We recently caught up with Michael to find out how his craft can help turn out your one-of-a-kind wedding stationery. Invitation suite to the left was designed by Cameron Wakal and printed by Fort Heavy.
Glossie: On your website, you say you focus on “bespoke letterpress” – what does that mean?
MW: Letterpress is one of the oldest forms of relief printing. Basically, you have a negative plate that gets inked and that directly prints on to the paper in positive form. It used to be printed from wood type and lead type in the past, but we use an antique press (they don’t’ actually make them anymore) in a modern way.
“Bespoke” just means that it’s custom. We only work to your specifications – not from templates.
Glossie: Do you usually work directly with clients?
MW: I would say it’s 50/50: half the time I work directly with customers, and the other half I work with designers and wedding planners.
Designers know the technical things, like file set up, and they have an understanding of the print process. There are lots of [other] people who have a good handle on it too, but sometimes there’s a bit of explaining.
Glossie: Why do people choose letterpress?
MW: Letterpress has a different quality to it – a tactile feel. We generally print on cotton paper, so that has a nice fluffy sensation. It also provides an impression – each letter and image almost has a sculptural feel to it. It’s a bit different. It’s not all super glossy, it’s a nice matte finish. It looks expensive and it is generally a bit more expensive than a standard printer.
Glossie: Are there any limits to letterpress clients should consider?
Letterpress doesn’t necessarily work the way a digital printing process does. With digital printing you can print as many colours as you want. You can with letter press too but we usually try to stick to using one to three colours, and using more solid colours because it’s not as smooth as digital and offset print for variation in tones.
Letterpress works in spot colours from Pantone – it works best with a 100% of the colour.
Glossie: Any tips for clients or designers who’d like to use letterpress?
MW: Keep things simple – don’t overdesign things. It might seem plain on the computer but once it’s printed the texture and all that helps them stand out.
I’ve been getting a lot of classic designs lately – nice bright paper and darker text – and golds and greys, which works well. For more information or to get an estimate, please visit: www.fortheavy.com
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