Skip to navigationSkip to content

Letterpress

A relief printmaking technique for printing letters, characters, numbers, punctuation marks and/or images that are cut from wood or cast from metal. The raised surface(s) of the letter(s) or image(s) have ink rolled onto them. They are then pressed onto paper, leaving the ink behind. Letterpress printing can produce multiple copies quickly. It was first used with movable type in China in around 1040 CE.