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    Screen Printing Solids
    May 31, 2009

    Smart Penguin Letterpress Cards - Whole Set

    Quite often we get clients who want a large solid color printed on their business cards. While some solids can work with letterpress (it depends on the design), sometimes its just best to go another way. These cards we recently printed for Jacob Pierce are a perfect example. The front of the cards had an normal amount of coverage so using letterpress wasn’t an issue, however Jacob wanted the entire back of his cards to be flooded with black ink.

    Since there was no white on the back to show the impression, we decided to screen print the back of the card. Screen printing puts down quite a bit of ink so the black is completely opaque, which is more difficult with letterpress. The best part is that the texture of the cotton paper shows through the screen printing so both sides of the cards have the same texture.

    Smart Penguin Letterpress Cards - Edge Painting

    We also edge painted these cards with a bright hot pink color to match the front. From any angle these card really stand out.

    Smart Penguin Letterpress Cards - Front Closeup

    Jacob made use of quite a few fonts on his cards, the most interesting was the sketch font used in his email and phone number above. Since we letterpress print from polymer and magnesium plates, we can print any design (and font) you have on your computer.

    Smart Penguin Letterpress Cards - Edge Painting Closeup Smart Penguin Letterpress Cards - Front

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    Bookmark | Comments (10) | Category: Business Cards | By Alexandra at 11:12 pm

    Wedding Invitation Booklets
    May 29, 2009

    letterpress booklet set

    In our opinion letterpress pieces look best when the text is kept to a minimum and the beauty of the texture and impression is front and center. But sometimes wedding invitations may need to include several inserts such as a reception card, directions & map, registry, accommodations etc…  At Dolce Press we have come up with a solution and are now offering letterpress printed invitation booklets.

    letterpress booklet side view letterpress booklet - front page (celebrate)

    These booklets are the perfect solution for destination weddings as well as save the dates. You can include information on places to stay and other travel details so your guests can be prepared well in advance. When planning a destination wedding, the more time you give your guests the better, especially if they are going to be traveling out of the country.

    letterpress booklet - invitation page letterpress booklet - visit and travel information page letterpress booklet - reply card and information page

    We printed this new booklet design for Leah and Zeb in three colors (chartreuse, charcoal, and blind). The pages are cascaded so that the tab for each page is easily read when the invite is closed. Each page is creased which allows the individual cotton pages to easily bend. Creasing is especially important when folding cotton paper, without the crease the paper would crack and bend in the wrong place.

    letterpress booklet - reply page closeup

    letterpress booklet - perforated reply card

    The finishing touch to these invitation booklets is the perforated reply card which was done in a postcard style.  All your guest have to do is tear off and mail.  Simple and easy! (Don’t forget about the cute rivets in the matching chartruese color holding the neat little booklet together)

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    Bookmark | Comments (7) | Category: Updates,Wedding | By Alexandra at 11:50 pm

    Little Footprint … Big Impression!
    May 18, 2009

    Little Footprint Photography Cards

    Take a peek at these business cards we designed for Cheryl (Child Photographer) of Little Footprint Photography. We picked a typeface that was a good mix of playful and professional. The cards were printed on a pure 100% cotton stock that has a slight texture. To make the cards pop, the text was printed in silver metallic ink. While letterpress printing metallic ink on matte stock doesn’t give the same shiny luster as on coated stock, it does give it a slight shimmer, which is subtle enough to catch your eye and make you take a second look at the card.

    Little Footprint Photography Cards

    Little Footprint Photography Cards - Closeup

    The closeup photo really shows the shimmer of the silver ink. We printed a small footprint (shown above to the right) as a blind deboss (no ink) and if you look really close at these cards you can even see the individual toes!

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    Bookmark | Comments | Category: Business Cards | By Alexandra at 3:33 am

    Embossed, Debossed … What’s the difference?
    May 12, 2009

    Embossed Card

    There’s a world of difference between letterpress and embossing! People often interchange these terms, but in fact they’re complete opposites. We’re always blogging about our letterpress projects, but Dolce Press is about more than just pressing images into paper. We also can press images out of the paper, commonly referred to as embossing. Take a look at these pictures of one of our embossed pieces. Just like letterpress, embossing is another way to add dimension to a flat piece. More of our embossed work is sure to come, so stay tuned!

    Embossed Card - Closeup

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    Bookmark | Comments (2) | Category: Introduction,Updates | By Alexandra at 1:04 am

    Adding dimension to your business card
    May 6, 2009

    Check out these cool letterpress business cards we recently printed for Matthew Miller of  Studio Lab. Matthew has a great design aesthetic which you can see in these cards and if you don’t believe us take a look at his website for pictures of the clean and modern spaces he has designed. These cards take full advantage of the letterpress process using a combination of red and gray ink with a blind deboss triangular background. The Studio Lab logo looks great when pressed into the cotton paper. We really love the font he used, all of the little circles that make up the letters creates a unique effect.

    Studio Lab Letterpress Business Cards

    The background pattern is blind debossed into the paper, an effect we’ve used before on cards such as Tina Chang and Penelope Jones. We get a lot of people asking about these “special” textured papers, they’re quite often surprised to find out that the pattern is actually a custom design that has been pressed into the paper. Our house cotton stock does have a slight texture which becomes smooth when pressed. The texture of the cotton paper helps to provide a nice contrast to the pressed designs, which is why these background patterns look so cool.

    Studio Lab Letterpress Business Cards Studio Lab Letterpress Business Cards - Contact Closeup
    Studio Lab Letterpress Business Cards - Blind Deboss Closeup Studio Lab Letterpress Business Cards - Logo Closeup

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    Bookmark | Comments (2) | Category: Business Cards | By Alexandra at 10:41 pm
    Dolce Press :: Blog is a letterpress printing resource providing designers and printers with news, updates, and how-to articles on letterpress printing and Dolce Press. Written by Alexandra Daley, the blog covers topics such as letterpress suppliers, troubleshooting, new products (social stationery, wedding invitations, baby announcements, imprintables, and greeting cards), and other topics of interest. Dolce Press is a small letterpress print shop located in Central New York (Ithaca, NY) that offers a variety of services and products including letterpress printing, offset lithography, embossing, engraving, embellishments, stationery, invitations, announcements, imprintables, and more. If you have comments, suggestions, or questions please contact us by phone (516.353.9284) or email (contact@dolcepress.com).
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