The effervescent duo from Wink visited AIGA South Dakota for a evening filled with some of the most inspired design work we've had the chance to see. To promote the event, we were lucky enough to be on the printing end of their cheeky postcard and posters.

POSTCARD
2 PMS colors overprinted on Soft White 2-ply Museum Board. Printed on a Heidelberg Windmill platen press.

POSTERS
3 PMS colors on various cover weight stocks including Neenah Eames Furniture 120# Cover in Solar White, Crane Lettra 110# Cover in Fluorescent White and a few other stocks we had on hand since this was our first time printing a heavy solid area of ink. Printed on a Heidelberg KS cylinder press.

Spark volunteered to create the 2012-2013 AIGA South Dakota mailing. We had a lot of fun bringing our letterpress enthusiasm to this project. We used different paper and ink colors from a simple color palette to make each of the piece work well with each other while standing on their own. The best part was perhaps the poster size calendar that used split fountain printing to showcase a technique we really enjoy at Spark.

LETTER FROM THE BOARD
Metallic silver and black ink on French Paper Poptone 100# Cover in Lemon Drop.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
PMS 115 (sunshine) and black ink on Mohawk Superfine 100# Cover in Ultrawhite Eggshell Finish.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Metallic silver and black ink on Basis 80# Cover in Dark Grey. This card also featured small diecut stickers (using the AIGA mark) so recipients could put the stickers on the provided calendar to note upcoming events since we were still in the planning stages.

2012-2013 CALENDAR
We've done split fountain printing at Spark before, but we've never tried incorporating two split fountain runs into the same piece. We did PMS 2985 (sky blue) to PMS 115 (sunshine) in one run and then metallic copper to metallic silver in the second run. We used Mohawk Superfine 100# Text in Ultrawhite Eggshell Finish and printed the piece on our Heidelberg KS cylinder press.

A printing company with no business cards? That's the position we found ourselves in right before an AIGA event we were hosting in September 2012. We wanted something fun for everyone, so we had four different colors across the card, with a steel gray printing on all of the cards. Silver for the pressmen, a coral pink for the designers, sunshine for the owners and a light aqua blue for the customer service staff. The personalization of each card was the best part, poking fun or simply highlighting what makes each staff member unique and a joy to work with.

BUSINESS CARDS
We produced a small run of 50 cards for all of the employees, plus more for our main customer service representative and our art director. All cards were on 110# Crane Lettra in Fluorescent White, except for our art director/owner who had most of hers produced on 220# Crane Lettra (also in fluorescent white). PMS Black 7 on all cards and a second color as mentioned above. We printed and die cut all of these on our Heidelberg Windmill platen press.

J.D. Gordon Advertising is a full service agency based in Sioux City, Iowa. They came to us with their identity package which included business cards for all of their employees, custom-converted envelopes and letterhead. The end result was wonderful, due in large part to the keen eye they had for the design and the mixing of paper stocks.

BUSINESS CARD
2 PMS Colors on both sides. The majority of the cards were run on French Paper Muscletone 140# Cover in Pure White. The owners elected to print their cards on our Crane Lettra 220# Cover in Fluorescent White.

BUSINESS ENVELOPE
This envelope was printed first and then sent to an envelope converter since it was a larger quantity. They took advantage of the custom envelope design by printing on both sides of the sheet, so there was a visible pattern when the envelope was opened. Printed in two PMS colors on French Paper Dur-O-Tone Butcher Off-White 80# Text.

LETTERHEAD
This letterhead had really heavy ink coverage on the back side so that part was offset-printed first and then we printed the front letterpress. Printed in two PMS colors on French Paper Dur-O-Tone Butcher Off-White 80# Text.

Some clients want "the letterpress look" and this notecard definitely has it. Printed on French Paper Muscletone 130# Cover in Pure White, the front of the card almost looks like a worn leather. On top of the tan-ish flood of ink is a medium gray ink that subtly impressed a pattern and the Cary Geller mark onto the card. The dark gray envelopes had white ink addresses. We typically do not print white ink because white ink is not fully opaque even after a few passes, but the designers and client understood what the end result would be and felt it would work well with the overall look.

Fresh Produce has made a name for themselves by producing the unexpected. This piece is no exception. Anyone can send a holiday promo postcard, but Fresh Produce worked with Landscape Garden Centers to send out a truly special piece to their best customers. This five tree diecut piece folds down to one tree, with the last tree being detachable for the customer to bring into the store when shopping.

DIECUT TREES
2 PMS colors printed on Neenah Classic Columns in Spring Green 80# Cover. Printed and die cut on our Heidelberg KS cylinder press.

Turnpost wanted a fun invitation/holiday card for their annual client appreciation event. They used a custom diecut on our Crane Lettra 220# Cover in Ecru. The front (Humbug!) features a dark green ink and a more weathered look due to the heavier ink coverage. The back has a cranberry ink with lighter coverage, which works great for a 2-sided piece.

Spark Letterpress is also a manufacturer of fine stationery. When it came time to create some new blank cards for our 2012 releases, we knew we wanted to incorporate foil with our love for patterns. There are four designs in the collection, each printed in two color combinations.

FOLDED CARDS
1 color letterpress plus 1 color foil cards on Mohawk Superfine 100# Cover in Ultrawhite and White, eggshell finish. Gold shiny, gold satin, silver satin and copper shiny foils were used.The A2 folded cards were paired with coordinating metallic envelopes in Curious Metallics Ice Silver and Stardream Quartz.

This system was very detailed and we worked hard to really think through all aspects before rushing into production. From edge painting, to stock and foil selection, everything ultimately flowed together seamlessly.

LETTERHEAD
Two PMS colors on Mohawk Superfine 100# Text in Ultrawhite eggshell finish.

ENVELOPE
Two PMS colors plus clear foil on Spark #10 envelopes which are made from the Mohawk Superfine 100# Text.

BUSINESS CARDS
Two PMS colors plus clear foil on the front of the card. White foil and clear foil on the back of the card. Mohawk Superfine 100# Cover in Ultrawhite eggshell finish was custom duplexed with Wasau Astrobrights 65# Cover in Celestial Blue. The cards were finished with edge painting to match the stock and bright blue PMS that was printed on the front of the card. This effect makes the custom duplexing less prominent so you don't see the two separate sheets.

This still remains one of our favorite projects. The designs are artfully matched with the right paper and inks. I can only imagine how excited the clients and friends of Conyers Design were to receive this holiday mailing!

HOLIDAY GIFT TAGS
Each card is printed in two PMS colors on one side and diecut in a circle with a hole punch. We used Crane Lettra 220# Cover in Fluorescent White. The designs had very tight registration and fine details that all worked perfectly together on press.

IMAGEHAUS put together a brilliantly simple package for Otto Bock's Advisory Council. The coaster pushed us to our solid coverage limits and had an insane amount of drying time needed, but it was well worth it. The 5 pages of the informational piece were perfectly suited for letterpress with the crisp type and design elements.

COASTER
1 PMS color printed on Crane Lettra 220# Cover in Fluorescent White. Printed and die cut on a Heidelberg Windmill platen press.

INFORMATIONAL PAGES
2 PMS colors on Crane Lettra 110# Cover in Fluorescent White. Printed on a Heidelberg Windmill platen press. Corners were rounded after trimming.

This stationery suite is still one of my favorites even though some time has passed since we received the order. A distinct identity combined with the unique qualities of letterpress printing can produce a lasting impact.

BUSINESS CARDS
2 PMS colors printed on Crane Lettra 110# Cover in Fluorescent White. Printed on a Heidelberg Windmill platen press.

LETTERHEAD
2 PMS colors printed on Crane Lettra 80# Text in Fluorescent White. Printed on a Heidelberg Windmill platen press.

This piece was used to inform residents to plan when you plant, so what could be more perfect than using plantable paper made by our friends at Porridge Papers? This paper is embedded with wildflower seeds and will grow beautiful flowers when you follow the instructions.

Who doesn't love black ink on white paper? It's still a favorite of ours because the simplicity of this no-color palette definitely works! Letterhead, business cards, #10 envelopes with a policy flap and a custom A2 notecard mailer all give Flourish that personal touch when communicating with their clients.

Lawrence & Schiller had to have cards that would make an impact. Using their signature colors of orange and a cool gray, these cards were printed on 2-ply Museum Board in White and then diecut into 2.5" circles.

Lifeguard has an impressive collection of products, including a line for Jonathan Adler. We were thrilled when they asked us to print this invitation for an exclusive Jonathan Adler event. Their signature stock - Neenah Classic Crest 165# DTC in Solar White along with a bright green ink make this simple invite pop!

This gorgeous piece was designed by our friends at Bird + Banner for their client, Anthropologie. The recipients were a curated list of their best customers. There is a large handwritten quote in blind letterpress along with black and red typewriter style type, all done on Crane Lettra 220# Cover in Fluorescent White.

These fun door hangers were made for attendees of this gathering as a unique way to invite them to the planned activities. The hangers feature black ink and blind letterpress while the black policy flap #10 envelopes have metallic silver ink.

Sussner Design can take a simple idea and make it spectacular. These cards are a great example of that. Something cost-effective that can be given to a customer to acknowledge a long wait in line or other small service issues.

GIFT CARDS
Each card is printed in two PMS colors on both sides, along with a numbered area to make each one unique and traceable. We used a heavy blotter stock for a nice impression and then die cut them to complete the look.

A new product for 2012. Spark created these fun fill-in-the-blank certificate cards with gold foil and black ink on Mohawk Superfine 100# Cover in White eggshell finish.

These cards feature a fun design printed in three colors on chipboard - one of our favorite materials for letterpress!

The poster art was masterfully created by our friends at J.D. Gordon. For items such as this where there are solids and tints, we spend a great deal of time in pre-press to get the right combinations so that when printed the tints aren't too dark and competing with the solid area.

Printed in metallic brown and olive inks on French Paper Muscletone 140# Cover in Frostone Glacier. We ran this 13x19 poster without trim marks so we could maximize the size of this poster.

For Spark's 2010 release of Wedding Love (volumes 1 & 2) and Stationery Love, we created a marketing piece to send to potential retailers. The mailing featured a monarch size 3-color card about our new line, a reply postcard for those who wanted additional information and a custom made envelope. The envelopes were printed with a subtle pattern and a second color for the address information.