Interesting article in the June 8th Forbes Magazine entitled "Print Isn't Dead: The ancient craft of letterpress is making a comeback." Most stationers, crafters and indie artists have known about the "comeback" for a while now--the resurgance of interest in the letterpress printing technique started 4 or 5 years ago, at which time an old press could be had for $100 or for free as long as you moved it yourself (they're extraordinarily heavy, so the moving cost often exceeded the market value). Today, small hand-operated presses on ebay are a bit harder to come by and a bit more expensive, as crafters and artists want to try it themselves.
But the Forbes article is right to call it a "craft". It's not so easy to learn and it requires physical effort, mechanical knowledge and a flare for the art. What's also interesting is the debate the author highlights about what truly constitutes "letterpress". One person says it's only letterpress if you use hand-set type (our Quick Cards for example). Another says it doesn't matter. (Online comments for the article continue this debate.) We agree that it's all letterpress--the style of printing where physical type and images are coated with ink and pressed into paper for a 3-D effect. And we're not surprised it's coming back!
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