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# Learn Basic Letterpress Printing

- [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/u/kairenner/learn-basic-letterpress-printing-812)
- By [KaiRenner](https://slatesource.com/u/KaiRenner)
- Arts & Culture
- Created on Mar 20, 2026

> Every letterpress impression is a physical record of pressure applied at a specific moment. That contact is what makes it valuable.
>
> — KaiRenner · 26th of April 2026

## What Modern Accessible Letterpress Is

Traditional letterpress used cast metal type locked into a chase. Modern accessible letterpress uses photopolymer plates — polymer sheets that harden under UV light to create a relief printing surface from any design you can print on transparency film. A Boxcar Press polymer plate on a Vandercook proof press or a tabletop platen press (Kelsey, Craftsmen) produces professional impressions without a type collection.

**.918** Inch

**1** to 2 Points

Expose a Photopolymer Plate

Print transparency film, expose in a UV unit, wash, and dry.

## Expose a Photopolymer Plate

Print your design as solid black on transparency film from a laser printer (not inkjet — toner blocks UV more reliably). Place face down on the photopolymer plate in your UV exposure unit. Expose per the plate manufacturer's time (typically 3 to 5 minutes under a UV lamp). Wash in a plate-washing unit or by hand with a soft brush under running water. Dry and post-expose for hardness.

Mount the Plate and Lock Up the Chase

Mount the plate on a base block and lock into the press chase.

## Mount the Plate and Lock Up the Chase

Adhere the photopolymer plate to a polymer plate base of the correct height to bring the plate surface to type high (.918 inch). Most commercial bases use a repositionable adhesive. Place the base and plate in the press chase and lock with quoins. The plate must be completely immovable — any shift during printing produces double images.

Ink the Press and Take Impression Pulls

Roll ink onto the plate, run paper through, and adjust impression.

## Ink the Press and Take Impression Pulls

Apply a thin, even layer of oil-based or rubber-based letterpress ink to the ink disc. Roll the ink disc to work the ink to an even consistency. Feed a sheet of dampened or standard paper and take a pull. Examine the impression: ink coverage should be even and complete. Impression depth (the kiss or deboss into the paper) is adjusted by raising or lowering the platen.

What You Need to Start

0%

Tabletop platen press (Kelsey Excelsior, FAG, or similar)

Photopolymer plate and polymer plate base

UV exposure unit or strong UV lamp

Plate washing equipment

Oil-based or rubber-based letterpress ink

Brayer for ink distribution

Cotton rag or dampened papers for impression

Ink Temperature Affects Tack Cold oil-based ink is stiff and tacky — it picks up paper fiber and prints unevenly. Warm it slightly by working it on the ink disc before printing. Humidity also matters: damp paper takes ink more readily and produces sharper impression. Keep ink temperature consistent between pulls for consistent results across a print run.

> Each sheet is numbered by the hand that fed it in. Letterpress is never entirely mechanical.
>
> — KaiRenner · 26th of April 2026

[Boxcar Press — Beginner Letterpress Printing Resources](https://www.boxcarpress.com/beginner-letterpress-resources/?utm_source=slatesource)