When we talk to clients about our printing process, the topic of printing plates often comes up. If you've never seen a printing plate before you might not have any idea what they would look like. Here's how it works...The save-the-dates (above) that were recently printed for our wonderful clients (Alix and Todd) started out as a quick sketch. We then reproduce the sketch on the computer and the file is made ready for platemaking.
Magnesium plates are then made according to the design and are mounted onto a wood backing (notice how everything is backwards on the plate [wrong-reading], so that it prints the opposite way on paper [right-reading]).
Below are the actual plates that were used for the above save-the-dates.
The plates are placed in the press (locked up in the chase) where they get inked and are pressed into the paper.
And voilà, the final result:
Happy letterpressing!p.s. For those who have emailed, our 2008 Holiday Stationery will be available in our Etsy store this week!
Wow I've never used Magnesium plates before, just Photopolymer. Where do you get your Mag plates made? Any idea how the cost compare to photopoly?
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT! LOVE IT!!! i just love your work and ideas, and posts! Thanks for sahring! I love this kind of postcards and I just wished have a place near me to make some! Best regards,Filipa
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