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I did a search for this with no luck, so I apologize if this has been discussed before. I see that the letterpress (the Love sold one by SU) is supposed to deboss the cardstock. I used my neighbor's in the Big Shot and it definitely did NOT deboss in any degree. There was only the stamped impression, just like a background stamp (but harder to use! LOL). We used SU cardstock and ink, and the instructions for the plates.
What are we doing wrong?!
TIA for any tips!
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
To get really good "depressions," use a porous paper such as watercolor paper and pigment (aka Craft Inks) which squishes into the fibers as you press it to get a clean look to the image. You can search YouTube for video tutorials.
Mary Beth
Same here..no luck with the letterpress plate...just a lot of mees and trouble..there must be an easier way than is explained..not impressed (lol no punn intended)
To get really good "depressions," use a porous paper such as watercolor paper and pigment (aka Craft Inks) which squishes into the fibers as you press it to get a clean look to the image. You can search YouTube for video tutorials.
Mary Beth
Thanks for the reply--that seems odd to me, that a craft ink would make a cleaner look and deeper depression, but we can try it. They certainly don't make it clear that you need watercolor paper, though. That stinks!
nancyannp, I thought a background stamp was much easier to use! Especially with trying to get it straight. Not really getting it, either.
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Sometimes, lightly misting the paper with water helps "soften" the paper to give a deeper impression. I would also add a cardstock shim or two to get a tighter fit through the machine.
if you go to the Letterpress website, they have a video tutorial, I believe, that shows how to use the Letterpress.
Have a link? I googled letterpress and got a billion hits, none of which were the right one...
It sounds to me, though, that it's just not a good system, period. You need the "right" ink and the "right" paper, it's a pain to line up straight, and you end up with a result that is pretty much the same as a background stamp except slightly debossed...
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Sometimes, lightly misting the paper with water helps "soften" the paper to give a deeper impression. I would also add a cardstock shim or two to get a tighter fit through the machine.
We could try that...but it was NO impression, so I'm not sure a "deeper" impression will be much of an improvement LOL
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
First of all, I don't know anything about the "love" plate from SU. But I can tell you about L Letterpress. I have used L's plates for over a year and I love the results. It takes practice and you should be able to get great tips from Boxcar Press.com. If you want the debossing to show you have to use cotton paper that is over 110 lbs in paper weight. And you have to use the proper ink. You can also check over at Lifestyle crafts.
Here is what I found in using the Lots of Love Letter press. You can get a debossed image on any kind of paper (I used real Red) by using the Premium crease pad instead of the cutting plate as it says in the instructions. You may have to shim under the letter press plate also but be careful. If you get too much pressure on the ordinary cardstock, you might have small tears in the paper. I made a red and white valentine for my Valentine workshop this way and out of eight people, only one had a small tear.
Thank you for the link! I guess I don't really understand the advantage of this, it seems like a lot of work. Why not just use an embossing folder, especially if you have to use the special inks and special papers....They certainly don't make that clear when you buy the letterpress from SU
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Last edited by nottoocreative; 01-25-2011 at 04:55 PM..
Here is what I found in using the Lots of Love Letter press. You can get a debossed image on any kind of paper (I used real Red) by using the Premium crease pad instead of the cutting plate as it says in the instructions. You may have to shim under the letter press plate also but be careful. If you get too much pressure on the ordinary cardstock, you might have small tears in the paper. I made a red and white valentine for my Valentine workshop this way and out of eight people, only one had a small tear.
Thank you, I was wondering about that (using the crease pad), will try it!
__________________ Lynn
"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right�--Lincoln
Again.....I am not sold on the letterpress plates...dont think I will put much more effort into figuring it out...hard for me to demo something im not in love with...and this I am not loving....movng on to something fun instead of frustratiung.....glad we had this thread..thanks everyone for input.
Letterpress
