Before Kate gets started fixing up our letterpress, she did a thorough audit of all the parts to see what was redeemable and which bits of kit had reached the end of their lifespan.Sadly, the rollers were just not up to scratch. The material had decomposed - most likely from lack of use. That said, letterpress rollers usually need to be replaced around every ten years so we expected that this would be a spare part we would have to factor in.

Yikes: it almost looks like a small animal has been gnawing on the rollers: here's a close-up of one of them:

Interestingly, the Golding Jobber holds three rollers, but we often print using just two and the results are the same.

The purpose of the rollers is to transfer ink onto the plate, which is then pressed into the paper stock, leaving a de-bossed mark. Since the beginning of letterpress, the concern has always been how to ensure that ink is transferred with consistency and equal pressure. In the very early stages, printers applied the ink manually, using something called an ink ball or dabber which consisted of a wooden handle and sheepskin bag filled with horsehair:

In 1818, Robert Harrild developed the first ‘composition roller’, made of glue (from calfskins) and treacle. Needless to say, though this was an improvement on the dabber, it was still not ideal. Luckily, in the intervening years, the materials used for rollers have improved and they now have a much longer lifespan (and they are not made from treacle!)

- Jana

We have a wonderful late 19th Century Golding Jobber No. 7 letterpress here in our studio. It's not in great shape so it's been sitting at the side, making us feel a little guilty for not using it.Finally, with the winter months approaching we have time to take on a new task and we are giving ourselves the challenge of bringing this awesome machine back to peak performance. Kate, our letterpress whiz, will be cleaning up the press, fitting new parts and generally ensuring that the press is shipshape and ready for another 100 years of printing!

Here's how the Golding Jobber looks at the moment:

When we bought this press, we also got a copy of the original advert! We love the old school look of it:

Keep checking our blog for updates on our progress with the Golding Jobber No. 7!

We just printed a suite of gorgeous wedding stationery for Corina and Jose. We love how the quite luxuriant gold edging is offset by the classy black script. Add in some subtle New York illustrations and it's a recipe for a beautiful invitation!

- Jana

Here are a few more examples of some business cards we have really enjoyed designing and printing.

There's something lovely and tactile about a letterpress business card - you can really feel the indentation of the type on the card.

Once you have purchased your business cards, you might also want to think about keeping them in a nice holder! Here are a few options that we are really fond of - just click on the image to link to the store...

- Jana

A business card can express something of the personality and interests of the person who gives it. This may be as simple as choosing a small image that represents your line of work:

Or it could be communicated via the choice of font and color:

In Japan, the business card or "meishi" is quite an important item in terms of how it is exchanged and received. The card should be held at the bottom two corners, face up and angled so that it can be read by the person receiving it. The recipient takes it by the top two corners using both hands. Placing one's fingers over the name or other information is considered rude. Upon receiving the card, one is expected to read the card carefully, noting the person's name and position. It's an acknowledgement of the status of the person giving the card - definitely a different experience to the more Western approach to distributing business cards!

- Jana

Our friends at ANIMAL made a lovely video all about Sesame Letterpress and our machines.We wanted to share it with you here:

The Romance of Old Machines: Brooklyn's Sesame Letterpress from ANIMALNewYork.com on Vimeo.

- Jana

We've reached the end of our Save the Date recap - and we wanted to finish with some lovely, classic examples of card announcements.We really like this simple calendar design with the heart-shaped date marker - can't you imagine guests keeping this on their mantlepiece or fridge as a pretty reminder of the upcoming wedding?

These seersucker cards are ideal for a spring or summer wedding and could be printed in any thematic color...

We really enjoyed working on this destination wedding. All of the separate items fit into the custom envelope and they have a wonderful 1920s vintage travel feel!

Finally, I'm a sucker for anything with a nautical or maritime theme so these whale-printed cards make me swoon...

- Jana

Most of the business cards we print are rectangular. This follows on from the earliest examples of calling cards which would always be this shape. However, we also like the individuality implicit in a card with an unusual shape or dimensions. We recently printed this gorgeous square business card and now most of us here in the workshop are coveting them!

In the 19th Century, it wasn't just the information printed on the calling card that mattered, subtle adaptations to the card itself could convey meaning:

If a gentleman folded over the left hand upper corner of his card, it implied that his visit was congratulatory in nature.

A fold to the lower left hand corner meant that he sent his condolences.

If a gentleman was taking leave for a considerable amount of time, this would be communicated by a fold in the lower right hand corner.

I'm not sure people would pick up on these distinctions nowadays, but perhaps we should start experimenting with our own business cards:

- Jana