#wrench vs. #mustache

We’re happy to reveal two designs created by Giuseppe Salerno (@beppeartz) of Resistenza for our June TypeCard celebrating Father’s Day (June 19th). Stoked doesn’t begin to describe how we feel about these, but we have a problem … we like them both so much we can’t pick one, so we’re putting the vote to you!

Voting will be open for 1 week at the end of which we’ll announce the winner. Post a comment below or online with the shortlink (http://goo.gl/QfD3S) and use the hashtag #wrench or #mustache to place your vote.

As a thanks for voting we’ll pick 5 random votes to win a free Father’s Day TypeCard.

We ♥ instagram.

We love sharing designs, ink, machines, and anything else we come across in our print-crazed lives. We just hit 900 followers and to celebrate we’re announcing a special giveaway. To mark the next milestone – 1000 followers – we’re going to give away 4 sets of 250 LETTERPRESS business cards (do the math, that’s 1000 free cards!).

Here’s how to enter to win:

1. Follow us on Instagram (http://www.gramfeed.com/dolcepress)
2. Post a photo of your business card design and tag us in the comments (@dolcepress) with the hashtag #freeletterpress

We’ll pick a winner once we hit the 1000 mark. Here are the guidelines for the design:

1. The design should be 1-color (no 6-color designs please).
2. The layout should be 3.5″ x 2″ or smaller.
3. The default color is black. (If the 4 designs picked agree on a unique color we’ll mix a custom ink)

If you’ve got questions about the contest or your design post them in the comments below.

We were as excited to print this collateral for Swiss CosmoLabs latest venture, Renouve, as much as we wanted to try it out. It’s the worlds first anti-aging hand sanitizing lotion! We’ve tried it and its awesome, but not as cool as the print work we did for them. The collateral included letterhead, envelopes, mailing labels, business cards, and promo postcards. We used a mix of 1-color offset and foil stamping on all of the pieces, and added a full color photo on the back of the promo cards. To add an extra pop we also edge colored the cards to match the same offset ink.

“Mothers are the necessity of invention.”

We’re happy to share with you our newest TypeCard for the month of May. Letterpress printed in purple on 110lb. lettra and then duplexed to create a 220lb card, these cards will ship with every order during May. The front of the card features a quote by Bill Watterson (author of Calvin & Hobbes), and the back is printed with a small purple peony. We hope that everyone enjoys them and Happy Mother’s Day!

Stay tuned next month for an awesome hand lettered type card! More details coming soon …

Letterpress and foil stamping create a stunning effect.

Today we’ve got a letterpress and foil suite we recently produced for Mario Brathwaite of Brathw8 Studios. We’ve worked with Mario before on a custom set of letterpress business cards, but when he updated his branding he wanted to create new business cards and notecards to match. We love foil stamping as much as letterpress because of the unique look it produces – it can create truly shiny metallics and allows light colors to be printed on dark stocks.

more …

We’re happy to announce (somewhat belatedly) the winner of our April TypeCard Design Contest, Evan Sittler of Evan Sittler Designs. We were overwhelmed by all of the submissions and the wide range of designs from cards celebrating Easter and Passover, to Sorry Charlie Day (April 6th) and Titanic Remembrance Day (April 15th). Evan’s winning design honors Scrabble Day which is celebrated on April 13th. Did you know that scrabble was originally developed in 1938 by Alfred Butts? Evan would, he got a degree in game development before he stumbled down the graphic design path!

Keep your eyes peeled for these TypeCards with your order when it ships in April, we’ll be posting photos of the printing and finished pieces over the next few days. As the winner of the contest, Evan will get a big stack of his design printed for FREE. As a special thanks to everyone who submitted a design, we’ll be sending out thank you cards with copies of some of our past letterpress TypeCards. If you submitted a design, you should receive an email with all of the details.

We’re always open to suggestions for new TypeCards or contests so feel free to post your thoughts in the comments below.

1-color letterpress tags printed on Arturo 600gsm stock

We recently finished these swing tags (the Aussie term for hang tags) for Casey Tanswell. If you spend a majority of your day around paper, you take special notice of the stock that almost everything is printed on like menus, hang tags, and letters. Paper isn’t always the first consideration when it comes to designing but it’s an important one that affects the print quality, impression, and overall look.

The hang tags were printed on Arturo 600gsm white stock in a medium gray ink. The tags were die-cut to their final size and to punch a small hole at the top of the tag for ribbon. For more information on swing tags, stickers, trouser tags and more email us (contact@dolcepress.com).