Many of our clients ask me, What does digital press printing, letterpess, and thermography raised ink printing look like? All three printing processes are different and offer unique textures.

1. LETTERPRESS printing is impressed printing that has a lovely texture and rich appearance. At My Personal Artist we use a Heidelberg Windmill letterpress printing press. We use 100% cotton cardstock for our letterpress invitations. The press pushes the cardstock against the letterpress printing plate with raised artwork and or lettering creating a beautiful impression. Almost any color of ink can be used. When I hand our letterpess printing to our clients in our public studio they always remark at how luxurious and truly unique the printing looks and feels.

2. RAISED INK printing also called thermography printing is raised and glossy to the touch. A plate is made and the cardstock runs through a printing press which prints the card with ink. A fine powdered polymer powder is applied and then heated up to 900 to 1300 degrees Fahrenheit with dryers. A gentle vacuum removes all powder that was not absorbed by wet ink. This creates the raised lettering (as shown above).

3. DIGITAL PRESS printing is flat and matte finish. The least expensive form of printing. This printing process allows the most vibrant watercolor artwork to be reproduced in vivid prints. Unlike laser printing, the finish is matte not shiny. We never use laser printing at My Personal Artist. Laser printing can flake and looks, well, cheap. We prefer the matte finish of high end digital press printing for our clients.

These are the top 3 printing processes we offer at My Personal Artist. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us. [email protected]