Oh So Beautiful Paper

After the introduction to engraving, we moved out onto the Crane printing floor.  Most of the presses, including engraving presses, letterpresses, and thermography printers, are all located in a large common area – it was difficult to get the full perspective in a single image, but hopefully these two photos will give you a sense of the general size and scale:

Engraving!  The printing presses are huge – I’m always amazed that these heavy machines are able to produce such delicate and beautiful stationery.

{going through the press}

{a quick run under the heater to make sure the ink is dry}

{and then coming off the press}

{ink fountain behind the press}

{so much ink!}

I couldn’t help but take a photo of each project that we passed during the tour.  This little dragonfly makes four total passes through the press – one for each blue color, then one for the gold ink, then one final burnishing run that gives the gold its shine – and it all has to line up perfectly.  It’s hard to tell in this photo, but the blue inks also have a bit of shimmer:

Custom gold stationery – most likely for a newlywed couple:

These sailboats were also a custom order – the printers were working on aligning the little red flags so that they lined up perfectly with the thin blue sailboat mast:

Traditional invitations for a debutante ball, with black script text and a beautiful blind emboss monogram at the top:

Engraved business cards with white text on black paper:

With the holiday season approaching, we came upon a few Kluge presses putting some gold foil on Christmas cards and gift wrap.  I’d never seen foil stamping in person before, but the printers were kind enough to walk me through the process:

{gold foil on Kate Spade gift wrap sheets}

{that’s the gold foil above}

{a negative image on the gold foil after it passes through the press}

{the final product!}

I hope you’re all enjoying the tour as much as I am!  I’ll be back a bit later with a bit more from the trip!

{all photos by me}

*Disclaimer – Crane & Co. provided my accommodations during this visit; but this is not a sponsored post.  For more on my editorial policies, please click here.

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1. barbara todd says:

   10/04/2010 at 9:39 PM

   This is glorious – all of it. I can smell the ink!
2. Truly Smitten says:

   09/23/2010 at 4:05 PM

   what an amazing tour!
3. Valentina Oliana | CUTandPASTE says:

   09/23/2010 at 5:01 AM

   Wow, amazing!
4. leslie
   Twitter: heyriseandshine
   says:

   09/21/2010 at 10:00 PM

   Industrial print tours are the best.
5. Alchemy Fine Events & Invitations
   Twitter: alchemyeventsvw
   says:

   09/21/2010 at 7:34 PM

   How Cool!!!! its so amazing to see the craft behind the final product.
6. Ellen says:

   09/21/2010 at 6:57 PM

   It is amazing to think that all these machines produce such beautiful and delicate stationery – that dragonfly is stunning too!
7. tiina { sparkling ink } says:

   09/21/2010 at 4:13 PM

   I always love to visit here and dive in the magical world of ink and paper. You are a true inspiration!
8. Nole says:

   09/21/2010 at 3:07 PM

   Hi Paige! These are the working and professional facilities of Crane, so I’m afraid this tour was by invitation only. However, Crane does have a museum located near its headquarters (I’ll be sharing a few photos a bit later on) and that museum is open to the public!
9. Paige says:

   09/21/2010 at 2:44 PM

   Can anyone go on a tour like this at Crane? I would plan a trip around it if so!
10. Grace says:

    09/21/2010 at 2:29 PM

    Wow, how amazing to see everything come together! What a great tour. Thanks for sharing pics Nole!
11. Michelle says:

    09/21/2010 at 12:55 PM

    What an interesting post! I love factory tours!
12. Katrina
    Twitter: papermilldesign
    says:

    09/21/2010 at 12:11 PM

    Amazing! I would love to spend a few days here just watching the production and seeing all of the equipment!
13. Sarah says:

    09/21/2010 at 11:59 AM

    so cool – thanks for sharing these pics!