We had many people ask us how our Christmas card was made this year and I decided that it would make an informative and interesting blog post.

Our card was made through a printing technique known as letterpress. It began in the 15th century with Johannes Gutenburg and the Gutenburg Bible. It involved locking movable type into a bed of a press and inking it to form an impression. It revolutionized printing techniques, because previously, each page of a book had to be hand carved individually with a woodblock or engraving. Now type could be reused and type could be moved to create pages must faster and more efficiently.

Having said this, our Christmas cards were created by having an individual die created for each color that was used. In our case, there were two colors. You can feel the impression on the thick cotton paper and see the detail of the beautiful letter forms and embellishments. After having done this project, there is one thing that I am happy to say,
“In this world of Twitter and short bursts of acronyms and shortened misspelled words, I am pleased to note that people continue to respond to printing that is created with care and thoughtful design.”

I am also please to see that letterpress is making a comeback and there are new letterpress printers sprouting up, not only nationwide but in Detroit and throughout Southeastern Michigan.

You can learn more online by Googling the history of letterpress.