Kristin runs a letterpress studio, which means that she prints invitations using a process wherein the ink is actually pressed into the paper, leaving an inked impression in the paper. If you are not familiar with the process, she wrote about it briefly here and included a short video about "The modern art of letterpress printing." It's pretty interesting!
Anyway, because in letterpressed paper the text and the design of the invitation goes into the paper, the weight of the paper makes a big difference in the way the final product turns out.
I am no expert on this matter, but it seems to me that 110 lb. paper seems to be the usual weight for letterpress. It is substantial and relatively inflexible, and thick enough that you can get a crisp impression. This reply card was printed on 110 lb. Crane Lettra paper:
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See how it leaves an indentation along with the ink? Here, you can see it a little better in this close up of a blind-embossed "thank you," also printed on 110 lb. Crane Lettra paper:
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Looks nice, right? For single-sided designs, I think it looks great.
However, in my opinion, 110 lb. paper does not work very well with a design that is printed on both the front and the back of the paper. For example, take a look at the card below--the client that ordered these wanted a really deep impression on the double-sided response cards:
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See how the impression on the back shows through on the front? For this particular design, I think it looks okay, but in general, double-sided designs would look a little... cleaner (or something) if you could not see the "push back" (as Kristin calls it) from the opposite side.
Because we wanted to use both sides of the paper in our design, Kristin recommended that we step up to a thicker paper in order to avoid this issue. She suggested using 220 lb. Crane Lettra--it is essentially the same as two 110 lb. sheets fused together. This picture is a good way of "showing" you how awesomely chunky it is.
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Even if we don't print on both sides, I just love how indestructible it looks.
Another paper we considered using was a 100% cotton, recycled paper by Porridge Paper that is embedded with mixed wildflower seeds. Not only is it environmentally friendly as far as paper goes, but also it will actually sprout flowers if the paper gets wet. Here is a close-up of an invitation that Kristin printed for another couple using this paper:
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Ultimately, we determined that the rough texture of the paper would not work with the particular design that we have been working on, so unfortunately... that paper is out :( It is pretty cool, though, isn't it?
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I think the seed paper is a good experiment and could work. It can damage printing plates, making two color work very difficult, but this is a good picture. Often the best solution for two-sided letterpress is to simply make a lighter impression on both sides and imitate offset printing. That's usually my solution. As long as the main piece shows the letterpress off well, the other pieces can sacrifice a little of the glory.
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