Letterpress process summary
Letterpress is a relief print process that produces text by directly impressing a raised inked surface against a sheet of paper. Relief is the oldest printing technique and also the method of printing from woodcuts, wood engravings, metal relief cuts and engravings, linoleum blocks, photo-etched zinc cuts, polymer plates, and other modern materials.
Moveable ceramic type was invented in China in the 11th Century but Johannes Gutenberg is credited with the Western mid-15th Century development of printing from individually cast, reusable metal letters set together in a “form” for use in a wooden hand press. Refined over time and employing increasingly sophisticated, eventually power-driven, presses, this basic technique was the usual means of printing text into the 19th Century. Even with the proliferation of alternatives, notably lithography, it remained in wide use until the second half of the 20th Century but the inexorable rise of digital processes led to letterpress becoming largely confined to, and little valued beyond, the worlds of printmaking and book arts.
However, in recent years there has been a rise in its popularity, in step with growing appreciation of artisan production and craft skills. As the qualities of letterpress become better known, it is increasingly the top choice for special printing projects, in particular fine stationery of all kinds.
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Dragon Press Bindery Ltd
Ynyswen, Nantgaredig,
Carmarthen, SA32 7PG
Ynyswen, Nantgaredig,
Carmarthen, SA32 7PG
Company Number
10772518
Registered in England & Wales
10772518
Registered in England & Wales
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