Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress sent over a fun set of save the dates that she recently created for an upcoming wedding.  With a double-sided postcard format, these playful save the dates were actually inspired by the wedding venue – the historic Queen Mary ship-turned-hotel in Long Beach, California.  So fun!
From Kathryn: This save the date card is for a destination wedding, on the Queen Mary! Â I worked closely with the bride and it has been such a treat to have our thoughts so in sync. Â The postcard was printed on Legion Bamboo paper, in ocean blue ink with coral and warm gray accents for the lips & mustache.
So cute!  I can’t wait to see the corresponding wedding invitations – thanks Kathryn!
I have a deep love for calligraphy, and the romantic calligraphy from Mara of Neither Snow always seems to take my breath away. Â These wedding invitations featuring Mara’s beautiful script and a sweet asterisk illustration are no exception. Â And the combination of calligraphy and letterpress printing? Â Be still my heart…
Hi again everyone!  I’m back!  I’m still trying to process the last couple of weeks in my head, much less go through all of the photos from the trip, so a trip recap will have to wait a few days.  Before I get to anything else, a huge thanks to Carina and Ellie for their fabulous guest posts while I was away – not to mention all of the fantastic printers who contributed posts for the printing process series.  The printing process series isn’t quite finished, so stay tuned for future posts on a few other printing methods a bit later this summer…
First up this week – invitations for a first birthday party!  Lisa from Good on Paper created these adorable circus-inspired invitations for her son’s first birthday celebration last month.  You can also check out Lucas’s awesome birth announcements right here.  I love the way Lisa uses different typefaces in her designs, particularly the cool ligatures on Lucas’s name and party date.  So fun!
While I’m away on vacation I’m running a series of guest posts on the various printing processes, from digital printing to engraving. I’ve asked some designers and printers to share their expertise and lots of photos to fill you in on what you need to know about different stationery printing methods. Today we’re talking about one of my very favorite specialty printing methods – foil stamping!
Foil stamping is a specialty printing process that uses heat, pressure, metal dies and foil film. The foil comes in rolls in a wide assortment of colors, finishes, and optical effects. Metallic foil is most commonly seen today – particularly gold foil, silver foil, copper foil, and holographic metallic foils – but foil rolls are also available in solid colors in both glossy and matte finishes.
Early foil stamping was done using hand-set lettering or custom engraved dies. Because foil stamping was so labor intensive, early foil stamping was primarily restricted to book covers and literary titles. To print gold text on a book cover, printers used separate fonts of lead or brass type, with text assembled by hand, one letter at a time, or a custom engraved die with a single image. Once the text or die was assembled, it was loaded into a press, which then pressed thin sheets of metallic foil into a book cover or other material.
The development of modern hot foil stamping took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ernst Oeser, a master bookbinder in Berlin, is credited as a pioneer in the development of hot-stamping foils as early as 1880. In the 1930s, an English foil manufacturer, George M. Whiley, introduced atomized gold on thin sheets of polyester film. Hot foil stamping using these rolls of gold foil increased in popularity in the 1950s through the late 1960s.
Foil stamping is somewhat similar to letterpress and engraving, in that the color is applied to paper with pressure. Once the design is finalized, metal dies are created in the appropriate shape for each individual color foil to be applied for a particular design. The dies are heated and then stamped with enough pressure to seal a thin layer of foil to the paper, and each color is applied individually through multiple runs of the press to create the final design. A final die may also be created if an embossed (raised) image or effect is desired for the design.
As with any printing process, there are pros and cons. Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you’re considering foil for your wedding invitations or personal stationery.
Foil is an opaque medium. Unlike thermography, lithography and letterpress, foil stamping does not use any ink. As a result, the foil color does not change based on the color of paper on which you are printing. Â This makes metallic or lighter color foil great for darker or colored papers. Foil can be used for a variety of finishes, including metallic, matte, glossy, pearlescent, holographic, and patterns such as marbling. There are also semi-transparent tint foils, if you do want to allow the paper color to show through.
Metallic foils have a shiny, lustrous finish with a big visual impact. With thermography, lithography, and letterpress, metallics can fall flat and aren’t very shiny.
Like letterpress, foil stamping is a labor-intensive printing method that requires multiple runs through the press to achieve multi-color designs. As a result, foil stamping can be expensive.
Because foil is applied by heat, it should not be applied near text or designs already applied by thermography. Â The heat will melt the thermographic resins.
To see more of the foiling process, check out the video below of some foil stamping in action from the Crane & Co. production facility!
Hi there OSBP! Â Nole asked me to write some guest posts and I jumped at the chance. Â If you don’t know me, I’m Ellie and I write a blog called Mint, design wedding invitations and other paper goods for my shop Hello Tenfold, take on occasional freelance graphic design projects… and travel, eat good food, and look at art as much as possible. Â My friend Whitney Deal photographed an invitation I designed for Bella Figura, above.
And here’s a little inspiration for today! Â Jane and Jeremy collected and photographed these bakery bags. Â Bakery bags! Â Who knew.
“Hello! Plus, Jane & Jeremy” is a guest post written by Ellie Snow of Mint and Hello Tenfold.
