The Dingbat’s Agenda

  • February2nd

    Love by Phoebe

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Custom, extending a brand, posted by ADRIENNE

    These cards were letterpress printed on 220# arturo with Pantone match and matte metallic gold inks as a 1/1 business card for Phoebe. Phoebe is an excellent graphic designer and designed these cards for her branding collateral as an extension of her already awesome website.

    I am a big fan of chevrons lately and am totally digging these wide set ones on the back of Phoebe’s card, how about you?

    Edge painted with a custom mix strawberry ink, thanks Phoebe for being so excellent to work with! I loved how these turned out.

  • December20th

    What to expect… Flood printing, part 1

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers, letterpress technique, posted by ADRIENNE, What to expect...

    Picking up with the What to expect series today we’ll be discussing large coverage areas and floods.  Below is a business card design by Vanessa of NESS Design. It is a 2/1 letterpress business card printed on 220# paper. Vanessa’s cards got a really great ink coverage because of a few things.

    Her knocked out type was built up with extra stroke wight so that we could flood the press with a LOT of ink and by the time the letters started to fill in they were back to their “normal” weights. Serifed typography is a lot harder to work with and isn’t recommend (especially when small). If you want to knock out of a flood color area (knock-out meaning that the type is white or image area is white with ink surrounding it) then stick to imagery or typography that can be bulked with a stroke or two – that extra padding will make a huge difference in how your print turns out.

    Another advantage to flooding with Vanessa’s cards was the selection of a lighter ink value for her cards. Lighter colors usually flood more evenly. The reason behind this is that all inks are transparent. With transparent inks, large coverage areas, and a textured paper can often have the flecks and texturing show through, lending a “salty” look to the pieces being printed. The darker the ink color, the more evident the salty look. While the press can be run with a double strike (run through the press twice) you can run into registration problems and more waste. You can also set up your press to ink the forme twice before printing, however this can be time consuming and add to your labor costs as well.

    Ultimately if you are considering a flood or large inked up area, know that there will be variables. Letterpress is much different than offset in that way. Stay tuned for the other half of flood printing where we’ll go over paper selection if printing a flood!

    Letterpress printed on 220# lettra paper, 2/1 pantone inks, trimmed to 2×3.5″ – For a set of your own, get an estimate, we’d love to work with you! If you have questions about a file, you can also email it over and we would be happy to advise.

  • November29th

    BLACK FRIDAY, letterpress Tuesday

    Posted in: Business, Business Papers, Calling Cards, Edge Painting

    Never one to follow tradition, I received a lovely email from a colleague yesterday morning wondering if I’d hold my Cyber Monday promotions and instead launch them on Tuesday as part of a Letterpress Tuesday promotion – specifically showcasing letterpress artisans and their holiday goodies on sale. I of course opted out of Cyber Monday and am happy to announce that for the next 24 hours (YES, RIGHT NOW) you can get 25% off ANYTHING in our online shop until midnight tonight (MST).

    These black letterpress calling cards were printed on a black 80# coverstock (I think it was AstroBrights paper). Black can be tricky on press because letterpress inks are very transparent and do not get good opacity when printing on dark papers. We like to recommend a color mix with opaque white to help bulk up the color (PMS Silver 877 works great too if you can afford to have a little tonality with the grey).

    With the left-overs we decided to add a teal edge paint to see how it would take to the black. I feel like I’m having an 80′s flashback!

    Because I just couldn’t get enough, I decided to see what a lavender would look like. If you want to order a set for yourself, you can customize them right here and we’ll make sure they look radical before they ship out to you! If you are unsure about color, stick with lighter hues. They will print and show-up much better than darker colors on the color wheel.

  • November22nd

    Modern Maple Leaf Invitations

    Posted in: Wedding, Wedding Invitation Proofs

    These were another set of proofs for Jennifer and Cristina for their autumn wedding. I love the exploration of the Japanese maple leaves – they remind me of the progression of a leaf as it flutters down, falling from a tree. I also LOVE how when making a full circle, as in the proofs on the bottom, there is a lost and found element within the ring of leaves – do you see it? If so what is it?

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  • October11th

    Smudge of Ink, 2

    Posted in: Color, Smudge of Ink

    I love the minty teals in this image from Martha Stewart. It has officially started snowing here and so I am resigned to the fact that winter is fast approaching and it’s time to pull out the coats and hats and scarves. Why is it that when it is summer I feel like all I have are winter clothes, and when it’s winter I feel like all I’ve got is summer clothes? Do any of you feel that way when the seasons change?

    Original image from Martha.

    To download the swatch ASE for importing into Adobe Applications click here. To import the swatch book click your Swatches Palette > toggle More Options > Open Swatch Library > Other Library > click the .ASE that you want to import. From there the Pantone swatches will load in a new palette with the remainder of your tool bar.

  • September15th

    Peacock and Rust Autumn Invitations

    Posted in: Wedding, Wedding Invitation Proofs

    Here are the final invitations for Jen and Christina. I love how the overlap of the blue and orange create a beautiful olive color on the leaves, this is one of my favorite designs to see printed in different colors because every single suite turns out so differently!

    This was the first RSVP where the couple requested music suggestions from guests. I thought it was brilliant, and so fitting for a wedding and RSVP. What a great way to involve guests!

    What you might not have noticed from photos alone is that this wedding suite was actually not a standard A7 (5×7″) wedding invitation. To save a little money (which can go a long way for a budget savvy bride) the election to go with a smaller A6 (4.5×6″) invite/announcement can help cut cost in postage and printing. It worked well also because Jen and Chris had minimal information so it didn’t feel like all the elements were squeezed into a tight space.

    These were escort cards we printed with the suite paired with a custom diecut pouch. We will be offering these for all escort card orders as well as for direct purchase over the next few weeks if you are a DIY bride (they also look fabulous with square business cards)!

    In the end, I was so surprised with how well the color combo worked. It’s such a great aspect to working with a couple that has a defined vision and are confident about it. Printed on 110# lettra paper, paired with matching printed envelopes, this wedding suite is perfect for a fall or spring wedding. Thanks Jen and Chris for being so awesome to work with, best of luck to you both and congratulations on your new adventure!

  • July18th

    Gold Calligraphy Wedding

    Posted in: Calligraphy, posted by ADRIENNE, Wedding

    This invitation suite was beautifully calligraphied by Kathryn of Della Carta whom we work with regularly for calligraphy calling cards. THe bride is looking for an ice blue or pool color paired with a gold. She wants some shimmer which can be interesting with letterpress as our inks are matte. When you print on uncoated paper stock you lose the ability to have a glossy ink and also the sheen that metallic inks can put off. While the inks are mixed with mica flecks to give it that shimmer, I am always advising brides that the ink will be a matte metallic. If you are looking for something super shiny, then a foil is the way to go. Presses with a foiling unit usually have the inking disabled and a foiling unit is attached. From there spools of foil are wound through and with plate and heat, the foil is impressed into the paper giving it that super shiny look. I love seeing foil work done by other presses, and maybe someday I’ll get a windmill with a foiling unit for Dingbat Press.

    This bride is looking for a shimmer pop but isn’t necessarily going for the foil so we are going to go the matte metallic route and utilize shimmer in the liners or envelopes. By using an antique gold ink it will give a hint of shimmer, or we can add silver ink to the pool options to get that blue a little shimmery as well. Which one would you go with?

  • June21st

    Traditional typography with a hint of…

    Posted in: Wedding

    These were some proofs awhile back for a client that was going for a traditional typographic feel paired with a more modern layout. I love working on one color designs because it really forces you to organize your information and not overwhelm the piece. I also love when there can be variation between the pieces, so they tie in together but stand on their own as well. What do you like to do when working on designs? Do you like to have everything match perfectly or is there some variation that you like to include in your designs?

  • May4th

    National Stationery Show 2011 countdown!!

    Posted in: Business, NSS, posted by ADRIENNE, Wedding

    I’m heading to the big city in exactly one week. I have bronchitis and am about ready to kill over, but the excitement is really starting to get crazy!!! The booth (#2152, mark your maps) has arrived. The product is printed (about 90% of it) and we are officially launching a wedding book! Above is a glimpse of one of our series that is going to debut May 15-18th, 2011!

  • April17th

    Ginko leaf letterpress invitation

    Posted in: Wedding

    Here is another set of letterpress invitations in alternating colorways. Originally the yellow ink was being used as the body copy and on the RSVP – ultimately the yellow ink was proving difficult and wanting to be orangish. So bizarre! So in the end the bride went with the pool/gravel ink colorway, paired with the yellow envelopes. Printers of the world, how do you feel about printing type with light colors?

    Sometimes I feel like there is a time and place where hierarchy and imagery marry well enough to let the blind impression type (or lightly printed type) work beautifully. However, on other occasions it just doesn’t seem to mesh. Have you ever dealt with that on a particular job? Clients, what is your opinion – what is more important on a wedding invitation specifically – color harmony or type? I can’t wait to show photos of the finished product!!

  • April7th

    Final logo style guide

    Posted in: branding, Business Papers, posted by ADRIENNE

    You may remember a few days back the logo variations we explored for Josh. Below is the finalized style guide for the branding we did for him. Upon completion of our branding package, we like to put together a style guide indicating pantone suggestions, RGB Hex #s for web matching, typographic notations for continued use on alternate business collateral and some pattern samples on extending the brand.

    In addition to the style guide, upon establishing the brand look, we can also apply the brand elements across to other pieces such as business cards, letterhead, notes, product tags and labels, and more.

    Part of establishing a style guide is to help grow the brand equity, especially when its a new brand. By establishing color harmony and typographic suggestions, we help that brand (and the people doing the every day stuff behind it) to establish a relationship with it style. If there is a flyer or ad that needs to be placed, they can pull the typography suggestions and color suggestions to keep things in relation to where they want their brand to go. It helps create awareness and recognition across the board.

    Whether you have your own logo but need styling help, layout, or want to start fresh with something completely new you can check out our branding section in the shop or request an estimate for a more customized package.

  • March15th

    PREVIEW WEEK: Day 5 – Easter anyone?

    Posted in: Business, Holiday, Kids, Letterpress Retail, NSS, Tags

    Go ahead and roll your eyes seeing that we haven’t even hit St. Payy’s day yet. But these little guys are plated and will be for sale in the shop for spring showers, tagging baby gifts, and decorating that beautiful Easter table! Which colorway should I print them in?

  • February8th

    San Juan Letterpress Invitation

    Posted in: Custom, posted by ADRIENNE, Wedding, Wedding Week

    You may remember the proofs for Jessica’s knockout wedding invitations. Well I’m excited to blog about the finished piece – again a new favorite! View the eye candy – I really don’t have much to say about them except that this was an amazing wedding suite to work on.

    This was a 4 piece wedding suite for Jessica. We wanted to create variation between pieces but still have them tie together. Pool and black are her wedding colors, and she wanted an old-world feel to the invites.

    Edge painted with a matching saturated pool, to set off her 1/8″ black border from the front of the invite. These were also packed in pool envelopes for the outer envelope, and black rsvp envelopes.

    The invitation was printed on Lettra 220# with a full bleed damask pattern overlaid with registration black ink. The typography used was a pairing of Adobe Garamond as well as P22′s Zaner Pro.

    The reception card was sized 4×6″, 1 color (black obviously) and printed on 110# lettra. We pulled out the damask pattern and changed the layout a little to create variety. I feel like I’m looking at some awesome black velvet when I see these stunning cards!

    The RSVP card was a 3.5×5″ card printed on 110# lettra. The black border and simple dotted line were repeated in this card, but ultimately it was left with more negative space so as not to crowd the important information of making a meal selection.

    If you are interested in a stunning wedding suite of your own, we do custom designs for all our suites. You can contact us to request an estimate for letterpress invitations and if you place your order by Feb 15th we’ll knock off 10% of your final invitation invoice as a Valentine’s Treat!

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