Letterpress Business Cards
Make an Impression with Letterpress Business Cards
Timeless and traditional - Letterpress Printing is one of the oldest forms of relief printing, creating a crisp impression of your printed design. We push this old traditional printing method to create new and exciting results. Choosing letterpress means choosing a detailed and thorough service that makes your products special. This intricate process involves creating a custom metal cast of your design to imprint the ink itself into the card stock. Choose this specialty service to create the most elegant pieces - perfect for wedding invites, special occasion flyers and premium business cards. Make the best impression with your print by pairing Letterpress with some of our soft and luxurious stocks like Cotton, Cashmere or Wool.
Blind Letterpress is now available by Print Quote request to produce subtle impressions with no ink. This is similar to our debossing technique but with only a small effect on the opposite side of the card. Use this unique process to create delicate patterns and add texture to the background of your cards.
View samples of these unique business cards in person at our offices in New York City, Vancouver or Toronto!
Letterpress Business Card Inspiration
Eleish Van Breems 3D Embossed Businsness Card with Blue Letterpress
WNBA Business Cards with Multi Letterpress
Circular Letterpress Cards
Circular Letterpress Cards
Letterpress Business Card Pricing
Letterpress on 20pt Beige Pulp
White Letterpress Printing.
Explore More Possibilities with Letterpress
- Popular FAQ
- Download Template
- Design Guidelines
Most Popular Questions
Blind letterpress is a process used by Jukebox to achieve subtle impressions in cardstock without strongly affecting the opposite side of the stock. This creates a visual effect similar to debossing, where there is an impression made without any ink. This process does not create as deep or obvious impressions as those achieved through the traditional debossing process. Blind debossing will not produce an opposite emboss of your design on the back side of the card. You may see some slight show through on the back of thinner stocks, but this will not be an embossed effect.
Blind debossing can be used on almost any type of stock, however if you are choosing this method so you can print on the back side of the card, we recommend one of our 24pt Mega Thick stocks.
Can I have a full bleed Letterpress design?
We can letterpress designs with full bleed (print to the edge); however, it is highly recommended to avoid this for full covered backgrounds. Letterpressing areas with large ink coverage will appear blotchy and you may receive a File Error about this from our Prepress team.
Letterpress is intended for a minimalist look and is typically designed with ample white space. If you prefer to fill the background with designs, please do so with minimal ink coverage. For example, use patterns as opposed to a full solid colour.
You may request a Custom Print Quote and submit your files to see if they will be suitable for Letterpress.
Is my design suitable for Letterpress?
Not all designs are suitable for Letterpress output. Below are some guidelines for Letterpress printing:
| Suitable | Not Suitable |
|
A small number of colours (1-3 spot colours work best) Vector graphics Solid shapes |
A wide range of colours in the design Photographs Raster (pixel-based) graphics Gradients or shades/tints of a colour |
Setting up press-ready files for Letterpress
Letterpress cards are printed with spot colours – which will need to be defined in your supplied press-ready PDF file.
Please see: Setting up press-ready spot colour file.
What is Letterpress?
Letterpress is the oldest of the major printing processes. It uses a plate with fixed raised surfaces and pressure to apply ink to the material. This pressure also leaves a slight indent (or relief) in the paper.
As more cost-effective printing methods have been developed (such as Digital and Offset output), the usage of letterpress has declined greatly. However, the old-world charm of Letterpress has now become a highly sought-after look and feel.
Letterpress is a more labour intensive process (compared to Digital and Offset output), and hence premium and expensive service.
This specialty classic style output creates the most elegant pieces – perfect for wedding invites, special occasion flyers and premium business cards.
Get a Glimpse of Jukebox Letterpress Printing In Action
Can I see a sample of Letterpress?
Samples of our Letterpress products are available by ordering a Specialty Sample Pack.
Have a question? Ask Away!
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- Bleed Area
- Trim Area
- Safe Area
Bleed Area refers to images that extend to the very edges of a design. To prevent an unwanted white border from showing at the edge of your design, or for the design to appear slightly off-center, be sure to extend any background colors or design elements all the way to the edge of bleed (.125” past the trim on all four sides).
Trim Area refers to the amount of the image that will appear on your finished product. These areas will also be marked with ‘cut lines’ on your proof and are where we aim to cut your card.
Safety Area in most cases refers to 1/8 of an inch inside of the Trim Area. For thicker papers 20pt and up or wooden papers the Safety Area increases ¼ of an inch inside the Trim Area. we strongly recommend you keep important aspects of your design such as text and logos well inside of the Safety Area, otherwise, they may be cut off.
Design Considerations
Design Considerations for Letterpress
There are a few considerations that should be taken into consideration when designing for Letterpress. Keep in mind that your design will need to be approved for Letterpress output before we can proceed.
File Setup
Setting up a press-ready file for Letterpress cards is a complex process, we recommend having an experienced designer set this up for you.
See: Setting up press-ready files for Letterpress.
Vector Format
We recommend vector format graphics only. See: What is a vector.
While raster graphics (pixel based) are possible – it is a difficult setup and not optimal for Letterpress printing. We can not assist with setup of raster graphic files.
Impression
A slight impression may show through to the reverse side of a Letterpress output. This should be taken into account when setting up your design – especially for two-sided output.
Half tones and shades
Half-tones can be used to give the appearance of gradients and shades; however your design will need to be approved for Letterpress first.
Fine Detail
The finest detail for Letterpress output is 0.5pt line-weight.
Font Size (Legibility)
In order for text to be legible, we recommend using 7pt for your font size. Although this can vary depending on the the type and line-weight of a font, it's a good benchmark for determining the font size.
If you require further information, or are not sure if your design is suitable for Letterpress – please contact our Prepress line before placing your order.