Pricing
Letterpress pricing is one of the most important parts of the project. Our goal is to produce beautiful work that’s within your budget. Each job is best estimated based on its individual requirements. That being said, it is important to understand which factors can affect the final price of your project. Here are a few hints:
Quantity
Make sure you order the right amount of pieces. For a wedding, check to see how many guests are at the same address, so you don’t order too few. For business cards, invest in as many cards as you can afford. It’s cheaper to order more cards now than to re-order later. That’s because letterpress printing benefits from the long run. Much of the expense is in the setup and plate materials, so ordering double the cards does not double the cost.
Colors
Each color requires a separate run through the press, and its own plate. Find a way to use fewer colors, or use overprinting techniques to achieve a third color from a two-color job.
Paper Stock
The world is full of interesting paper, and the range of prices is just as fascinating. You can cut the printing cost in half just by selecting a lower-priced paper stock.
Ink Coverage and Reversed-Out Artwork
Letterpress excels in printing text and line-art. Solids are another story. Luckily, we have a few tricks and techniques that allow us to get a perfect print with any artwork. Sometimes tricks take additional time, and this can slightly increase the price.
Dimensions
Our fast, precise Heidelberg machines offer a maximum impression size of 9×12”. This includes crop marks. We have larger, slower machines, but they can cost a little more for long runs. If we are not the best source for a project, we’ll put you in touch with someone who can get you a better deal. Call us first and we’ll make sure you get the best results, whether or not we do the printing.
