About Letterpress Printing

Letterpress began in Europe in the 14th century as an alternative to laborious calligraphy. A raised surface is inked and pressed into a sheet of paper. This raised surface can be metal or wood type, a photoengraved copper, magnesium or photo polymer plate, a wood cut or engraving, or even a carved linoleum block. At Clo Mor Press, most of our printing is done with photopolymer plates that are capable of holding fine details while creating an elegant impression in the paper. We love the marriage of old and new technologies ... we work on antique presses, even use an antique cutter while still utilizing the digital advances in computers to personally create the artwork we press. Most Clo Mor Press orders are hand-fed into the press which allows us a great deal of control and the ability to closely monitor the quality of each item as it comes off the press.

Letterpress printing is very labor intensive and requires a great deal of skill and craftsmanship. In the middle of the 20th century, letterpress gave way to faster and cheaper printing methods but today fine letterpress printing is still valued for its unique beauty and tactile quality that cannot be achieved with any other technique.