Posted by Olivia dela Rosa on October 23, 2014
With all the printed materials and designs that we have right now, my eyes get pretty tired seeing the same old thing over and over again. There's nothing new in the market and nothing really stands out anymore. Though I don't find this totally wrong, the lack of inspiration is what frustrates me. A good design not only ignites something in you, it also challenges you to seek out and push the limits. It calls you to try and think of something new until you find the perfect design you need.
After searching endlessly throughout the Web, I found comfort after seeing these letterpress cards. Letterpress is basically a printing process that uses a movable type - reversed and raised letters and images made of metal or wood - which is then inked and impressed upon the paper and often with sort of an indentation from the pressure, creating a debossed effect. Its first use is dated back in the 15th century, used widely in printing books back then but has moved to business cards and wedding invitations later on. If you decide to do it yourself, you might find it labor-intensive but once you see the results you might consider the whole thing worth it.
Scroll through to see our thoroughly selected letterpress cards and discover new designs for your next project. Happy exploring!


Happy Notes from Anthropologie

Alexandra Huckabay by Print&Grain


Roar Projects by Principle Design



Bonjour Letterpress Card via Etsy

Letterpress cards by Colorquarry via Etsy




A Little Bird by Belinda Love Lee


Brad Goreski business cards by Sarah Drake Designs

Bon Voyage notecards by Inhaus Press

Letterpress wedding invitations by Minted

Greeting card by Denotecard via Etsy


Wedding invitation by Print & Promise via Etsy

Pinup Art letterpress card by Ink Pop Studio via Etsy

Wright & Goebel by The Working Assembly


Type Letterpress Desk Calendar by iSkelter

Hooray postcard by Parrott Design Studio via Etsy


Wondrous Co. by Mitch Bartlett




Ten Thousand business cards by The Distillery

2011 Holiday Word Search greeting card via Dolcepress
Enjoying so far? If you'd like to see more design inspirations, go and explore the rest of the site. Who knows, you might also end up getting the printing deal of your life with all the discounts we're offering!
Restaurant branding and design idea's
Square business card design examples
Business card dimensions and paper weight
Electronic business cards with NFC technology
Wikipedia: Letterpress
I love Snapfish and always have. I needed three canvas photos delivered in time for my parents anniversary, and realized I wouldn't get them in time.
Instead of paying for expedited shipping, I gave them a call, they were kind enough to put a rush on finishing order, and I got them one day early (4 days earlier than they were scheduled) at no extra charge!
They're a wonderful company. And you can always find discount coupons online!
Rating: 5 / 5
I love Cafepress, this company has the best customer service: My sister ordered a printed sweatshirt for my son from them. Unfortunately it didn't fit him (the sweatshirt was to large). We contacted RMA and within a few hours they replied: we will send you a new one in the correct size. we didn't have to ship the old one back, which saved me postage and a trip to the postoffice. I never had this happen before, very impressed by Cafepress!
Rating: 5 / 5
Inkgarden offers the most flexibility with their design tools. You can actually save your design to complete it later, and their tools allow you to exactly position where the design is located on the product that you create. Adding text is easy, you can use multiple designs, choose if you want to use single or double sided, etc, etc.
Product quality was satisfying, and customer service was helpful.
I will definately use them again.
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought a groupon type certificate for tiny prints so decided to order my Christmas cards there. I purchased a square card and ordered the longer size envelopes because the website said you pay normal postage versus extra postage for a square envelope. When I received the envelopes, the flap was on the side so I oriented my address label and stamps that way. Every single envelope (150) was returned to me because the USPS says I need double postage because of the way the envelope is oriented. I contacted tiny prints and they told me I should have known which way the envelope should have been oriented and they will not reimburse me for the stamps ... They will only send me new envelopes (what does that cost them ... A couple dollars?). So now, I either have to buy all new stamps (@ $75) to send the envelopes as they are or readdress 150 new envelopes, cut out all the stamps off the old envelopes and tape them on the new ones.... And the envelopes are not even arriving until 3 days before Christmas (guess they couldn't afford to ship them any faster) so I doubt I will be able to get them back out quickly enough to be delivered by Christmas. Tiny Prints should tell you you need to orient the envelopes in a certain way or put the flap on the long side where it normally is. I will never do business with this company again. Not only do they over charge for their products (cards were still very expensive even with discount certificate), they give terrible customer service.
Rating: 1 / 5
Moo literally blew my expectations! I was on a tight budget and designed my own cards. I chose the cheapest paper and the cheapest shipping.
The cards arrived quickly and the quality is exceptional! The paper stock is thick and feels nice to the touch.
The quality of the cards can't be faulted, and virtually everyone I've given one to is impressed and wants to know where I got them done.
I will definitely use MOO again and will recommend them to all my friends.
Rating: 5 / 5