Illustrator CS5.   I have been a prepress tech and graphic designer for letterpress exclusively for 6 years (the old Quark days through CS5), If I was working in the 4 color process world I would probably be more inclined to use indesign. If you take the time to learn how to use the Pen tool in illustrator, you will learn to love illustrator- 

Indesign has export limitations that make it my least favorite part of CS5- I convert and prepare files that come from lots of different designers and lots of different programs – Illustrator is the most RIP friendly – 

Bev Dittberner

Full Circle Press

First – trim your stacks of paper perfectly- no draw, no tiny ridges- it has to be perfect.Use an Airbrush with Acrylic paint, Airbrush Medium, Matt medium and water- I’ve been painting with acrylics for over 30 years and it took a me some time to learn how to adjust the colors to match PMS colors. Use a binding clamp to hold 1 – 2 inches of paper. Have a hot air gun ready to dry the sides as you finish them-Airbrush / dry / airbrush / dry- and they quickly remove the top and bottom sheets and fan the sheets .The Matt medium will harden the paint so that it will not smudge – The Airbrush medium works to thin the paint and make it slippery enough to spread evenly – the water thins- Learning the correct thickness of paint is the trick- takes lots of practice- have fun

We are doing about the same amount of business as last year at this time- My boss has been a letterpress printer since she was 14 and owned her business for 17 years, so our client base is good. They are ordering less and our new customers are asking for discounts and that is new for us. But we do what we need to do to keep the presses running. Are you going to print for designers and event planners or are you designing your own work?. Are you going to set type or use digital files, film and polymer plates to produce your work?I think I would create a business plan and do a fair amount of research before jumping in. In the mean time- keep printing- the more you print, the better you will get and the more confident you will be. I’m a prepress tech, graphic designer, and run the presses when needed. I am happy to answer questions and If I don;t know the answer, I can bet my boss does. Good Luck to you and enjoy

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