49 stunning examples of letterpress printing

When it comes to printing, whether business cards, posters, greeting cards or invitations, you will invariably be presented with a multitude of mind-boggling options.

You can opt for digital, die cut, thermography, lithography — the possibilities are endless!

But what about letterpress printing? And what exactly is letterpress printing anyway?

For those that don’t already know, letterpress printing is a process of ‘relief’ printing text and image using a ‘type-high bed’ press and movable type, where a reversed and raised surface is inked and then pressed into paper to obtain a positive right-reading image.

Stunning letterpress examples

Following a revival that took place in the 1990’s, led by many design schools introducing the teaching of letterpress, the previously specialist and expensive form of printing has become widely used once again.

Wedding invitations were at the forefront of this printing revolution, but today it is not uncommon to see business cards, posters and greeting cards also come in the first-class thick paper stock with letterpress depressions.

Enough talking, we’ve gone ahead and generously pulled together 49 of the most gorgeous Letterpress prints we could find. Sit back, enjoy, and scroll!

Have you worked with letterpress printing? What do you need to consider when using this technique? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Simo Goble

This post was written by Simon Goble on behalf of Moo.com. MOO love to print, offering custom double sided business cards, unique MiniCards, Postcards, StickerBooks, Greeting Cards and more. You can visit their site at moo.com or follow them on Twitter @overheardatmoo.