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I bought a big piece of acrylic plexiglass stuff from Lowes to roll out my ink. I've been using mineral spirits to clean everything up too.
Oh! I ordered a plate from Boxcar Press. I cut the & sign off the bottom and the rest of the invite is still left to go.
Wow, that looks awesome! Is that your very first one? I ordered plates from Boxcar Press for my STDs and invitations, and I almost gave up when I first tried because I could not get them to come out correctly!
I can't wait to see your invitations when they are done!
That looks soo super pretty!! I'm so out of the loop. I have no idea what letterpress is lol.
@krobbie: Yeah, I just started them today and the first one turned out great, so I just kept on going. Did you check out the blog that Boxcar did on the L-letterpress? I am following that one pretty much to a T.
@Soon2BeMrsPea: It's kind of like embossing. The letters are indented into the paper, but the back is still flat.
@BoiledPNut: Yes, I did see that (that's actually what convinced me that I could make my own). But I am pretty impatient =) I finally gave in and took more time to make sure my ink was evenly distributed on the roller. I did eventually figure it out and my STDs and invitations looked good! Are you using all silver or will you be using other colors as well?
@krobbie: We'll be putting the actual invite wording in black. So our names will go over the & sign and the rest of the invitation will go below that.
Nice! I looooove letterpress (who doesn't?). I can't wait to see how these turn out!
@krobbie: Did you buy ink from Boxcar or did you use the stuff that came with the L-letterpress?
Thanks for all the comments ladies! I hope the wording is as easy as the & sign!
I'm planning on doing DIY letterpress too! I'm very keen to see how yours turn out. :)
@BoiledPNut: Both! I ended up ordering ink from Boxcar based on an online pantone color chart - the colors were definitely not what I was expecting! I was able to use the "light purple" as my dark purple. I bought a lot of ink I ended up not using (and because they were custom, they were pricey), so I ordered the rest of my ink (light purple and gray) from Lifestyle crafts.
wow! more, more! I wish I would have tried this, but I fear it is a tad too late.
Part of my degree is actually in printmaking so I've taken classes on wood block, intaglio, litho, mezzotint, and a few other techniques. Not letterpress (we don't have the facilities). BUT I do have just a bit of advice for anyone who has not yet bought inks- buy a white ink as well! Or a transparent base ink. Inks often have the tendency to be very pigmented (depending on brand/color) because in shops they are usually mixed to get the correct hue. You can also see if water soluble inks are available for letterpress (I know there are for woodcut, which is quite similar) if you are easily affected by mineral spirits.
These look great! I'm also doing DIY letterpress using Boxcars recommendations. I didn't use the Lifestyle ink - its crap. I ordered ink in tubes, off of etsy.
Post an update!!! I can't wait to see how they turned out.
@BoiledPNut: Sooo looking forward to it. Also can you tell us what inks you used and any general tips you may have? Im starting mine soon!
@eagle: For the silver, I actually just used the L Letterpress ink b/c it was metallic and that's what I really wanted. Other than that, I ordered rubber based ink from Boxcar Press. It was like $16 and I don't think I'll ever, ever, ever run out. I did get some translucent stuff, but didn't use it. I honestly didn't know what to do with it.
Make sure you roll out your ink VERY well and evenly. You don't need to re-ink after every invitation. Just make sure that the plates are inked evenly. You don't want a heavy layer of ink b/c it'll kind of smudge. Oh, I also got a huge piece of plexiglass stuff from Lowes, so that helped me roll out the ink really well.
This was REALLY messy for me, so keep lots of paper towels on hand. I probably used 2-3 rolls during the entire project. If you don't want ink on your hands, under your nails, etc. wear gloves. Seriously, I had ink everywhere. :)
Another thing I did was mark on my board thing where the paper should go instead of using the guides that Boxcar suggested making. It was just easier for me that way and it still gave pretty consistant results.
In order to know where to put the plate on the top part of the board, I laid my paper where I wanted it to go, laid the plate (with the backing removed) on top of the paper in the appropriate place, and then just put the top part of the board on top of it all. That way I knew it would line up properly.
I was so thrilled to see this! FI and I are planning on doing the exact same thing :) I cant wait to see your final product!
What do you use to adhere your boxcar plates to the press? I know the lifestyle press came with those double sided sticky pages, but not sure what to use with the boxcar plates. What paper did you use?
@UrbanDreamBride: They come with adhesive already! It's really strong too. The back of the plate will have this blue plastic stuff that covers the sticky side of it.
@BoiledPNut: Crazy! Can you remove it and reuse it after? Is it hard to get the plate off?
@UrbanDreamBride: Oh yeah! Just keep the original backing and stick it back on. Then store it in a plastic bag (it comes with one). I had to go back and redo some stuff and I had no problems reusing them. They are kind of hard to peel off the board, but it's not too bad.
Wow! Those look great!
I'm planning on doing this as well, I've used the L letterpress for notecards and such with the premade plates. I liked the way those looked, but it seems some colors work better than others. Has anyone else found that certain colors are so sticky that the paper actually rips? Maybe my ink is just too old. I'd be VERY interested in ordering some proper ink since I want a copper color that Lifestyle doesn't offer.
I'm excited and scared to order custom plates...it seems complicated. I have illustrator, and a layout, I can't decide on fonts and I'm a little intimidated by the file submission requirements. Silly, huh?
@Seven Treasures: I completely understand where you are coming from! If you give them a call, they are more than happy to help you. :) I ordered my black ink from them and I was really happy with it.
Hey PNut - here are the pics of my letterpress results that I've been promising you! I used the L Letterpress and Boxcar Press plates.
These are OUT, woot!
@zagora: AHH!! I LOVE them!!! You did a fantastic job on them! Seriously, I love everything about them.
@BoiledPNut: We survived together! Seriously, you kept me sane when I was just about to give up!
Love this thread! Seriously, you ladies have been so beyond helpful.
@BoiledPNut: Thank you for all of this! You're totally the one that directed me to all of the proper tutorials to start my project. Still waiting on FI to do his part that he promised (-.-) before ordering the plates, but I'm so excited!
I had talked myself out of letterpress because I figured I would drive myself crazy with it but looking at these, I am thinking I may have to reconsider!
@zagora: Likewise! We felt each other's pain! hahaha! And our pain paid off. :)
@colli459: I can't wait to see your invitations!! Let me or zagora know if you need help with anything!
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I've only done the & so far, but it looks great I think! I took some pictures of the process for anyone who is interested. Sorry they are so big. I don't know how to resize them. And excuse my messy table (and underneath!).