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Are you Crane's LETTRA or Reich SAVOY?

It's sorta the chocolate or vanilla thing - tomAto or tomatO - mustard or ketchup. When looking for a cushy, 100% cotton sheet to print on, folks - especially letterpress and designer folk, have a definite favorite. It's either Neenah, Crane's LETTRA or Reich's SAVOY. Whichever one you are, never fear, Olmsted-Kirk now stocks both! So if it's the soft linters of LETTRA or the subtle but crisp folding properties of SAVOY that you love - you're covered.

Both SAVOY and LETTRA can be used for a wide range of projects from greeting cards and invitations to hang tags and luxury packaging. Each of the sheets are offered in weights well over 200 Cover for great heft. LETTRA goes up to a 220 and SAVOY hits the roof with a 236. Though they both were originally designed for letterpress printing, they can also be offset and digitally printed beautifully.

Haven't made up your mind which one is right for you and your project? Let's break down each sheet for you. I personally love both equally for each of its unique attributes.

SAVOY

• Its strong formulation, yet soft flexibility allow for strikingly clean and crisp folding, blind embossing, foil stamping and engraving. And it gorgeous with standard four color / CMYK.
• SAVOY 80# Text and 92# Cover are certified for use on Kodak NexPress digital presses. SAVOY Brilliant White 118# Cover has been used successfully on many HP Indigo presses though not certified because it is too thick for certification. 
• SAVOY is tree free and made from 100% recovered cotton from the textile industry. It is archival, acid free, recyclable, biodegradable, and elemental chlorine free.
• Users who love SAVOY say its surface allows for crisper  ink jet printing or handwritten, ink calligraphy and it doesn't show the cotton linters when folding.

LETTRA

• Tough yet fluffy. LETTRA is unsized and uncalendared which leaves the fibers relatively uncompacted, giving the sheet an extra bulky feel.
• LETTRA has the feel of fabric and the look of hand made art paper. And while it is engineered to stand up to the great pressures of letterpress printing, it performs equally well with offset lithography; engraving; stamping; and inkless processes such as embossing, debossing, or die-cutting.
• LETTRA is made from cotton linters—a byproduct of the cotton industry that is recognized by the EPA as recovered fiber. Not only are these fibers environmentally responsible, they can be recycled with traditional paper.
• Users who love LETTRA say it feels like fabric and the envelopes are bulkier.

Glow in the Dark Letterpress

Letterpress and glow in the dark combined? Take a look at this 4x6 letterpress print by 55 Hi's . It's printed on Neenah Paper's, Crane's LETTRA 220 Double Thick Cover. It sports a gorgeous glow in the dark "LOVE" with "LIVE" skillfully set within. Can't wait to order up mine. 55 Hi's is a one-man operation created by Ross Moody. Check out this One Minute with Ross interview for more on his shop creations and design thoughts.

LETTRA, a 100% cotton paper has the feel of fabric and the look of hand-made art paper. LETTRA gets its fluffy feel as a result of being unsized and uncalendered. This leaves the fibers relatively uncompacted, giving the sheet an extra bulky, even fluffy feeling that absorbs ink while remaining soft to the touch.

Here's my card... Duct Tape & Glitter

Check out these bad boys! Duct Tape & Glitter is a brand spankin' new design shop in Wichita, Kansas. I love their name and their beyond killer business cards.

They were printed at Studio on Fire. You simply can't miss or forget these cards. They sport a super sexy PMS Rubine Red - the DT&G signature color. Each side is letterpressed in two colors and the front-side has an added blind hit of their logo pattern. Two sheets of Neenah, Classic Crest, Solar White, 110 Cover were duplexed for a superb, sturdy card and the added thickness made for effective edge painting. Press checks were done by email as the job rolled through the Studio on Fire presses. Check out the DT&G Blog to see the process photos.

Duct Tape & Glitter is the team of Luke Bott, Dominic Flask and Roger Strunk. These guys have a gift of mid-century aesthetics and beautifully,visual problem solving. They specialize in branding, illustration, print and interactive.  I got to chat with Dominic and ask a couple questions. Here is how it went...

Duct Tape & Glitter is a new endeavor for you all. Can you tell us about that and where the name came from?  Duct Tape & Glitter as a studio came about kind of organically. It started with Roger and I working together on a few freelance gigs on the side and discussing what might happen if we opened up a studio of our own. Just as we were really getting serious, Luke approached us and wanted to be a part of what we had going on. Within a month we had a portfolio assembled, our identity established and the doors open at our studio space. The name is something that references the type of work that we do and how we approach each project. We build versatile, dependable, long lasting solutions for our clients that are as pretty as they are functional.

We just love the craftsmanship of Studio on Fire's printing. How did the process of working with them go? Any inside details about the card you'd care to share?  Working with Studio on Fire was great. They handled everything we threw at them with ease and were ultra-professional during every step of the process. They kindly informed us about potential results with the almost full coverage backs of the cards and recommended we use the 110lb Neenah, Classic Crest stock for the best results with that much ink.

Was the Classic Crest your first choice of paper?  Studio on Fire recommended it. We initially asked for Crane's Lettra for it's personal touch and they noted that the Lettra would have more of a tendency to be splotchy when printing high coverage areas. We went with their recommendation for 110 Cover, Neenah, Classic Crest and couldn't have been happier.

What type of work do you look forward to the most?  What we really enjoy doing is working with clients who are as invested in their business as we are in design. There is nothing more satisfying than working together with a client to solve real problems, and that only happens when everyone is passionate about what they are doing.

What's your favorite color?  Pink, of course! But seriously, right now it's PMS Rubine Red. Seeing Studio on Fire match that color perfectly was glorious. It's shiny, friendly, warm and inviting all over the place.

Want your very own DT&G business card? Send your address to [email protected] and they will drop one in the mail to you.

Lettersketch & Reich Paper: Great Combo.

Will you just look at this blind emboss? It's large and deeply letterpressed. Simply gorgeous.

I had the pleasure of spending a day last week with Duke Reich, president of Reich Paper. We visited several Austin design studios. Duke shared so many fantastic one-of-a-kind samples on his papers. His briefcase was like a car full of clowns - the beautiful samples just kept coming out - letterpress, foil stamping, blind embossing. One of paper specimens in particular that he shared was a complete hit. Everyone went ballistic over this Lettersketch sketchpad.  It said "touch me". It will definitely be my next paper purchase - I plan on getting the full set of three sketchpads.  The cover is printed on Savoy, Reich's 100% cotton stock and the pad has been lovingly stitched with red thread. The sets come in a cotton pouch along with a red carpenter pencil. Love.

Remember, Olmsted-Kirk Paper Co. stocks Savoy sheets in 118 and the double thick 236 Cover in both the Bright White and Natural White. Buy it by the sheet or carton. We've got envelopes, too. Here is the line-up of Duke's gorgeous high end paper stocks.

• CT - vellum translucents
• SHINE - shimmering metallics
• ODEON - lush, felt textures
• SAVOY - pure, luxurious cotton
• DIGITAL - certified digital stocks for the disserning design eye and feel

Good Design still Matters

Hatch Show Prints is a great American poster shop in Nashville, Tennessee. For more than a century, Hatch has produced show-posters for legends such as Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, the Beastie Boys – and now Domtar.  A Hatch Show Print poster produced today is still created the way it was in the late nineteenth century –  letterpressed – that is hand-carved, hand-set, hand-inked and hand-cranked. Hatch has created a poster in support of Domtar's donation to  AIGA's "Design for Good" intiative – an effort to recognize and support pro bono social engagement design projects.

“‘Design for Good’ is more than just pro bono design projects. It is a broader movement to encourage and enable designers to bring their creative problem solving to the assistance of their communities as they approach community and social problems,” according to Richard Grefé, executive director of AIGA. “‘Design for Good’ offers a means for creative professionals to play a central role among concerned citizens, demonstrating their commitment, talent and leadership to power change in ways that are important to others in their communities.”

You'll be able to get a copy of this limited edition Hatch Show Print at Boston’s HOW Design Conference June 21st thru 25th.  It's letterpressed on Cougar, Natural, 80 Cover.

Nano Whitman Silkscreen Posters on Cougar

Take a look at these posters for local musician  Nano Whitman.  They were designed and silkscreened by Jared Tanner of Gehring Co..  These gorgeous specimens were hand pulled on our Domtar, Cougar, Natural, 100 Cover.  Cougar is a a popular paper choice for silkscreeners. It's a cost effective, quality sheet with a smooth finish that silkscreens effortlessly. And it's a FSC certified.  Thanks for sharing, Jared. Quality imagery on a quality stock. 

FunFunFun Fest Poster

The FunFunFun Fest was this past weekend. Saw lots of twitterpics and instagrams. The lineup was really good. Take a look at this festival poster designed by GUERILLA SUIT and silkscreened printed in four colors by INDUSTRY PRINT. The stock is our new CLASSIC CREST, Eggshell, 80 Cover in Epic Black.

Watch out for Black Cats! Happy Halloween.

Meow. This silkscreen poster was created by our friend CARLOS HERNANDEZ of BURNING BONES PRESS. Our Houston Olmsted-Kirk office has teamed up with him to begin the "Art Print Series". This is the first in the series of just 100 signed and numbered, hand-pulled print editions. This black cat print has been so popular that only a very few are left. We should have expected this since Burning Bones creates such award-winning work. I was excited to speak with Carlos about the process. He was pumped about the series and generous with his thoughts about it. From our conversation, the upcoming prints sound amazing. Make sure to take a look at his DAY OF THE DEAD ROCK STAR series. Need I say more?

And here's a head's up for you. You can get hands-on silkscreening training hosted by Burning Bones. Sign up for the ADVANCED SCREENPRINTING WORKSHOP slated for November 12th and 13th at their studio. O-K Paper is pleased to be one of the sponsors along with AIGA Houston and others.

FYI - This poster was printed on Monadnock, ASTROLITE, 100 Cover.

Letterpress Bliss on Poptone & Lettra

Couldn't help sharing this fantastic combination of paper and printing to create a meaningful invitation. I am loving the woodgrain letterpressed on the French POPTONE Blu Raspberry and the blind letterpress (emboss) on the Crane's LETTRA. More detailed info on this project can be found at UNDER CONSIDERATION.  It was designed by Kate Holgate at STOLTZ MARKETING for Jamie & Anthony who were married this year in Sun Valley, Idaho. Wish I would have been on the invite list.

Duplex Letterpress Goodness

After that great press check yesterday with AIGA Austin on ROYAL COMPLEMENTS, let's take a  look see at more printing goodness on this paper. These business cards are for a Southern California based film and video production company.  Two sheets of 100 Cover, Eclipse Black have been duplexed together to make a hefty 200 Duplex. The cards are then letterpressed in metallic silver on both sides. Note, they have been edged in silver metallic also. Fantastic. Designed by MATTSON CREATIVE and printed by STUDIO ON FIRE.