The texture of the paper is as much a part of your finished piece as the ink or foil on its surface. We stock a range of premium papers, each with a distinct feel and character.
Neenah Cotton
Crane's Lettra is a 100% cotton paper made by Neenah, available in weights from 110 lb cover to 220 lb duplex. It's the standard-bearer for letterpress printing — the soft cotton surface compresses cleanly under the press, producing deep impression with sharp edges. This is the paper most of our wedding suites and business cards are printed on.
Colorplan is an English paper made by G.F Smith, available in over 50 colors and a 350 gsm weight that's well suited to business cards, hang tags, and folders. The surface has a distinctive felt-like texture — more pronounced than Lettra — that holds ink richly and gives the finished piece a substantial, tactile feel. It's a favorite for any project where the paper color is part of the design.
Wild is an Italian paper made by Cordenons, blending cotton with other plant fibers to produce a sheet with visible natural inclusions and a raw, organic texture. Each sheet has unique character. It prints beautifully but with a handmade quality — well suited to projects that want to feel artisanal and intentional rather than refined.
Gmund Colors Matt is a German mill paper offered in a system of 48 colors that are engineered to harmonize with one another, allowing any two to be combined cleanly in a single design. The mill is known for precise engineering and unusual finishes; this line is Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Silver. We use it most often for projects where a designer wants a wide, internally-consistent color palette to choose from.
Arturo is a deckle-edged Italian paper made by Magnani, with a soft cotton-blend surface and the natural feathered edge that forms during papermaking. It's most often chosen for wedding invitations and personal stationery where the torn edge becomes part of the design. The surface is smooth enough for clean type but holds ink richly.
Classic Crest is a Neenah-made American wood-pulp paper with a smooth eggshell finish, available in a range of weights and a small palette including the Epic Black colorway. It's a workhorse for corporate stationery, note cards, and business cards. Epic Black is one of the best black papers for foil stamping — dense, rich, and perfectly smooth.
Mohawk Superfine is a premium American wood-pulp paper made by Mohawk, with an ultra-smooth finish that's been the standard for fine printing for decades. The surface reproduces fine detail with exceptional clarity, making it well suited to foil stamping, fine type, and projects where a flatter print is preferred over a heavy letterpress impression. Available in multiple whites and a range of weights.
Crane's Lettra is the most common choice. It's a 100% cotton paper that compresses cleanly under the press, producing the deep tactile impression letterpress is known for. For a more textured look, English Colorplan or Italian Arturo are popular alternatives — Colorplan for its felt-like surface and 50+ saturated colors, Arturo for its soft hand and signature deckle edge.
Lettra is a 100% cotton paper with a soft surface that takes deep impression. Mohawk Superfine is a smooth wood-pulp paper with an ultra-clean finish that reproduces fine detail with high clarity. Choose Lettra when you want the impression itself to be part of the design; choose Mohawk Superfine for foil stamping, fine type, or projects where a flatter print is preferred.
Classic Crest Epic Black is the standard choice. It's a dense black paper with a smooth eggshell finish that holds metallic foil cleanly without ink bleed. Colorplan Ebony and Gmund Licorice Black also foil well if you want a more textured surface.
We typically print business cards on 220 lb Crane's Lettra (a duplexed cotton paper) or on heavy Colorplan around 350 gsm. Both feel substantial in hand and take a deep, visible letterpress impression without flexing. For a thicker card, we can triplex — gluing three layers together for a card up to 600 gsm.
Sometimes. Letterpress requires a paper that compresses cleanly without cracking, and not all stocks behave well. Send us a sample and we'll print a test sheet before committing to a full run.
Yes. Tell us about your project and we'll put together a sample pack of the papers most likely to suit it. Holding a swatch in your hand tells you more than any photograph.
A deckle edge is the natural torn or feathered edge of a sheet of paper, formed during the papermaking process before the sheet is trimmed. Arturo is our most popular deckle-edge paper and is often used for wedding invitations where the irregular edge becomes part of the design.
We're always looking for new papers that work beautifully with the letterpress process. If you have a specific paper in mind or want to feel samples before making a decision, let us know and we'll do our best to track it down for you.
Contact Us or Get a Quote and we'll explore the details together.
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