In the Mail! At Your House!

Keep Writing number 49

I probably should not admit publicly that at home, I am a terrible production printer.  I have worked, and currently do work, in shops where we get PDF printouts of a digitally designed image, all to scale and in full color.  I match ink colors to pantone books, weigh inks out for mixing, proof the polymer plates, measure and repeat.  For my own work, since I abandoned handset type a few postcards ago (I'll come back!), I have been using polymer plates.  But instead of all the careful planning I could do, I make plates of images I like, text I might use, sketch it out, try it, rearrange.  I would drive digital designers crazy!  This is why I do not have a stationery card line out.  I would have to repeat the same mixed up, hand set polymer plate design.

That said, here is Keep Writing number 49.  Three cards folded and perforated--though not too deeply as I was worried about how they might hold up in the mail.  I scanned the images from books of old printing cuts, carved the words "hello" out of linoleum based on my own handwriting and here it is.

single postcard does not mean lonely postcard

Also, in case you did not know, you can get single postcards based on the subscription series in my etsy store.  I print a limited number of extra cards each month with a more basic backside.  Also,  I have bundled packs of  older postcards for you, five for five dollars, also available on etsy.  The packs are assorted based on availability but all of them are interactive, that is, there is a card for you to tear off and fill out and return to me.  My address has changed since I printed these so I include an envelope with my most recent address.  Or you can send them to the old address and this guy will get them.  Your choice. 

Date Book Day!

I am not even sure I sleep in my sleep anymore. However, now is the time to finally share with you the finished collaboration between Gutwrench Press and Blackbird Letterpress. These datebooks are born of talk the perfect datebook, something flexible but accurate, sturdy but stylish, compact but room for all our ideas! We have spent months hand-setting type, printing on the Vandercook, buying books at used book sales, practicing our coptic binding, finally deciding to print the remaining pages with polymer plates, cutting, sorting and now you can have one! I had them at the New Orleans Bookfair two weeks ago but now we both offer them online on our separate etsy shops. Blackbird Letterpress also has a much better story about these lovelies on their blog. Check out their website to hear her side of the story, including a photo of the press bed with handset type, and to see her selection of covers. Each is unique. You can also see what I have here.