Saw a print shop in Portland running a 1950s letterpress for wedding invites

Watched them hand-feed each sheet of cotton paper into a Heidelberg Windmill press and the registration was dead on every single impression, how do old machines still outdo modern digital in terms of texture and feel?

2 comments

2 Comments

susanm225h ago

I used to think digital was the way to go for print work, but watching that press run changed everything. The way the ink settles into the cotton paper creates a texture you just can't replicate, almost like the letters are sitting on a tiny cushion. Have you felt the impression from a letterpress compared to a digital print?

paul_burns9m ago

Your mileage may vary on this one. In my experience, digital has gotten good enough that the difference is mostly in the hands of the person looking at it, not the actual print. Letterpress does leave a nice dent, sure, but that ink cushion effect is pretty subtle once the paper sits for a day.