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Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the west from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century.
A small amount of high-quality art and hobby letterpress printing remains—fine Letterpress work is crisper than offset printing because of its impression into the paper, giving greater visual definition to the type and artwork.
The process requires a high degree of craftsmanship, but in the right hands, Letterpress excels at fine typography. It is used by many small presses that produce fine, handmade, limited-edition books, artists' books, and high-end ephemera such as greeting cards and broadsides. Another advantage of Letterpress is the ability to use almost any type of paper, including papers that cannot be used on offset or digital presses such as handmade, organic, and certain tree free papers.
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