We love what we do

If you dig deep enough you will find a thriving underground of letterpress printers and enthusiasts, their fingers black with lead and ink, working hard to keep letterpress alive.

A bit like us really! We still use moveable lead type, antique wooden type rescued from long gone jobbing printers and old copper cuts for images. But on a day to day basis we blend 21st century technology with 16th century printing methods to produce contemporary greeting cards and personal stationery that leave a lasting impression.

We handle everything in house, from cutting the paper to printing and creasing the cards to packing. We have total control over our products and we are extremely proud of the quality of our printing.

Windmills of our mind

We use traditional printing techniques and vintage printing presses to produce greeting cards and personalised stationery.

Our oldest press dates from 1893 and weighs over half a tonne, it is treadle powered (no electricity!) and we think it is a work of art. The paper is hand fed one sheet at a time. The Victorian craftsmanship is a work of art and beautiful to watch in full flow. The soft delicate clanking of the cast iron and ticking of the ink disk is mesmerising. Demand for our cards has grown fast and we soon had to upgrade to a 1969 powered press to keep up with the demand. It's also much safer as we don't have to hand feed the paper!

Although the technology we use to print is virtually extinct compared to 20 years ago, it doesn't mean our products have to look old fashioned. We used our skills and experience as illustrators to produce our first ranges and we are now working with other leading artists, designers and typographers to keep our products looking contemporary and fresh.

Our popular 'Quotes' range is a good example of how we work with other artists and designers. We commissioned Jim Williams, an award winning typographer to design each quote. Jim chose fonts relevant to the period of the author resulting in a uniquely crafted piece of typography. A more recent range, 'Doodle Planet' features original drawings taken from the artists sketchbooks and transferred to our presses. The result is beautiful, crisp tactile drawings you can actually feel.

What is letterpress?

Letterpress is a printing technique dating back to the 16th century. The process involves inking the surface of movable type or blocks and pressing them onto a surface. Letterpress prints are crisp and tactile compared to other printing techniques because of the impression into the paper, giving greater visual definition.

Over the years various printing machines have been invented to 'press letters' onto paper. Our oldest presses were manufactured in Halifax, Yorkshire over 100 years ago. Made of cast iron they weigh in at just over half a tonne each! After all this time they print extremely delicate type or designs onto the finest papers. Testament to Victorian workmanship!

Our passion...

...is blending quality design, illustration and typography with quality letterpress printing. We pride ourselves on our printing.

Touch me, feel me, run your fingers over me...