A few weeks back, we received a question from a reader on how she could go about designing her own wedding invitations by working with a professional letterpress printer directly to produce the pieces. We started doing some research and found an amazing company called Paper Monkey Press located in Berkeley, California!
Not only do we love the name but we were so curious to find out more about the company...so we chatted with Rori Zendek of Paper Monkey Press and love all of the information she provided us with and getting to know her a little better...enjoy!
{rb}: Tell us a little bit about Paper Monkey Press and the work you produce
{rz}: I started paper monkey 8 years ago after moving back to the east bay from LA. I got my BFA in printmaking from CCAC in Oakland in 97, then moved down to LA for a few years where I was lucky enough to work at a wonderful letterpress/paperie in west hollywood called Soolip. I learned to work with clients in designing specifically for letterpress, then moved back to the bay area and worked at a graphic design company in SF during the day and started taking on small letterpress projects at night and on the weekends. I graduated to working full time on custom projects in 2003, and now my husband does the majority of the actual printing and I take care of the design, scheduling and client meetings. We have a great work/live loft where our studio is downstairs, and we live upstairs. I started Paper Monkey Press with the idea of being able to do all custom work - which we still maintain, everything is printed in our studio by us, by hand, on our 100 year old chandler and price platen press. We also do graphic design work- from logos to catalogs (samples of which will hopefully be on our website soon!). The majority of the work we print are wedding invitations- although we also keep busy doing business cards, party invitations, baby announcements and personal stationery.
{rb}: Can you tell us a little bit about the letterpress printing technique
{rz}: Letterpress printing is a relief process of printing- which is inking a raised surface and printing it onto paper with enough pressure to transfer the ink and leave an impression in the paper. We use photopolymer plates to change the computer made on-screen designs into a surface we can print from. After we create or receive a computer file - we send it to a local film house (a short bike ride away) to get films made which look all black except where the text or images are. We have our own platemaking machine in our studio so after we get the films back we expose the UV light sensitive photopolymer coated plates, then wash them out with water - all the areas that have not been exposed to the UV light become hard and don't wash away- so we are left with a plate that has raised type/images. Our photopolymer plates are steel backed - and this steel fits on a magnetic base that goes into our press - together they are type-high, which is what our 100 year old press was made to print - so after a bit of tinkering we can combine the modern technology of computer designed art on our antique press. The depth of printing can be controlled by the amount of packing put under the paper - some clients what a very deep "bite" into the paper, while others prefer a lighter impression.
{rb}: We never knew so much work went into it! We have an obsession with letterpress...what do you love best about it?
{rz}: I began my love affair with letterpress initially because of the immediacy of being able to set metal or wood type (or carve linoleum and wood blocks ) and being able to get an edition just like that. Also because of the tactile nature of printing - coming from a fine art background it was just really neat to find a way to do what I love, and still squeak by a living by doing it. We also get to work from home (no commuting!) and get a new project/challenge/client interaction everyday which is really great, and fits my personality of needing new challenges so I don't get bored.
{rb}: If a couple wants to design their own wedding invitations - would they be able to work directly with Paper Monkey Press to produce the invitation suite?
{rz}: Clients can either come to us with their print ready designs and we can consult with them to help them create a letterpress friendly design as well as suggest the perfect paper to compliment their design - or they can come to us with just and idea and we are happy to do the design work for them. We offer our design services either hourly, or as package deals for full wedding sets.
Photo credits: Sasha Gulish
{rb}: When you aren't busy in the studio, what do you enjoy doing for fun?
{rz}: Fun things that we like to do when we aren't downstairs in our studio are; getting out of the house to go on long hikes and little adventures with our two dogs (Dottie our little frenchie and Floyd our big old good dog). We are lucky enough to live in the Bay Area so there is a ton to do around here - we love to cook, go to local farmers markets, we go bowling on Monday nights, and I indulge in my guilty pleasure of blog reading - food and design mostly -, oh and games- we play cards, dominos, board games, and yes, the wii plays a embarrassingly large role in our evening entertainment.
Wow - thank you so much Rori for taking the time to talk to us and give us such great information about Paper Monkey Press and the letterpress printing technique! Be sure to visit their website for more inspiration and to find out more about their wonderful design and printing services...and they are a {green} company too...which we are all about!
Great interview, Maria! I LOVE their work!
Posted by: Lara @ southern wedding style | May 29, 2008 at 01:38 PM
such beautiful work
Posted by: kristin @ thefairmountbride | May 31, 2008 at 02:05 PM