Letterpress is the process of printing with movable type and metal plates, in which the raised surface of the type or plates is inked and then pressed against paper to obtain an image in reverse.
Soft paper is literally pressed into inked type. The craft is loud (think giant metal plates repeatedly slamming into each other), time consuming (all done by hand), smelly (ink, oil... coffee), and requires meticulous attention to detail (we measure everything ... five times). The result is stationery with a distinct, tactile quality unsurpassed by other printing methods: the words on paper are felt, as well as read.
Letterpress, relative to the rest of the printing world, is an eco-friendly process. We use soy-based inks (soy is a renewable resource), cotton/tree-free paper, and we use recycled and high post-consumer waste content paper whenever possible. Many of our papers come from mills run by hydro/wind power.
Perhaps the best-known printed book in the world was printed in the letterpress method: the 1455 Gutenberg Bible. While letterpress printing was the primary means of mass communication for more than 500 years, it is no longer the most efficient printing method. However, letterpress continues to live on as a specialized craft, and in the hearts of many pressmen.
