Personal and hand-made

The impression letterpress creates on the paper surface shows the project was handmade. Very tactile.  High quality paper stock made of 100% cotton is often used giving a soft, velvety feel.

Traditionally, letterpress printing left an impression on paper which could not be seen or felt, affectionately called a "kiss" impression.  "Kiss" impression was a sign of professionalism in the industry.   Later, as hobbyist printers became prevalent in the resurgence of letterpress, deep impressions became accepted in order to differentiate letterpress from modern off-set printing which only transfers ink and has no impression.

Ink is mixed in precise, small amounts by hand with putty knives on a glass surface and transferred to the inkplate of the letterpress.

Letterpresses may be powered by electric motors or a treadle, actuated by the leg of the pressman.

Glory! Press uses vintage and modern technology: a 1928 C&P platen press, movable wood type blocks (some over 100 years old), hand-set metal type, image blocks, hand-cut linoleum cuts, and even digitally created polymer plates.

To print, each piece of paper stock is carefully positioned, the image is pressed, and then removed... all by hand.  The artisan printer touches every piece he prints.

Gutenberg changed the world in the 15th century by creating the letterpress. Volumes of information could be reproduced quickly thus expanding knowledge and helping to propel the Renaissance and Reformation.

This technology existed roughly unchanged until the 20th century but nearly died with the coming of off-set and digital printing.  During the 1980s decades old letterpresses were obsolete and mast were broken up and scrapped.  Lead type was melted down by the ton. The Industrial Age killed the letterpress.

But... a few individuals recognized the special place letterpress held and continued printing with the old processes.  Hobbyists and university art departments purchased letterpresses and type of all kinds for nearly nothing. By the late 1990s a resurgence and appreciation of letterpress appeared.