The Printing of the Labels:
The first step for custom letterpress work is a PDF sent off to a platemaker to get these custom plates made. Letterpress printing is a relief printing process so these plates are output to film, exposed, and the excess material is washed away. The result are these beautiful metal-backed plates.

The Printing Shop:
This is a view of the press we used to print. It is a Chandler & Price 12x18 press circa 1918, and is a Gordon style platen press. It weights about 2100 lbs. and still turns like the day it was made.

This press is hand-fed and hand turned, though it is equipped with a clutch to hook up a motor too eventually. In the background you can see the drawers of lead type and wood furniture (used for spacing).

Inking the Press:
The press is then turned over and the rollers come up and spread the ink evenly over the ink disk. The disk has a cam mechanism that rotates the disk every time the press is turned over. It takes about 5 minutes of turning to spread the ink evenly.

The Printing of the Labels:
Now we set the press in motion and print off the labels. This is a two colour job, so the black is printed first, then the plate changed, the press cleaned and re-inked in a burgundy ink, and the red highlights are printed.

Die-Cutting the Labels:
There is only one way to cut an oval shape well: with a die. This die was custom made for these labels. You can see the foam around the die blade that holds the paper in place while the press applies pressure.

Die-Cutting 2:
When the press is turned over, the die's blade applies even pressure and punches the label out perfectly oval.


The Finished Label:
The finished labels are extremely clear, crisp and beautiful to look at. That type is about 6 pt. type and comes out very clearly. The line art is beautiful too, and is a credit to the platemaker at Boxcar Press in New York.

This process is very similar to the process by which the original Loar labels would have been printed.