Letterpress & linocut printed business cards
In order to regain a strong understanding of the process of letterpress, I experimented with making business cards that use the process, as well as linocut printing. This process is appropriate for the brief of business card design, as it shows off my practice and represents what I do.
The process
I started by copying my logo and logotype onto two pieces of lino the size of a standard business card. I made sure the designs were reverse so that they print successfully. I carved these out to then be printed onto precut business card size card.
Before printing the linocut, I printed the letterpress element, as it is easier to get consistency from this technique, and therefore it will be easier to line up the linoprinting in the next stage. I firstly needed to set the type, so I looked at the type specimen to choose the typeface appropriate. I chose to use two; the clarity and simplicity of Gill Sans for the definition of practice, and Flash Italic for a more fun flare for the email address. I selected the pieces of type for the text in a composing stick, then set the text in a chase using furniture and coins to secure it all. There was no ‘@’ symbol in the metal type collection, so I left a space big enough for a different solution. To print, I used the upright Adana press, slotting the chase in and inking up the type. The business cards are placed in the Adana, and tested a few times to correct the position of the card. I printed just over 50 so that there is a good amount for the first run, and few spare for mistakes.
To print the linocuts, I used the Albion Press at the university, inking up the linocut piece, placing it on the bench, placing the card in position on top, then packing and pressing. I tried involving pink ink to create a more eye-catching and fun design, that perhaps represents me more as a creative practitioner. I used pink on the logotype, but I didn’t like how that looked with the black text details, so chose to use pink for the logo instead, which I preferred.
The last step was to set the type for the Instagram handle on the other side. There was no ‘@’ in the metal type collection, so I used a rubber one that I had that was the required size. I attached this to the chase with double sided tape, ensuring it was level with the metal type. This worked well, although was a bit unreliable as it would sometimes stick to the ink and come of the chase.
I needed to stamp the ‘@’ into the space I left for the email address to, which I did by hand at the end.