After three printings (and some minor hair tearing out) Jenn and Brian's save the dates are all finished and, Jenn informs me, in the mail! I won't post a picture until any friends reading this receive them in the mail, so instead, a photo of the polymer plate I printed from. And decimated.
In order to get even ink coverage, I had to cut the plate up and print each element of my design separately. One problem I had was getting the type to print up nice and dark. I added more packing to bring the plate up a bit, but then the edges of the plate would begin to show. I suspect that because I was printing on such small paper on a Vandercook and had to confine my printing area to the edge of the printing bed. I heard that the best place to place the type or plate is in the middle of the bed. (That's why bigger paper is better than itty bitty paper, on a Vandercook anyway). I switched over to a Pilot Press to print the flowers and didn't have such problems. Check out the Briar Press Online Museum to see photos of these different presses. They're pretty cool! Someday I'd love to have my own pilot press. Maybe I'll start a fund for myself. You can donate next time you see me.
I learned two things from this project: 1) print on larger paper and cut down later; 2) no more deckled edges. Ever. Evereverever.
Anyway, they came out quite dainty and pretty. And very purple.
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