Hi, I’m Rebecca!
This is my letterpress shop where I primarily design and print letterpress wedding stationery. My background is in fine art and printmaking. I earned my degree in fine art (with a major in printmaking) at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2000 and then started working as an intaglio printer, helping to edition works of art for a handful of fine artists.
My own artwork has been mostly collage, etchings, drawing, and a bit of watercolor, but I became interested in design when I started learning the art of letterpress.
During a low period in my life a very helpful friend asked, “If you could do anything without worrying about the cost to make it happen, what would you do?” And the answer was to have a letterpress studio. With that seed of thought planted, I prioritized making it work and opened Reb Peters Press in 2009 with one 10x15 Chandler and Price press in Oakland, CA. I later moved to Portland, OR where I continue to run my little studio.
When not in the print shop, I’m often climbing, kayaking, gardening, and goofing off. :)
Write me to make an appointment if you'd like to stop by and visit the studio in NE Portland.
About letterpress
Letterpress printing creates a beautiful, tactile, classic piece that will stand out as something special and unique.
It is a “relief” printing process. This means that the printing surface is raised to accept ink, and then pressed directly onto the paper to create a reproduction of the image. The raised surface we use in our shop is a photopolymer plate. These plates can faithfully reproduce digital artwork in high detail, which gives us the versatility to use whatever fonts we want. Photopolymer plates are also made of a very strong material that can easily resist the tons of force that are applied by letterpress presses. In fact, these plates are stronger than movable type, and less prone to damage when pressed with enough force to imprint deeply into paper.
Photopolymer plate, ready to be inked up and pressed into each sheet of paper.
These plates are what make the modern and now iconic “deep letterpress impression” possible. When combined with soft cotton paper, photopolymer plates allows the newer generation of artists to print beautiful, tactile stationery, invitations, and art prints, with a signature deep impression that is only possible with letterpress printing.
Letterpress was once a method for mass production that met its demise due to its slow and time-consuming nature, but has been reborn and allowed to gain new respect for its very special qualities. Because of it’s need for hands-on skill, it’s connection to the past, and its unmistakable tactile impression, much of the surviving letterpress equipment is in the hands of people who cherish the machines and process. These craftsmen and women are keeping them well-loved and well-oiled, carrying on Gutenberg’s printing tradition in new and interesting ways.
Here’s an interview I did with Reid Johnson from Best Made Videos.