Studio No.3 Letterpress & Design – Letterpress & Design

About us

Studio No.3 is basically a Romanian letterpress printing studio, but not only that; we don’t only press letters on a paper, but we also create memorable paper objects: business cards, stationary, wedding materials (invitations, place cards, menus..), birthday / Christmas / anniversary cards, door hangers, labels, personalized boxes and eventually we also do usual offset and digital printing.

The paper, the colors, the broaden letterpress printing & production experience, the materials we produce speak for us. Ok, we also speak about them, because we really love our work.

We like travelling around the world and we have always loved paper and sensational fresh ink smell. Few years ago, we discovered in an old beautiful city some awesome products, letterpress printed, something we haven’t seen produced in Romania at that time. So we started to study – how it’s done, how they did it. From that point to Studio No.3, there was a long way with ups and downs, but it all counts as experience and we can praise ourselves that we do have this experience and we can offer the best solution for each and every project you might have.

We have started with letterpress, but now letterpress is integrated in much more complex and detailed projects with many other stunning techniques, even they are old or freshly new. We are really keen on getting the best out of our work: we are professionals and we know what we do and how we should do it, this is one of the reasons we speak only in terms of quality.

So, if you are in searching of a cheap printing shop I guess this is not the right place to be. On the other hand if you want to optimize your costs but still bring your printed products to the state of the art level, you’ll find here a friend and a trustful partner.

Eduard Sert

PRODUCTION MANAGER

It’s all about technical skills – you either have them or not. As long as you have them, you can build them up throughout the years.

Eddie’s main skills are attention to details, concentration and finding the best technical solution to put into practice almost any idea (with him crazy ideas can be turned out into feasible)

Eddie has more than 20 years of experience in the printing and production business. He has worked both in design, prepress and printing, he is the brain that keeps rolling and puts together all the small pieces.

Anca Sert

CLIENT SERVICE

Most of the times it needs some communication skills to connect with the client. Anca has them and she is the one that keeps contact with the customers.

She has a master degree in communication and she has more than 12 years of experience in communication and event management.

Most of the time she is the one who puts herself into the client’s shoes and she is the “liason” between idea and production.

Services

We are summarising below the most spectacular printing techniques we are doing in our studio.

No doubt, those techniques can be integrated in larger projects including digital or sheetfed printing.

LETTERPRESS

– modern techniques, vintage tools, distinct look & feel –

The elegance and craftsmanship of this printing services can make your business cards, envelopes and other stationary products awesome. Letterpress helps creating memorable events though special event invitations (wedding, baby announcement, save the date…).

HOT-FOIL

– exquisite technique for special projects –

The fine art of applying a film of metallic, gloss, matte, or tint foil to paper is called in the print industry hot foil. The foil is pressed into the paper for a distinguished and exceptionally special look.

DIE-CUT

– as simple as bread cutting with a special knife –

The fine art of using a specially shaped blade (a so called die) to cut a precise shape from a piece of paper is called die cut. Although the paper is introduced manually, the process allows for precision and unlimited replication and there are unlimited opportunities for creativity and innovation in this kind of services. You have the shape idea, we have the skills and technique to put it into practice.

EDGE PAINTING

– kids love to do it, grown ups love the effect –

The technique seems to be extremely simple and it means coloring the edge of a business card, invitation, compliment card or any other thick paper. In fact, as all apparently simple things, edge painting is a very delicate finishing method. For letterpress printed materials, we usually recommend darker or more saturated colors for edge painting (bright red, cobalt blue, or even bright neon) for generating spectacular effects.

PACKAGING DESIGN

– not just what’s on the inside counts, but also the outer packaging –

We think it’s essential to you put as much thought into your product’s packaging and branding as you do the actual product that you’re selling. We can design and produce hundreds of packaging solutions tailored to your products, just give us the size of the box or of the product you are selling and we can propose you multiple solutions.

DUPLEXING

– just stick them together – papers like no other ones! –

Gluing two different colors of paper/ cardboard is a simple method to obtain a new and original type of paper for letterpress or hot foil printing. Just be different and stand our from the crowd with a paper like no other one!

FAQ

This is a small handbook which will guide you through printing techniques we provide in order to make your project a real success.
Thought that Q&A structure will help you a lot.

FILE PREPARATION & PRODUCTION

What type of files can I send?

Any vector file is good (Corel Draw, Illustrator, Indesign). Also PDF file is a good choice. All type must be converted to outlines. Non vector images must be provided as a BITMAP TIF at 100% size with a minimum of 800 dpi. (1200 dpi is recommended) Any bitmap TIF images should be embedded.

How should I send you files?

Almost all our communication shall be done via email, so please email us at hello@studio-no3.ro. and we will get back to you with an answer asap.

Can you print on letterpress full colour files?

We can print any colour specified as Pantone Matching System (PMS), not CMYK or RGB values.

How do you match my colour?

We print using Solid UNCOATED Pantone inks, which can appear dramatically different on screen, please be sure to view a physical Pantone swatch book when selecting your colours. Because we print on uncoated stocks a Uncoated Pantone colour book must be used. If you are unable to access a Solid Uncoated Pantone swatch book you can mail us a physical sample of the colour (fabric, paper, etc) to match to. Our final print colours will not match your on-screen preview, but the Pantone colour you have selected.

Which is the maximum paper size you can print on?

The maximum paper sheet size is 26×38 cm but printing surface is 24x32cm.

What is the smallest type size or thinnest elements you can print?

First of all and one of the most important step is that we use to advise our clients to print a mock up of their design at 100% size; if the printed size does not match with your wishes, you can adjust the file but take into account 4 pt character type and 0.25 pt lines as a reasonable limit to print.

Can I just order a small quantity?

We recommend ordering a minimum of 200 cards, especially if you are doing something complex. Considering the number of production steps usually involved in our card production, we highly recommend you order more at first in order to get the best price for the quantity. With setup costs for each production step, it will cost less to order more at first, rather than pay for all the production steps all over again.

How can I check if the production is completed for my job? Can I see a sample before receiving the parcel?

If there is no possibility to see your job locally in our shop, we do offer the option to take photos and show you the job as we run it. If you want to approve each and every step of printing, you have to be available by e-mail during press time so that we can get approval to proceed right away. There is no additional cost for that, the only request is to be online at the established production date

PAPERS

How can I choose paper?

We work with well known international paper suppliers, therefore we have a large variety of papers. Not all of them are in local warehouse but can be ordered and it may take 2-3 weeks to have it. In our Studio you’ll find many samples. For international clients and non locally we sent detailed photos of the paper we decide to use. Sending paper samples abroad is also possible but will involve an extra charge.

What is a duplex?

A duplex is the pasting together of two sheets of paper, making one thicker sheet in the end. Having this added thickness is another way we increase the unique impact and tactility of our work.

Why do you duplex?

Our primary reason is to avoid impression show through on two sided press work. We can get a reasonable impression on BOTH sides of the sheet with a minimum of impression show through. Artwork that overlaps from front to back has minimal effect when duplexing because the impression bruising is encapsulated in the middle of the sheet.

Can you duplex multiple colours?

Yes we can. Actually this is a great idea to create new exciting papers that nobody else has. It is also a great way to add an extra of colour to your letterpress project without the cost of another ink colour.

LETTERPRESS

Can you print 4 colors CMYK?

We can not print CMYK colors and we think that if you want that, offset or digital printing will be better options for your project.

Can you print white ink?

Yes there is a possibility of printing with white ink, but the results might be different comparing with your expectations. Due to the fact that white and light colored inks are not completely opaque, the ink will print on the paper with some transparency, which is more visible on a dark paper color. White ink does not look when printed as bright white and light colors will not print lighter than the stock color they are printing on. If you really want light colors, metallic inks are an option since they will print opaque on colored stocks.

Can you print two sided business cards?

Yes, we can print two sided business cards and we regularly do that for some of our clients. We highly recommend to use duplexing method in order to have reasonable results for two sided printed business cards.

Can you letterpress print large areas of solid colors?

Large areas of solid color are difficult to control and there will be some color variation throughout the run. Some pieces may have darker ink density, some may have lighter density. We are letterpress professionals so we keep a sharp eye on consistency while printing, but color on letterpress is added and controlled manually, so there might be variations.

What else should I know if I want to print large areas of solid colors?

Solid areas might appear “salty” on paper

In order to maintain the fine details in your artwork crisp, it may be necessary to print with less ink density in solid areas which can cause more or less saltiness in the final printed pieces; printing process is also related to the type of paper you have selected and large print solid areas might look different on different types of paper. Darker colours on a toothy cotton stock demonstrate the most salty appearance and light colours on a smooth stock demonstrate a less salty appearance.

Large solid areas do not offer impression

Solid areas of colour or colour floods do not generally offer the exquisite 3D impression possible with letterpress printing. Text, line work and pattern represent ideal artwork for letterpress while graphic elements or text reversing out of solid areas do not. If you have a crowded design, with many graphic elements, letterpress printing will not create a noticeable impression into the paper.

Large areas of impression cause sheet distortion

Letterpress with heavy impression is physically altering the thickness of paper which can bubble or curl under the heavy impression; this process is known internationally as „potato chips” effect which is a very good example of what happens to the paper when heavy impressions are pressed.

HOT FOIL

Can I get general pricing for foil?

Foil pricing can only be provided once we have reviewed actual artwork. With foil we plate only the art area, not the full size of the final piece and the image size is very important for pricing.

Can I get impression with foil?

Getting the impression is not the key advantage of hot foil printing although a small amount of impression is possible. Through hot foil printing you can not achieve the same deep impression that you achieve with a letterpress ink.

What is the size limit for foiling text?

Tiny type and artwork with tiny counter spaces is not great for foil. We need to review actual artwork to offer specific advice.

What is the difference between Metallic Foil and Pigment Foil?

Metallic foil is able to offer a metallic appearance and a cleaner release onto paper. Pigment foils are non-metallic and have a flat color appearance.

Can you pick a foil to match my Pantone color?

No. A very limited number of colors is available for hot foil printing. Foil is not specified by the Pantone Matching System and will not match a PMS swatch as the foils suppliers have different type of swatch books.

DIE CUT

What is a die cut?

When you have a project which requires something other than a straight trim on a guillotine cutter, a die cut is needed. So we put on die cut steel rule knifes in order to cut the paper, scoring rules for folds or perforation.

Will you design my die line for me?

This is an area where we are extremely qualified too. If you need help developing a structure and making sure your die line is ready for production, please let us know in advance of submitting production files. Thanks to the packaging design software we have, we can design and produce any type of box our customers might want.

Can you die cut my logo?

Most text and logos are too complex to be die cut. Steel rule dies are limited in their complexity and small detail is especially difficult to cut from thick materials. For complex cutting, we use laser cutting partners to finish your project.

EDGE PAINTING

How thick should paper stock be for edge colouring?

A thick stock suits best for edge colouring, generally we recommend paper weight starting with 300gsm. Edge colouring is possible on thinner paper, but please take into account that the effect is more subtle than on thicker papers.

Can you edge colour sizes bigger than a business card?

Not just business cards can be edge coloured but also other printed materials e.g. note pads, books, invitations, postcards, etc. We can edge colour different quantities and types of printed materials.

Can I edge colours my die cut business cards?

We do not do edge colouring on die cut business cards as paper edges cut with a die are not able to colour clean enough for our quality standards.

Can I edge colour in a metallic shiny colour?

We can do metallic colours which will appear more as a metallic ink not as a hot foil. If you want to see the approximately level of sheen you can expect from edge colouring, please get a COATED Pantone swatch book.

Can you edge colour bright colours on dark paper?

Yes, we can get both light and bright colors on the edges of darker colored paper stocks (example: black paper with bright red edges).

PAYMENT & TURNAROUND TIME

What is your general estimated production time?

Our standard production time for letterpress and hot foil printing is 3-5 business days depending on jobs in progress. We start counting from the moment you send us files and we confirm you that the files are ok. Shipping time is not included in the above estimation.

Payment Terms

We generally work with a 50% advance of the total value of the job; we do not start production before getting the payment confirmation. The other 50% of the job is payable when the job is ready to be shipped and delivered. You will get photos of each step and payment notifications. Please keep in mind that we do not send the jobs to our clients before whole payment is done. Payment can be done through bank transfer based on an invoice. For loyal customers payment terms can be discussed.

SHIPPING & DELIVERY

Can you provide shipping costs?

Shipping costs will always be mentioned separately in our offer and are determined by box size, final weight, choice of carrier and speed. We will discuss shipping costs with each and every client in accordance with the job we are doing.

Will you ship internationally?

Yes we can ship internationally and we have contracts with international carriers.

Gallery

We gathered here, in this photo gallery, some of our projects: wedding suites, invitations and all kind of business cards.
A photo express more than one thousand words.
Nothing more true than that!
Each project from gallery is unique – you may find here different printing techniques, different finishing and different type of papers.

Stay tuned for new projects!

All 10 /Business Cards 6 /Wedding 4

Address

266-268, Calea Rahovei Bd., 5th District,
C60 Building, 2nd Floor, 34
050912 Bucharest, Romania

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About us

Eduard Sert

Anca Sert

Services

LETTERPRESS

HOT-FOIL

DIE-CUT

EDGE PAINTING

PACKAGING DESIGN

DUPLEXING

FAQ

FILE PREPARATION & PRODUCTION

PAPERS

LETTERPRESS

HOT FOIL

DIE CUT

EDGE PAINTING

PAYMENT & TURNAROUND TIME

SHIPPING & DELIVERY

Gallery

Shilu & Akinwole

Alessandra & Sergiu

Jamie & Emmanuel

Chantal Deboersap

People Counting

WooWoo Land

Jessica & Jany

Drew Galloway

Baroque Book & Arts

Burd & CO