To make your prints as unique as you are, La Papeterie Anglaise offers you the choice of different techniques for your project in the centre of Brussels.
This is a process that consists of assembling movable characters in a “compositor” to create words or sentences. These characters are aligned and justified according to the format of the paper or cardboard to be printed.
Once the composition is finished, it is placed in a frame in which all the lines, properly aligned, are ready to be printed. Homogeneity, legibility, and coherence are the three permanent objectives of the typographer.
After a document has been letterpress printed, a special resin falls onto the still fresh ink, which absorbs the excess. This conglomerate is then put into an oven and baked before going to a blower to solidify and cool it.
The result is a document with round, shiny reliefs (as opposed to the matte, fine reliefs of the soft cut). Depending on the quantity to be printed, the type of machine used varies.
Invented in the 15th century in Florence by the silversmith Maso Finiguerra, intaglio is a highly refined process. Using a burin, a design is reproduced in reverse on a soft metal punch. The final print is then baked at 850°C with sodium cyanide before being cooled with water.
In order to be printed, this punch must be coated with ink and then wiped clean so that only the hollows are left with ink. A moistened sheet or cardboard is pressed against it; this is the printing stage. For your business cards, correspondence or other city works, a cardboard of specifically studied quality will be chosen.
This process works using a hollow matrix (made of steel or brass) and its counterpart (which is nested within it). During printing, the paper is deformed by compression between these two components. The ink on the matrix prints the paper at the same time. Stamp printing is possible in both automatic and semi-automatic mode (unlike soft cut). It is different from the other three processes because:
Embossing is a printing technique that creates a raised image by pressing a material, usually paper, between two raised engraved plates.
Embossing is often used to add texture or dimension to business cards, invitations, and other stationery for a high visual impact.
Again using a press, letterpress is used to apply text and images in relief to a surface.
The raised characters are inked and then pressed against the paper to create a sharp, deep impression. The result of this technique will have a more vintage and handmade look.
All you have to do is make your choice, and we’ll get started right away.
What’s more, all our prints are made on paper from the Original Crown Mill.