Letterpress Lexicon

by Helen on September 22, 2009

Letterpress printed wedding invitations and greeting cards are really trendy. And deservedly so.

Invitesite Letterpress Printed Thank You Cards

Invitesite Letterpress Printed Thank You Cards

Unfortunately, it’s also trendy to mangle letterpress printing jargon. The assault of incorrect language is so relentless, that it may completely overtake centuries of usage.  If you claim you are a “letterpresser” — then get thee to a Pressury.

One way you can tell a total novice (whether a graphic designer, or a novice printer) is they use cringingly incorrect language.

If you want to raise the hackles of an artisan printer, use “letterpressing” as a verb, as in:

“We were letterpressing the other night in the studio.”

Yikes. Fingernails on a chalkboard.

Even Google will corrected you.  When I searched for “letterpressing” — the first result was Letterpress Printing from Wikipedia.  ”Letterpressing” is not anywhere to be found on the Wikipedia page. Which means Google corrected me.

If you love the look of letterpress printing, these are some signs that the printer knows what they are doing.

Correct: Letterpress printing. Not letterpressing.

Correct: Letterpress printed. Not letterpressed.

Your invitations, if you buy them from Invitesite, may have the artwork letterpress printed on the front panel.

Never letterpressed.

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