Letterpress

Letterpress printing is a process of relief printing produced by direct impression of a raised plate to the paper. Here at Able we are proud to offer some of the industry’s finest quality letterpress. Each print job comes with careful set up of the press and “make-ready” processes, assuring the images and text are printed crisply and with beautiful impression. Part of the beauty of letterpress is in the uniqueness of each printed sheet — very subtle variations in color, impression and position should be expected. Large areas of ink coverage can be challenging to letterpress-print and can have a “salty” appearance, especially with darker inks. If you love a deep impression in the print, be aware that this can show on the reverse side of the paper.

Foil Stamping

Foil stamping is a technique of permanently applying metallic or pigment foil to the paper using a heated copper die. Similar to letterpress, the foil stamping we do at Able will have an impression in the paper, all the while keeping fine lines and details crisp. Certain challenges can come up depending on the nature of the artwork we are stamping. On the soft, cotton papers we love, the tiny negative spaces can have slight “fill-in.” Like letterpress, expect very subtle variations sheet to sheet.

Offset Printing

Traditionally referred to as offset lithography, this printing method is great for large solid areas of ink coverage, photographic images, graduated screens and gradients, and fine details. Compared to digital printing, offset inks fully saturate the paper and have no surface sheen whatsoever. When offset printing with our hand-mixed inks, we can achieve brightness/vibrancy levels not attainable with digital printing or 4-color process. Using metal printing plates ensures top qualilty, consistant results with every project. The perfect registration attainable by our Ryobi press makes it a go-to press when combining letterpress, foil stamping and/or die cutting.

Digital Printing

Our digital printing is produced on a new Xerox machine, known for its consistency of color printing, various sheet size capabilities, the ability to print envelopes, and increased color gamut. Choose digital for orders you need in a hurry, at a great price point, in extremely low quantities and multiple versions. The ability of digital to print variable data, or different text on every sheet, makes it the perfect choice for addressing envelopes, escort and place cards, personalized letters and more. Not only for quick printing and low price, our digital printing is often “step 1” in multi-process jobs that combine letterpress, foil stamping, die cutting, duplexing and edge painting.