Blog

Deciphering color isn't as straightforward as it seems. Delve into how the Pantone Matching System successfully navigates the chasm between digital color spaces and the tactile world of letterpress.

You've placed your letterpress order. Thank you! Now here's what's happening behind the scenes at Hoban Press while we create your letterpress order.

There's something oddly therapeutic about the rotations, pulses, and clinks and clanks of our letterpresses. Turn your sound up and enjoy this brief video we put together of some of our favorite bits and bobs.

In the spirit of embracing some of the history around us, today’s post takes a look at the typographical history in some of our calling cards. We love beautiful typefaces old and new equally, but digging into the history of the classics can be very interesting!

Here at Hoban Cards we love our Chandler & Price letterpresses. We have three of these hardworking beauties, and do the vast majority of our printing on them. We’ve posted glamour shots of our presses here, but for this post, we thought it would be fun to delve into the history of these iconic American machines.

Here at Hoban Cards we use photopolymer plates for all our printing. If you've placed an order with us, you've probably noticed us talking about making your printing plate, or that we save your plate for future discounted reorders, but have you ever been curious about what exactly a photopolymer plate is? Read a bit further to learn more about this versatile printing matrix and how it's used at Hoban Cards.

Handwritten notes and letters reached peak popularity during the second half of the 19th century. It was truly an art form, shrouded in strict etiquette (what wasn’t during the Victorian era?) and common practice for many middle and upper-class men and women. This post sets aside most of the etiquette and briefly outlines what Victorian era stationery actually looked like and what it was used for.

Inspired by craftsmanship and the tiny details, the choice of paper is paramount to quality letterpress printing.

From a digital file to the final packaging, this short, fast paced video gives you a glimpse of the process we go through to produce our letterpress printed calling cards at Hoban Cards.

Over the years of designing and printing business cards and calling cards, there is one famous card that is referenced time and time again. This card’s celebrity status comes from a three-minute movie scene and is visible for about four seconds, yet it has become one of our most requested cards. It is, of course, Paul Allen’s Pierce & Pierce business card from the 2000 horror/thriller film, American Psycho.

At Hoban Cards, we hope to re-introduce the historical concept of the calling card as a much-needed token of authenticity.

Terminology surrounding typography has morphed and found its place in our modern day vernacular. The terms "typeface" and "font" are used interchangeably today, but how did we get there?

Over the last 7 years we've collected 4 letterpresses, ranging in manufacturing years from 1902-1970. Each press has a special use in our shop and a unique story of how we acquired them.

Calling cards, also called visiting cards, visiting tickets, or compliments cards, originated in their paper and ink form in France in the 18th century and their popularity quickly spread across Europe and the United Kingdom.