Post # 1
Member
482 posts
Helper bee
hey ladies!! okay let me start out by saying i am not using one of the DIY letterpress kits that you can buy from paper source or those other crafting sites. i worked for two invitation stores years ago and became interested in letterpress 4 years ago. just now am i starting to get my hands inked up.
i bought a chandler and price pilot table top letterpress machine last november. after many months i have finally gotten my machine restored and in working order. i will be printing my engagement party invitations on this machine in a couple weeks and i need some info about preparing adobe files.
i have read the online tutorials and info about preparing adobe files for boxcar or another company to make the photopolymer plates (and the instructions/file types are all different for each company!) but because i am so new to illustrator i am still confused. is there anyone who has done this or worked with them who can help me out or walk me through the process? i have my invitation design and i know i need to outline my fonts and make sure all of my lines have paths…making sure black in the design is CYMK…but what else do i have to do? is there a specific “do this first, then this, okay this is the next step…” kind of thing until you actually saved your file? how about adding crop marks, sizing the PDF so they know exactly what size to make your plate, bleeding edges, and merging other designs onto the plate so you can save money by having them print all your designs on one plate?? *sigh*
i need help. anyone more knowledgable about this than me?
Post # 3
Member
10851 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I have no idea, but I wanted to say I’m super jealous. I’m dying to learn to letterpress. I think your best bet would be to go to the website of the company you’re going to use to make the the plates and look for instructions/directions for formatting your files there. If they don’t have any, I would email them for help.
Post # 4
Member
415 posts
Helper bee
You need to set the Illustrator file to the dimensions at the beginning.
Outlining fonts is easy – you just highlight then Type – create outlines.
As for fitting everything on the same page, why not just design it all on a 8 x 11 Illustrator template (meaning the invite/rsvp/escort).
For bleeding edges – bleeds are more important for color backgrounds than graphic letterpress, as far as I understand.
I am pretty good with Illustrator, if you need help, I could try to help you. Maybe an exchange for press use? haha. Send me a message if you need anyhelp.
Post # 5
Member
236 posts
Helper bee
How exciting! I ordered plates from boxcar for my Save-The-Date Cards and will be ordering about half of the plates for my invitations in the next day or so.
I started out with the document the same size as the final product. That way it was easy to make sure the proportions were all correct. As for fitting things onto the same plate and saving money – you can definitely do this! I didn’t because I used 3 separate plates for my one STD, and each one had text/images kind of all over the place and they needed to land in a specific spot, but you can put whatever you want on each plate. If it’s an item that doesn’t have to be in a specific place relative to other things, just put it along side other items. The plates were really easy to cut (I ordered plates for the L Letterpress though, so maybe it was made out of different material).
For preparing the file, I followed the directions on the site, but I also had another issue (oops!). They sent me an email and told me how to fix it:
“we noticed in file that the flower that you have in that file is in greyscale. For us to be able to take your files to plate, we need for you to do the following that ensures your file is completely in black and white (and no greys).
You can correct this by:
Opening your image in Photoshop and selecting Image > Mode > Grayscale.
Select Yes if a window asks about discarding color.
Then Select Image > Mode > Bitmap. A window will pop up looking for info – use a resolution of 600-1200 dpi and an output method of 50% threshold.
Save your files as a tif (with LZW Compression) and either send us the tif or relink or link the tif in your illustrator file.”
Hopefully that helps! I’ll have to make sure I do that before sending the file this time. Good luck with everything!
Post # 6
Member
482 posts
Helper bee
thanks everyone. jacinda and krobbie…i may be asking for your help if you don’t mind! tonight when i get home i am going to fix my files as i don’t think i have everything perfect in them. for one, the dimensions (duh…pretty self explanatory but i just started working in the page that opened on my computer) but my main concern i guess are crop marks. if i put a whole bunch of designs on one plate so that i can cut them, how do i mark where i want the crop marks to be? i guess that is my main issue because the only thing bleeding off of my edges on my invitation is one large word graphic. it bleeds off of the left and right sides. i ordered paper large enough to print this on, and then i will be ordering my cutter to cut off where the crop marks are. i guess when i read on boxcar’s site about the CMYK coloring and all that greyscale stuff, it made me all like, “whatt???” so let me understand something…as long as i can make a PDF out of it and set the colors and dimensions right, they can make a plate out of it? or does the design have to be vectored and have paths? i am going to try and submit my plates tonight but i kind of doubt i will have them in time to print this weekend…i am taking my press to be adjusted and have someone helping me print the invites, but that will have to wait if i can’t get my plates until next week. i would need them by friday. anyone know boxcar’s fastest turn around? i will have the (small) invite, a return address design to print on the envelope, a “will you be my bridesmaid?” tag design, and one other design for little things at the party, like food/dessert signs, etc.
thanks for your help everyone!
Post # 7
Member
482 posts
Helper bee
also, for boxcar’s pricing, i see “up to 200 sq. in” starred with “$30 minimum” — this means my plates have to be large enough in order to get to the $30 before they can ship it? i don’t think it’s a problem as my invitation alone is at $15.41 (i think), and still have the bridesmaid tags (2 of them…one will say “will you be my maid of honor”) the return address, the food tags, and then i just remembered the favor tags. that all should equal at least $30 but i am just making sure i am understanding this correctly.
Post # 8
Member
491 posts
Helper bee
@kittybean: OMG I am so JEALOUS of your C&P Pilot!! I did my suite on a Kelsey 8×5.
When I created my proof sheet in illustrator I created all of my designs seperately and assembled them on a document sized to fit all of the pieces I was making and some extras and calculated the size which would give me the most bang for my buck – that was 11X17
You also can easily cut through the photopolymer. You really need to keep in mind the size of your chase and the printable size of your base – I didn’t really use crop marks since I was really only working with the 3×5 boxcar base – all of my pieces took at least two runs to complete but I absolutely love the way they turned out.
Converting text to outline is easy – you can right-click on the text box and select “create outline” and make sure you design everything in or convert it to 100% black in cmyk – I actually had no Adobe design experience when I started this … and it wasn’t really that bad at all.
Also I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND visiting the Briar Press forums if you have any questions: http://www.briarpress.org
I absolutely adored the result of my project and the flexibilty and control letterpressing with photopolymer gave me – It too A LOT of trial & error and A Lot of work –
Here is what my Save the Date looked like:
Post # 9
Member
491 posts
Helper bee
@jacinda10: bleed edges don’t really apply to letterpress in the way they apply to digitally printed materials – paper cutters handle that.
Post # 10
Member
329 posts
Helper bee
@kittybean: I’m using Boxcar Press too and although I’ve not ordered yet the way I understood the “$30 Minimum” requirement was that even if you had a 4 sq in plate for example you’d still have to pay at least $30 which I’m sure is to cover the cost of plate production, etc. Good luck and please post pics once you get them finished! I’m working on my designs right now. I can’t wait! I’m running out of summer though! I’m a teacher and was hoping to get them made before I went back to school 🙁 but oh well always the weekends I suppose haha
Post # 11
Member
5 posts
Newbee
My fiance and I are really into letterpress. we have a golding pearl ( our baby hahah- she was an engagment present to each other). I’ve ordered from boxcar several times and they are super helpful! they do have a 30 dollar miminum so put as much on the space as you can. they are pretty easy to cut as long as you take your time. Once we had everything we needed it took about 4 hours to complete our Save-The-Date Cards. We used 220 lb crane lettera (super thick paper) for a deep impression. We also lightly pressed a photo on the other side of the std so it looked like a post card, so we waited a day between presses. Good luck!
Post # 12
Member
482 posts
Helper bee
thanks everyone for all your help!! @CrystalBlackheart: your Save-The-Date Cards look great!! do you have edge painting on them too? did you do that yourself? i am too much of a newbie to even try or attempt that. i would be way too scared! the ladies that have worked with files they sent to boxcar, would you mind looking at mine tonight before i send them in to make sure they are okay, or to help me add cropmarks in the right places? that is what is going to help me know exactly where to cut the paper on my designs in order to get the exact dimensions i need.
@MrsB-to-Be: thank you for this info…makes sense! i think i may attempt a business card design tonight too if i have the time. i try to go to bed early because i wake up so early. ugh, it sucks.
Post # 13
Member
482 posts
Helper bee
@CrystalBlackheart: isn’t briar press great? i discovered that site long ago 🙂
Post # 14
Member
491 posts
Helper bee
@kittybean: Thank you! In hindsight I don’t really know if I should of tried this as my first letterpress project but it was totally worth it.
I did paint the edges … which was a learning experience! LOL! I first tried to do more than one at a time but totally f*d up – it was easier for me and not too time intensive to do them individually with a brayer – (I only printed 75 of each thing).
Here are the STD’s freshly edge painted and drying on a slinky I rigged up:
Post # 15
Member
491 posts
Helper bee
@kittybean: I couldn’t have done any of this without Briar Press and the Boxcar Press U videos online … I had to get really creative with registration since I was working with such a small base – I actually cheated and bought the 5×7 base so I had a half inch clearance horizontally (which I filled with furniture) and a one inch clearance vertically (which I tightened with quoins). I however kept my print area small so I could get the best image. I know that the Pilot will give you a nice impression and wish I had one with the paper I used. Through Briarpress I discovered a super soft cotton 530 gsm stock from Holyoke Paper – they have pre-sized “wedding packs” which was super awesome because my paper cutter sucks.
The one thing I learned about letterpress is that it is a lot of trial and error and tweaking and repeat – as soon as you get it to work the way you want run with it!
I didn’t tell my parents or family that I printed them myself until after they had received them and they were surprised – that’s what I was hoping for … also if you have the chance play with your ink and mix until your hearts content! It was soooooo much fun!
Post # 16
Member
140 posts
Blushing bee
I also used the Boxcar Press plates with the L Letterpress. It seems that many have given you great advice, but if you need anything else let me know!
