Although a now-outdated process, the letter press was once the only means of printing, up until the 19th century. It was used to make books, posters, business cards, etc. It is a process of printing which involves pressing ink and paper over an impression to create type and/or image. The process begins by turning on the machine, and applying ink to the disk at the top. The ink rollers move along the disk, coating the ink along themselves, and then the operator takes a sheet of paper and places it on the moving ledge. Timing is crucial, because the ledge moves constantly and allows only about a 2 second window to place the paper correctly. Once the paper is placed, the operator pulls the lever, you hear a clamping sounds, release the lever, and grab the paper from the moving ledge. You now have words and/or an image on the paper. The last part involves putting a blank piece of paper over the printed paper, so that no smudging occurs.
Nearly any color of ink can be used during the letter press process, and you can even use up to two different colors. One of the downsides, however, is that you can only print on paper that is slightly bigger than 8.5″ by 11″ at the most. Also, cleaning the letter press machine is a lengthy tedious process. You have to individually wipe down the impression plate, the disk, and the two ink rollers with a special cleaning solution.
