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Letterpress Wedding Stationery Letterpress Business Stationery Photo-Etchings
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Letterpress Wedding Stationery
Q: Can I get support in making decisions about my stationery?
A: Yes. We aim to make commissioning work from us creative, fun and ultimately satisfying, so we work hard to make things easy for our clients. We are happy to offer advice on each step of the process by telephone or email.
Q: Can I visit your studio to see how the work is created or discuss designs?
A: Yes. We encourage our clients to visit if they wish, it does help put things in context as our print studio is an almost button free envirnoment with all but one of our presses being entirely manual.
Q: I'm not sure about what I will receive, do you send proofs?
A: Yes. We try to ensure there are no surprises for our clients. When you have selected your stationery design and details we will create a digital proof for your approval or alteration, if you're happy with this we'll print a colour laser copy and post it to you for your written approval prior to starting printing.
Q: How many invitations should I order?
A: We always suggest that you order slightly over your requirement, as repeat work can be expensive and it is not possible to reproduce the work exactly on a second run. If you're having a 3rd party carry out calligraphy they usually require additional items in case of error. We do not require this for our calligraphy service.
Q: I'm not sure about the wording or protocol for invitations, can you help?
A: Yes. We have placed a selection of varying wording on the Design Options page for our stationery. You can of course modify these or supply us with your precise wording requirements.
Q: How long does it take to print my stationery?
A: Workload usually varies our lead time a little, but as we do all our work in house we have control over every aspect of our scheduling. It's unusual for it to take more than 3 weeks after the proof has been approved for printing.
Q: I like one of your invitation designs but would like a variation, is this possible?
A: Yes. We offer a wide range of design options (see Design Options page) that our clients can configure. We are often asked to vary the choice of paper, it beiong a highly personal choice and to create a bespoke design based on an existing design or feature of an invitation. Please call or email us with your requirement and we'll be happy to respond.
Q: I have a design feature I'd like incorporated into my stationery, can you do this?
A: Yes. We are able to include most personalised features, such as fonts, graphic elements, motif's, ornaments or monograms.
Q: I have my own design of stationery, can you work with my designs?
A: Yes. We can work with your (or your designers) designs, either from sketches or complete press ready artwork. We're always happy to offer our service to other designers.
Q: I want something completey unique, can you offer a bespoke design service?
A: Yes. We believe this is where much of our best work is done. As artists and printmakers we relish working from concept to completion. We are happy to work from your brief in developing a product suite that will inspire.
Q: Can I choose the paper you use?
A: Yes. We encourage our clients to make as many aesthetic choices they would like to, it is a very creative process and designing your own wedding stationery is unqiuely satisfying. Even if your choices are details, it does make it feel very personal indeed.
Q: Can you colour match to my theme?
A: Yes. We can match colour to most items, if you have a material or swatch of the colour you'd like to use we can mix an ink to match.
Q: Do you offer a Calligraphy service?
A: Yes. We offer an ecellent in house calligraphy service for our clients, and if you'd like details regarding pricing or samples please contact us. We do not require you to order extra invitations in case of error, when using our calligraphy service.
Q: Can I have images in my stationery?
A: Yes. We can create line drawings from photographs, your church for example on your Order of Service, or we can print photographic images which are usually highly artful and stylised. This is an option that can enhance your stationery to a new level of creativity. If you require details please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Q: Is Letterpress the only type of printing you offer for stationery?
A: Yes. We specialise in only Letterpress for printing text. Our belief is that to create the best work with flair and quality, a speciality is required. You may be sure that with us you are in no doubtr about the printing technique we use.
Q: What delivery service do you use?
A: We always use a next day courier with a fragile service. This adds a little to the cost, but it gives us all confidence that we can specify delivery dates (not despatch) and be sure that your work will arrive undamaged. We package the work meticulously to ensure no disappointments on arrival.
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Letterpress Business Stationery
Q: What design services do your offer?
A: We offer a full design service. We're happy to work from a brief, your ideas, or press ready artwork to develop your stationery. Give us a call to discuss your requirements.
Q: Is there a benefit to have NFA design specifically for letterpress?
A: There is no need to change artwork for letterpress, however we do believe that there are certain nuances of letterpress that can be enhanced and used to great effect when the design, particularly graphics, is optimised for letterpress.
Q: Do I have to use Conqueror stock?
A: You can choose from a range of stock to suit your application. We use Conqueror as our standard simply because it's good paper for letterpress and laser printing. For more creative work or where there our clients don't require compatibility with laser printers, we like to work with more tactile papers.
Q: I have a complex multi colour design, can this be printed letterpress?
A: We regularly work with multiple colours and intricate graphics, we do try to avoid full colour (4 colours overlayed) as it does not play to the strengths of letterpress. The effect of colour and the natural debossed edges with letterpress amplify the crispness of logo and complex design work.
Q: I just want some great and original business cards, can you do this?
A: We do like the creative potential for the business card, and we can provide some very unusual formats, designs, and materials. Let us know if you have any ideas and we'll develop them.
Q: I'd like to have a letterpress brochure cover, and add my own inner pages can you do this?
A: Yes, we're often asked to create a generic folder, brochure or leaflet cover in letterpress for our clients to tip in other pages of laser or litho printed detail.
Q: Do you offer any other print methods for text?
A: All our text work is letterpress, working from had set type or plates. We don't offer any other printing methods, as we specialise in letterpress for text and gravure for images.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What do you mean by a Photo-Etching?
A: We etch a photographic image into a printing plate, apply ink and print by hand on top quality papers. The process is technically known as photogravure. Gravure was developed in the 1850’s and was the premier method of printing photographic images, as it remains today when practiced with care and skill.
Q: What does a photo-etching look like?
A: To print an etching the plate is pressed into the paper by running through a hand operated etching press. This pushes the plate into the paper leaving a very distinctive plate mark around the image, at the same time the ink on the plate transfers to the paper. So you can see and feel both the plate mark and the ink on the paper.
Q: What makes a photo-etching so special?
A: The method combines the image, inks and papers in a unique way, producing a result, which is completely different from normal photographic prints. The print appears more intimate and has a much greater connection with the viewer.
Q: Do you have an ordering guide to help me?
A: Yes, you can download and print our Ordering Guide. We’ve developed the guide to assist you in choosing the best image for etching, it also contains advice on papers, inks and framing and ordering. You’ll find a link to the guide on our photo-etching page.
Q: What do I need to give you to make an etching?
A: We work from digital files, original photographs, negatives and slides. We create a master image on film from these to create the plate for printing.
Q: What type of digital file do I need to supply?
A: Most modern digital cameras, when set on maximum file size, will give a jpeg file which is suitable for a photo-etching at the smaller sizes we offer, up to 10in x 14in.
Q: How do I supply you the digital file?
A: You can upload your file, send it by email if it’s smaller than 10Mb, or send it on cd if you’d prefer. If you order via our on-line shop you are given advise on file supply as part of the process. Postal details are on our Contact Page or Ordering Guide.
Q: Can I have more than one print of the image?
A: Yes, and each print will be very subtly different; no two prints can ever be identical, as a consequence of the hand made nature of the work.
Q: What size can my print be?
A: We offer two standard sizes, up to 8in x 10in and up to 10in x 14in. We do however print up to 24in x 48in if required.
Q: Can I choose paper and ink?
A: Yes, we offer two standard papers and inks. A Hahnemuhle White and a Somerset Soft White paper, a Sepia and a Black ink. We have a much wider selection for bespoke work.