on multiple colors printed on your piece, listen up! While it’s not a traditional solution, people have been making paper “gauge pins” (this is the name of the pins that hold the paper) for ages as a way to hold the paper in a tight squeeze.
How to do this? I used a few pieces of the paper supplied by the manufacturer to make my gauge pins. First I cut six ¼ inch by ½ inch strips.
Then I used double-stick tape to adhere three of the tabs down the press bed where I wanted the paper to be. Finally, I adhered a thin strip on top of these tabs to hold the paper down and in place. The paper we print on will slip under these top strips and bump (securely) up against the bottom tabs. Since the paper is much thinner than the printing plate, you won’t see any indentation where the top strips overlap your piece of paper after squeezing them in the press. If you need to re-position the gauge pins, they peel up nicely and you can move them around to square up your plate to the sheet you’re printing on.
Note: I used our Boxcar film adhesive for the double stick tape, which we sell as a way to mount printing plates. Since this is a re-positionable double stick tape, it fit the bill for this application as well.
In this photo, you can see a comparison of our KF152 plate (top) with the cupped plastic plate that ships with the machine (bottom). You can also see how the paper gauge pins are holding the paper in position.
5) Tape the press bed down to keep it from moving around.
Why? After a few impressions I noticed that the press bed itself was getting warped. At this point, I also realized that the press bed doesn’t fit perfectly into the machine, it actually has some slop in it. This means that the paper will not be registered to the plate every time you pull a print. To keep this from happening, tape down the press bed at the corners to keep it from moving around.
How to do this? Scotch tape! Letterpress printers are very fond of this supply. Make sure you always have some on hand in your L Letterpress print shop.
Note: I still noticed slop in the registration of the machine, because the hinge that the plate sits on also is pretty sloppy. I can’t figure out a quick or cheap way to improve this, so you’ll just want to be mindful of this looseness if you’re planning on printing multiple colors on top of each other in tight register. Always try to position the panel that flaps down over the plate in the same spot relative to the press bed.
Printing on this machine is still going to take a lot of practice. How much ink do you put on the plate? How do you get multiple plates positioned correctly? I’ll post some more ideas to help you out with your printing in some upcoming blog posts. But for now, I just wanted to point out quick, simple ways to make good printing possible. It’s my opinion that the L Letterpress printing press can actually print well—if start by following these five tips when you start using it, and keep at it long enough. There is going to be a bit of a learning curve, but I hope these tips will at least get you started in the right direction.
I hope this is helpful! If you’ve just bought an L Letterpress, welcome to the wonderful letterpress community! I think you’ll find you’re in good company. It’s a very fun craft to pursue and I hope that these techniques will help you get off to the right start. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns via the comments here and we’ll try to help you out as best as possible!
Here’s a nice print we made for Paper Crave. Her blog post got me started on this project. Thanks Kristen!
52 Responses to “L Letterpress Printing Techniques from Boxcar Press”
That’s great! I’m going to read your article, but I’m very happy L Letterpress exists. I’m very interested in letterpress, but now I can’t afford (space, time and money) a real Heidelberg. I’m a graphic designer based in Milan, Italy, and it’s not so easy to find some really useful info about letterpress. I mean, here in Italy. So I think I will read your article, then I will buy L Letterpress to make some prints and someday in future – I hope – I will buy a real Heidelberg to print some good illustrations, posters etc. I like to take care of small projects, so I love letterpress more than any other kind fo print.
Thanks for having posted this article!
By Maurizio on Nov 24, 2009
Thank you for posting a review on this. I was very curious and concerned with what kind of impact this new tool will have on the stationery industry.
I’m glad to here that it is possible to print decent with the L Letterpress kit but I still have my reservations. I think I will keep using the C&P at my sister-in-law’s house instead.
Perhaps this would be a good tool for printing business cards or smaller items but longer runs … I’m still not sure. Would I trust this tool for 200 wedding invitations? Eek, I’m not sure.
By Diane Faye Zerr on Nov 24, 2009
There is indubitably a difference between professional works and those made at home. You make professional works with professional printers and I don’t think that, from now on, professionals will use L Letterpress. I think, instead, that someone interested in letterpress will try L Letterpress just to get his hands dirty. Just to understand the way it works. And perhaps in future someone will decide to go for a more professional printer. It’s just a new interesting tool, if you keep in mind that this kind of things are not professionals. IMHO.
By Maurizio on Nov 24, 2009
I had read some of your previous posts online and was truly feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse. I love the look of letterpress, but I know that I’d be wasting money to purchase a huge machine for which I have absolutely no training on how to work. I thought the L Letterpress would be a perfect imitation (though somewhat limited). Thank you for taking the time to show others in the craft world how to use the L Letterpress to the best of our ability. It’s truly appreciated. I had mentioned Boxcar Press on another blog about a week ago, because I knew that your company made photopolymer plates. I’m so glad that you’ll be able to make plates that work with the L Letterpress. I’ll stay tuned for more of your tutorials.
By Dondrea on Nov 24, 2009
I agree that this little machine won’t replace professional letterpress services but it does offer a glimpse for the curious of this wonderful art. I think it’ll be great for little one off projects too and like another commenter above, for those who want to get their hands dirty and explore. If nothing else, it’ll make people appreciate how much work it takes to produce a great piece of letterpress stationery! It’s nice to see that Boxcar is putting aside initial reservations and really making an effort to include newbies to the letterpress community.
By Cassie on Nov 24, 2009
I haven’t bought one of the L Letterpresses yet, but I really appreciate the how-to. This new machine does bring up a good point – a lot of us can finally get our toes wet, but it is not the same. Does anybody know of any apprentice programs? Eventually I would love to find my own letterpress, but it seem daunting without any previous experience. I think the L will give us crafters a good starting point for now.
By Erin on Nov 24, 2009
Erin responds:
I live in Raleigh, but would be willing to travel anywhere within a few hours distance.
What I am really looking for would be more than a few hours, but several days or even a couple of weeks. The only place I know somewhat locally would be Penland in Asheville, but that takes a LOT of planning (money and time-wise!) I know sometimes they offer a one week session, but it seems to be paired with lots of poetry writing – something I can’t abide…
I would appreciate any advice you have!
By harold on Nov 24, 2009
By harold on Nov 24, 2009
Can you buy the Epic 6 die cutting tool only? Everything else that comes with the L Letterpress starter kit you said not to use, except the clear packing mat with packing sheet. Is there an alternative to create the packing mat? Thank you so much for reviewing this machine. I like so many others would love to dabble in letterpress without the expense of owing one.
By Cassie on Nov 24, 2009
I think that QuickCutz does sell the Epic 6 separately, however you will need the hinged clear board to use it for letterpress. I can’t imagine using this without the hinged part that holds the plate and the paper. You can see it better in this photo. Sorry! Best of luck!
By harold on Nov 25, 2009
Thank you for a great review and tips!
By paper in style on Nov 25, 2009
Thank you so much for all these great tips!. Came your way from the review done on Paper Crave. I have always been interested in Letterpress but never knew how to get started. I was wondering what the C&P is and would that be a better machine to invest in? Or is there another machine that would be good for at home use and eventually selling designs. Also have no clue how to design something to make a custom plate. I was reading your file tips page and I do have PSE5 and recently purchased PS CS4, but you need the files done in Illustor. Can you recommend any good online tutorials or sites that could help a newbie? I plan to peruse this site thoroughly!
By Jackie on Nov 25, 2009
Erin,
We are located in Raleigh, NC and while we do not offer formal classes, we would be willing to work something out if you are interested. We have a 10×15 Windmill, a 12×18 ATF Little Giant, and a Nolan proof press. We will be getting a Vandercook No. 3 in the near future, and we have lots of smaller scale bindery/finishing capabilities as well as a platemaker. Drop me a line if you are interested.
By Glenwood on Nov 25, 2009
By harold on Nov 25, 2009
The “ink” that comes with the L Letterpress seems to be nothing more than oil paint in a tube with their packaging design. Is that really the case, or is it a special type of ink? If so, where can I purchase this ink in more colors if I don’t want to buy theirs or mix their colors to get a desired look?
By Brittany on Nov 25, 2009
By harold on Nov 25, 2009
What about paper? What else can we use besides what QuicKutz sells? And where can we get it?
By Gloria on Nov 29, 2009
I cannot thank you enough for this information. I received my Letterpress L starter kit today and wanted to throw it in the garbage after testing it out. I too saw the cracks, the ink smudging, etc. I had purchased a photopolymer plate locally to try out and awaiting a UV lamp order from ebay. I had been on your website several times but couldn’t figure out what plate to buy (it was either the one you posted or the plastic backed one – going with the metal clay suggestion). Now I have renewed hope!
I also thank you for all the (other) resources you’ve provided! I was wondering, if you have tried using the Savoy letterpress paper? I read somewhere that it is ‘better’ than the Letra crane paper. Thanks again!
By Annie on Dec 1, 2009
By harold on Dec 1, 2009
OK, Here’s a question … what size ‘bed’ does this thing have?
By Michael Maranda on Dec 1, 2009
Hi Harold,
thank you SO much for all the hard work you put into this post. I’m a graphic designer, and I ordered the L letterpress online to dabble in letterpress at home.
I haven’t yet received the machine, and in my impatience, I visited a local Paper Source that carries the press to see a demo, or at least see some print samples. When I saw the print samples that were up in the shop, I was pretty upset. While anything that had been blind pressed looked acceptable, anything that was pressed with ink, looked terrible!
Registration was a mess, ink was blotchy and not at all crisp, and there was ink smeared all around the outside of the design. I started wondering if the website I’d purchased from accepted returns! This post has renewed my hope!
I also bought the press to (hopefully) better understand the letterpress process. I currently design wedding invitations/programs, etc.. but one day ; ) would love to have my own (insert great old vintage name here) press. Not necessarily for production,(I like sending work for clients out) but for my own personal use. Finances and space don’t permit for that at this time, so I think this might be a way for me to get my feet wet!
I’m in the Boston area; I’m wondering if you know of any good places in this area to learn letterpress? I’m so fascinated with the finished product; I would really love to learn all I can about what goes into the creation of letterpress!
Also, a quick thought after reading the comments on inks. Since most people who bought the L letterpress probably don’t need the enormous amounts of ink they’d need to buy commercially, maybe that’s an additional product you’d be interested in offering? Smaller quantities, of a good quality ink – in a good range of colors? I have no idea if re-packaging is even an option for you, I don’t know how messy it is or how it would work, but if it would work, I’d bet there would be some interested customers!
Thank you again for this post!
Jennifer
By thejennat8675309 on Dec 1, 2009
Jennifer, I’m not a letterpress person myself, but am a book artist in the Boston area. From my reading I’ve gleaned that a good local resource for letterpress info could be:
Katherine McCanless Ruffin, Wellesley Book Arts Program Director, is on campus part-time during the academic year and may be contacted at kruffin@wellesley.edu or 781-283-2130.
By Connie on Dec 2, 2009
Hello, this is Mark from Envelopments. I want to thank Boxcar for their approach to reviewing the L Brand Letterpress and offering their insights.
We have been waiting for years to see this tool come to fruition as we had collaborated with QuicKutz (parent company of the L Brand) on how to evolve their die cutting tools for application in the stationery market.
I also appreciate Boxcar’s honesty in first acknowledging their apprehensive concerns when the L Brand Letterpress tool was first announced. As with any new tool, there will be skeptics from the reigning masters of the craft. I can just imagine how the Scribes felt when Gutenberg hit the scene. And as it is with any craft, art form or product, there will always be different levels of quality…just look around at the various “real” letterpress printers…not everyone is a Boxcar.
With all the chatter online about the ability for an at home table-top letterpress, it looks like the desire is absolutely there. Now with professionals like Boxcar jumping into the mix of this consumer product we can expect to see an appreciation for letterpress grow…even more.
And thanks to QuicKutz who had the insight to design their tool around the specs of polymer plates in the marketplace. With the ability to make custom plates for the L Brand letterpress the boundaries have been removed from the mass produced plates provided. The opportunity to personalize artwork and designs will help the use of this new tool flourish with the creative community.
Boxcar’s approach to informing the public and sharing their depth of knowledge will be welcomed by many…particularly those who want to learn and explore as well as the recipients of a beautiful letterpress creation from the hand of someone they know.
By Mark Smith on Dec 3, 2009
First Harold – THANK YOU!!!!
Second Cassie…. you don’t have to buy the whole thing…. you can buy a different die-cut machine or the Epic…. I have heard some less than impressive things about the Epic but haven’t used it myself. I use a Sizzix Big Shot & LOVE IT! In addition to having the potential to do this, you can die cut & emboss with many vendors’ plates. I would suggest a trip to your local scrapping store (not Michaels etc. but a purely scrapping store) for a demo of their options.
After you have a machine you can then buy the starter kit – comes with all sorts of stuff you won’t need but I think you probably would want the cutting platform… I have been debating trying without but doing 2 colors would be impossible without it I think (no way to line up your paper etc).
I’m still debating – but SO happy there are alternative ways to get plates!
By Heather on Dec 3, 2009
Wow. Thanks for sharing your techniques to the world. You have prevented me from hours, days and weeks of banging my head into the wall in frustration. And I haven’t even bought the darn thing yet!
By The Fashion Slinger on Dec 4, 2009
Hi. I am really pleased I found this post and yet still very confused.
I would really love to have a go at letterpress and I say that as a complete novice who is a crafter looking to make more impressive cards/scrapbooks as gifts and for myself. The cost of this tool is really a lot of money to me so I don’t want to make a purchase I would horribly regret.Please could you advise me, in your honest opinion, if it is worth me getting one of these things. I’ve been so excited since I heard it was coming out but everything I read is disheartening. Thank you.
By George's Mum on Dec 6, 2009
By harold on Dec 6, 2009
Hi! I thought I’d add a note for anyone (including you Harold) who is having problems with their dies cracking… from talking with a friend of mine who works at a scrap store, QuickKutz had problems with quite a few Epics when they first came out & the problem resulted in cracked dies….. contact QK – you have a defective machine & they are fixing the problem. The dies should never crack.
Hope that helps a bit!
Heather
By Heather on Dec 6, 2009
By harold on Dec 6, 2009
Harold, you are at saint! And at Christmas time! I am part way to not crying every time I pull this out. I went and bought a professional grade brayer today. And yes, I will be ordering plates from you. I am a complete novice, though, and don’t know anything about Illustrator, or other programs. I guess I will be learning about that in the near future. It’s a shame about the plates because it sounds like QK will have a neat custom program that is very user friendly. Anyway, I love that you were so passionate about letterpress and were fearful this would taint the art. No tainting, some of the admirers (who are full time Scientists with two children and a husband that works 80hrs a week) just want to dabble and prepare for when we have time to do “the real thing”.
By Ashley on Dec 7, 2009
Thank you so much for posting all that. I’m a letterpress lover, the art, the craft of it, and the product of it. I’ve got the L Letterpress on my Xmas wishlist. Though frankly, I wish I have the time/money/space to get a real one. I’ve taken classes on real letterpessing and when I went to the Archivers for a demo, I can tell the quality is nowhere up to par. However, as Harold and many have said, for someone who can’t afford it but want to play with it, this is a good solution. I would say if you’re not a papercrafter and don’t own a diecut machine, get the pack. If you’ve got a BigShot-Sizzix-Cuttlebug-Epic Six type machine, just get the starter kit. Don’t waste money to buy the diecut machine. While it’s good to have a machine that emboss/die cut and now lettpress, it’s all the same. You can go to Splitcoaststamper.com forum and check out their product review.
Now, my question is, as popularity gain on this home-version of letterpress, will there be special price point for making custom plates for those of us who are just messing around at home?
By Patty on Dec 10, 2009
Though your article is extremely informative, It is very biased. As someone who owned and used a kelsey, the L letterpress is an amazing tool. I would not under any circumstances use their plates, I actually been ordering plates from you guys. But I have been using the roller, paints and all other materials it came with the letterpress kit and even have done two color printing with it and it’s very nice! There is a learning curve so take your time. I think I have spent 60 bucks on paper before I got a decent print. Enjoy!!
By Ebbie on Dec 17, 2009
I am very excited to see these tips and reviews. I bought the L Letterpress and it has been sitting in the box until I could learn about custom plates. I understand the hesitation many in the industry have about the quality of these prints and what this might do to the market on sites such as ETSY. I know that Letterpress’ history is deep, the community very tight, and the art form one of the most beautiful ways to put ink on paper; but I must say a few things. The tone on this blog has been friendlier than many others I have read.
I live in a very rural area…130miles from the nearest box store and only 4000 people. I can’t even buy underwear in this town. I would have no other way to explore letterpress. With these tips I feel that I could make quality home prints for my friends, family, and to sell at our local Christmas bazaar. I have been a block printer for years and some of my favorite prints have been from potatoes, old erasers, and even cardboard. Potatoes and old erasers cannot be compared to professional screen prints, but nor should they be. They are what they are, but no less of an art form. I view this L Letterpress as a “low sophistication” way of printing letterpress items… but that does not mean that my prints will be bad artwork… Just like with a potato I am sure I will need to practice with ink application and learn its design limitations before I get a product worth passing on. I don’t see how the 10 cards I can produce could ever threaten a letterpress operation with the capacity and equipment to mass produce quality items. I have no problem stating that I “printed these at home on my craft press” if I ever do go to sell. If my designs are worthy someone may buy them.
Thank you putting out this blog. I contacted you when the “L” first came out via your web page and never got a response. I was interested in custom plates. I am very happy to see this thoughtful review and set of tips. I know that one’s letterpress becomes one of the family. You care for it, maintain it, learn its’ little quirks. Even though the “L” isn’t even in the same league as the old giants I really hope it offers an opportunity for many to express themselves—even if it is just a potato.
By Lori on Dec 18, 2009
Thank you for such an informative and generous post! I purchased an L Letterpress and cannot wait to try a custom plate using my calligraphy. While I would still send out client jobs to a professional letterpress printer, I’m thrilled at the possibility to be able to have fun doing personal cards for myself! I’m wondering … has anyone tried using Gocco inks with the press? I plan on ordering a custom plate after the new year and I’ll try the gocco inks and blog about it.
By Erica on Dec 21, 2009
This letterpress is great not many people have the space to set up a huge press in their homes. I got this letterpress for Christmas and I love it. I look forward to printing many things on this machine. Maybe you think most poeple who will buy this are just crafters and not artists but I’m an artist truly interested in letterpress and I feel this machine is perfect. So please dont be a snob, accept the fact that some people will like this machine and thay will make quality prints fromm it and most likely sell them.
By Hannah on Dec 27, 2009
This letterpress is great not many people have the space to set up a huge press in their homes. I got this letterpress for Christmas and I love it. I look forward to printing many things on this machine. Maybe you think most poeple who will buy this are just crafters and not artists but I’m an artist truly interested in letterpress and I feel this machine is perfect. So please dont be a snob, accept the fact that some people will like this machine and thay will make quality prints from it and most likely sell them.
By Hannah on Dec 27, 2009
I’m a complete novice to the actual mechanics of letterpress printing, but I have always had a great love of the end result. I’ve recently purchased the L Letterpress so I can have a go myself (don’t have space of money for a “proper” one, although I’m now wondering if I’ll become an addict?!) Your explanation of the process & tips to help improve the end result are much appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.
By Betsy Boop on Dec 28, 2009
Thank-you so much for this information! I have just ordered a starter set and am bookmarking this for future use.
To me, watching the demo on TV, the inks looked a bit thick and sticky and hard to apply evenly but a useful tip is that you can use Versafine ink or Brilliance ink with the Letterpress machine. I use both these inks for my rubber stamping anyway, plus they are a lot easier to clean off just with a baby wipe apparently.
Penny
By Penny on Dec 30, 2009
Wow! Harold, you have been so generous to share this information – and it is obvious to me that you are a true artist – so whatever tool one uses, be it a Heidelberg or a L-Letterpress, it’s clear to me there is more to it than just the equipment! I am a designer and have always loved the letterpress look – and this will allow me to dabble for very short runs and to mock-up and test some ideas. I will be bookmarking this post and your Website – and will be ordering some custom plates soon!
By Dean on Dec 31, 2009
Harold, I have taken all your tips and already my results are so muh better. I would love to have a custom plate just so that I could have roller bearers to better ink up the plate. I am using GooGone to do my cleanup–it makes cleanup quick and easy. I then follow up with wipes. If anyone uses the GooGone to clean up, be sure to use quality paper towels so that you don’t leave shredded paper towel pieces behind. I use Viva towels and everthing looks great. Also, I use Scotch double sided tape and my plates don’t move at all. I then use a Slice spatula to lift the plate off. Thanks so much for all your advice. I work at a scrapbooking store and every time I sell a Letterpress kit, I mention your website. Thanks again.
By Gloria on Jan 2, 2010
Thank you for understanding.
I am an energetic graphic designer stuck in the black-and-white world of government pre-press. I’m happy to have a good job, but staring at Pdfs all day until my eyes want to fall out leaves me feeling pretty depressed and unfulfilled. I saw the L Letterpress as a way to finally jump into something that I have always been fascinated with (and have a fair understanding/knowledge about) at a time when my creativity and self-worth could use a boost.
When I first saw the L Letterpress online, it was purely by accident. I was contemplating biting the economic bullet and buying a used Kelsey. I was skeptical at first, but my husband was able to talk me into trying the L as a starter. It has not arrived yet, but I am grateful for all of your tips and the resources you provide.
Thank You again. you have been an invaluable resource.
By laurie on Jan 14, 2010
Hi! I’m very excited about this. But I’m wondering if anyone can tell me how big the bed of this machine is! It kinda is important!…
Thanks Boxcar, I will surely get back to you guys for my custom printing plates if and when I buy one of these. And one day… I’ll get a real one!
By Sonia Teixeira on Jan 17, 2010
Has anybody experimented with different types of inks and discovered which one delivers the crispest imprint?
By miranda on Jan 19, 2010
Thank you for your valuable information! I recently purchased the L Letterpress and had a plate crack in half (not just the edges) my first go around. The company was prompt and polite about sending a replacement. Thanks specifically for your tips on inking and homemade guage pins. Now if I can just figure out how to prep a file for you, I’ll be a customer of your custom plates!
By Rachel D on Jan 21, 2010
Can you tell me what paper produces the best results? I don’t know if it’s necessary to purchase the card stock sold along with the machine, or if I can find other options elsewhere. Thanks!
By Toni on Jan 26, 2010
What do I use to clean the soft rubber brayer? Just soap and water? What do I use to clean your plates to reuse them?
By Lorraine on Jan 30, 2010
Thank you for this great article…it convinced me to take the plunge and order my own boxcar press custom plate. I was hesitant but it came out great. I couldn’t believe how even the finest details came right through in my test prints. So far I’ve only tested on water color paper with some ink pad ink, but I plan to get a rubber brayer and go to town. For others who are looking for paper, I went to the PaperSource and they recommended getting “Luxe” paper, it feels very thick and close to the water color paper I was testing with.
I’m glad I re-read the article today so I knew to store my plates in the bag and out of sunlight, I had left them sitting out over night, hopefully that didn’t hurt them!
jt
By Jennifer on Feb 5, 2010
Thanks for this review. I really appreciate it. I’ve been in the invitation design industry for 6 years but have always outsourced my printing. When I heard about the L Letterpress, I thought it might be fun to try and I’m glad to have a resource to make it actually work. Thanks for these techniques and all you do for the industry.
By Allison Howell on Feb 6, 2010