I was lucky enough to visit the Hello!Lucky studio last week and learn more about the art of letterpress. Thank you James + Max (pictured), Christina, and the rest of the Hello!Lucky team for your time!
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| Max + James |
1. Create the Film
The process of letterpress printing begins with a special piece of film that has the artist's illustration on it (the film is transparent where the illustration is). The film is then placed on a golden polymer plate.
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| A piece of film is placed on top of a golden polymer plate |
2. Create the Plates
The film and plate are then placed together in a UV light machine. Any part of the plate that is exposed directly to the UV light (i.e. where the film is transparent), the plate will harden. The plate is then washed in the same machine so that the softer parts fall away, leaving a raised design that will be used as a stamp.
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| The UV light machine |
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| The golden plate (cut to a smaller size) with the raised design |
The rollers are inked, the stamp is put into place, and the blank cards are loaded into the machine.
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| The rollers are inked |
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| The stamp is put into place |
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| The blank cards are loaded |
4. Run the Letterpress
Next, the letterpress is turned on and the rollers spread the ink. The paper is pressed against the inked stamp, creating the design on the card.
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| The letterpress is turned on |
5. Trim the Paper
The cards need to be cut to size, so the edges are trimmed by a vintage paper cutter.
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| The cards are cut to size |
6. Enjoy the Finished Product
Fold the card in half, and voilà! The card is finished!
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| The finished product |
Thanks for tuning in, and thanks again to Hello!Lucky for your time!
To include a special message in your own Hello!Lucky card, visit our online store.
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