Stationery fiends this one is for you. First featured in Issue 25, today we introduce you to Terrace Press, a print and design studio located in Sydney. This fab biz offers the traditional form of printing known as letterpress as well as a whole heap of design services from digitally printed menus through to acrylic signage. A one-stop-shop! HM friend Scott Surplice popped by to take some behind the scenes pics whilst owner Alex Power lets us in on the details. Scroll down for more…
Can you describe your style? I would say our style is simple. We use Classic fonts paired with modern hand lettering and calligraphy so that we can achieve a beautiful crisp impression into the soft cotton stocks.
Can you please explain your printing techniques? Letterpress printing is done one colour at a time, requiring a custom printing plate for each print. As the printing plate is inked up, a single sheet of paper is fed into the machine where it will then not only print the image of the plate but will also press into the paper. This is why we recommend the soft, fluffy cotton stocks so that we can achieve a deep and crisp impression into the paper.
What does your offering consist of? In terms of our design offering, we have 3 options that we offer. Our studio collection is the most time and cost-effective for couples. They are font-based designs and we are able to adjust everything from your wording to colours and printing techniques to suit different budgets. Our semi-custom collection is a group of designs that we have put together with Nicole from Better Together Paper Co. Our last option is a custom design, this is definitely my favourite as it is so lovely to work closely with a couple to create something that is one of a kind for their day. We will do an initial in-person or over the phone consultation with them, go through samples of our previous work to get a feel for what printing methods they like and from there we will work out a number of designs options that we will explore for them. They will get approximately 3 initial custom concepts to work from, we then work with the couple to refine and narrow them down to a final design concept for the whole suite.
What sets you apart from others in the industry? A lot of stationery designers outsource their printing, so I think the main difference for us is that we offer in house production. This ensures that we have total control of the entire process, timings, quality so that the outcome is exactly what our clients want.
How early should a couple start the conversation with you? Letterpress printing requires 3 weeks in production with an additional 2-3 weeks of design work depending on what option you select. As a rule of thumb, we suggest getting started with the quoting process 4-6 months before your wedding day.
Where are you based? We are based in Sydney, but we have worked with many interstate couples and a number of international. All of our stationery proofs are done via a PDF with samples of paper, envelopes, calligraphy and colours that can all be sent by mail.
Price guide… From $600 (studio collection design and print of 50 letterpress ink invitations on 300gsm 100% cotton stock) to $6000 (three colours, all letterpress printed, wedding day stationery pieces and custom signage).
For a handy contact form and some work samples from Terrace Press hop on over here. If Scotty’s photography has stolen your heart then think about nabbing him for your big day! You can find all his contact details and real weddings he has shot right over here.
CREDITS Photos Scott Surplice