Deeper Impression, Please
We are constantly reminded by our clients to achieve as deep an impression as possible. Spark always strives to press as deep an impression as possible without losing the detail in fine artwork or damaging (cracking) the paper. You should be able to feel the impression with your fingers, however the impression, by our standards, is usually not too noticable on the backside of the piece. We recommend using our house stock, which is a 100% reclaimed cotton paper available in 110# and 220# covers, as it takes a beautiful impression.
If you have a question about how a certain paper will perform when letterpress-printed, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Soy vs. Oil-based Inks
Really there shouldn't be a competition between these different ink types, but it seems that we are being asked this question more and more often - and with good reason. Clients want to make sure we are being a friend to the environment and we applaud their concern. So a while back we spent a little time learning more about the oil-based ink we use. While we can use soy inks, to date we have been mixing oil-based inks and also have a few rubber-based inks.
Here's our take on the soy vs. oil-based debate:
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The inks that work best for us are not “soy-based” although they may contain some soy oil. When we looked into the actual composition of various inks, it turns out that soy inks are not vastly different. If not soy oil, most oil-based inks use linseed or similar oils, which have been used for centuries in oil paint, etc. They also are plant based, and time proven. The breakdown of the ink is something like 20-30% oils (of either kind), 10-20% pigments, around 40% resins, and some other things such as drier or varnish.
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In the very small quantities we use, there is no significant difference in VOCs emitted, or other environmental standards. Soy ink shows these advantages in large print runs such as newspapers, national mailings, and so forth.
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The drive for soy inks came from a marketing council of soybean growers. When a printer of our size proclaims their use of soy ink, we wonder if it is more of a marketing tool than a concrete environmental difference. If the soy oil replaced volatile solvents like toluene or benzene it would be a clear advantage, but linseed has worked well for ages and has no ill effects that we know of.
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We mix all of our inks by hand so even though we are a commercial letterpress shop we only have a can or maybe two of each of the pantone mixing inks instead of buying a new can of a single PMS each time someone orders a new color. Common print jobs typically use a small amount of ink – about the size of a quarter. This helps us to be better to the environment instead of having a bunch of ink that might not ever get used sitting around.
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We've also been switching to a type of ink that resists skinning over in the can. This keeps more of the ink more usable over time.
