This summer I had the pleasure of printing custom cards for the ever-so-talented Barbara Michelle Jacobs of Barbara Michelle Jacobs, NYC. Barbara creates the most beautiful eco-friendly jewelry with recycled metals, including exquisite engagement rings and wedding bands. Her work is stellar, and her site is definitely worth checking out.
I was excited about this project and couldn’t wait to get into the studio to print. Once the design was complete and the letterpress plate was made, it was time to mix some ink!
I use Pantone color mixing guides which are really helpful, but it also takes a little testing, adjusting, and re-mixing to get the colors to be just right. This part of the process is really soothing because I spend a good 10 minutes just mixing and smooshing the ink around to get it warm for better printing results.
The color looks pretty bright here, but as you’ll see in a moment, it’s actually a more muted green in print.
Then came time to set up the press for printing. At right you can see the printing plate all nestled into its cozy press bed.
There are lots of little adjustments that are made to the press before this point to get everything in optimum condition for printing.Once everything is just right, it’s time to get the printing party started!
Hot off the press!
And there is the finished card (well, before trimming and folding, anyway.)
Thanks Barbara for this fun project, and thank YOU for stopping by. Hope you have a great week ahead!
