Over the last few months we’ve
been highlighting the art of letter writing and why it’s not a dying art. Hopefully
giving you confidence, inspiration and most of all the tools with which to
ensure your letter writing skills grow.
But… it can be confusing when buying – what do you buy, how many do you buy and what do all those print types mean. So we thought we’d put together a guide to show you what the choices are, then you can get your very own luxury stationery personalised just for you.
A traditional
way of printing, where a metal print plate with the image stands proud of the
surface. It is then inked and then impressed onto the paper. This indents into
the paper, the ticker the stock, the deeper the depth of the print.
Traditionally
it was not correct to indent the paper but it has now become fashionable to do
so and can be requested if preferred.
A traditional
method of printing that provides particularly fine relief and detail of the
image or text that has been engraved onto the die.
Also known as
thermo or thermographic printing - this is a cheaper method than die-stamping but
still gives a raised surface to the print that can be felt. Powder is sprinkled
onto the still wet ink which after heating fuses to create the relief effect.
Motifs
Some of our customers love
adding their own, or one of our, motifs to their correspondence cards and
writing paper. Sometimes even their own coat of arms. But they’re usually
something personal to them. A small bumble bee or a wheel barrow if they love gardening.
Some beach huts or sandcastles if they
live near the coast. Whatever you want, it can be printed. And they add a
lovely personal touch, the reader knows a little bit about he sender, before
they’ve even read a word.
Stock
A strange word but it
basically means the paper the writing paper or correspondence cards are printed
onto. They can be smooth, often very smooth, or laid. Laid means with small
stripes within the paper structure itself. Generally the heavier the better to convey
quality. It’s the thickness and weight of the paper that generally ensures the
reader feels the quality of the communication. But be warned, if you want to
print onto them, some home office printers can’t take they heavier weight of
paper. Never mind you’ll just have to hand write it instead, so much more
personal.
Fonts
This is the typeface of the
letters and words. Generally there are 2 types of font. Serif – with little flicks
at the ends of the lines. And san-serif –
without little flicks at the end of the lines. But fonts convey so much. Formality,
non formal etc. Here at the Letter Press we have many types to choose from all
classics to convey your own personality.
And how many?
It can seem expensive to buy
personalised luxury stationery but setting up the paper to be printed on is the
expensive part. So whether you buy 30 or 300 the price isn’t that different. So
don’t be afraid – after all it’s an investment in your future, and that of your
friends.