New arrivals - Heidelberg heaven

Well it's been a little while since we last blogged anything, and I can now show part of the reason why...

After travelling the country looking for the perfect press, I finally found what I was looking for. Missing a few extras but still running magnificently, I decided to take the plunge and took it.
Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly as I was hoping. About 3 miles from where the press was to be delivered, the palette upon which the press was strapped to cracked, causing the machine to topple onto it's side. A horrific sight, as you can see (1).

Luckily a quick minded driver stopped the thing from smashing onto the road, however it took us a little while to get the machine sorted, but has since been redelivered and sits safely on our studio floors.
Shortly after obtaining our first Heidelberg we managed to acquire another, slightly more well equipped version. Heidelberg platens are highly versatile, allowing us to die cut, print, fold, score and even make packaging all from one machine! They both now sit happily in our temporary studios outside of Bath.

Let the printing commence!

1. The heart wrenching arrival of our first Heidelberg, a bad day. 2. But it's safe re-delivery and collection soon calmed my inky nerves. 3. Our second press collected in person this time, and therefore all in one piece. 4. Our first press safely housed in our studios, waiting it's oily companion.   

The presses, all clean and ready to perform wonders on paper. Pictures by Benkin Photography.

Change of Address Cards - Liz Kingston.

It's amazing how effective just one colour can be, especially when accompanied by a nice deep impression and matching lined envelopes.

We printed and designed these change of address cards recently for one of our clients, and we were more than happy with the result.

Printed in dark pink on the ever effective Somerset Satin stock - a real winner when it comes to a good bite. Excellently typeset using Minion small caps (with old style figures), and a lovely woodtype ornament to give the card just that little something extra. 

As with every order we do, we do our upmost to package and present your stationery to a very high standard, here you can see every stage we take in meticulously packing your order.  

To discuss your stationery needs please call Meticulous Ink on 01225 333 004, or email info@meticulousink.com

Rifle Paper Co.

We are extremely proud to be one of the UK's larger stockists of Rifle Paper goods, so much so I thought I'd post a few pictures and a little info on the designer in tribute to our latest Rifle stock replenishment, visit us in Bath to see the goods and more!

Anna Bond is a highly talented illustrator and stationery designer from Winter Park, Florida. There she co-runs Rifle Paper Co with her husband Nathan, and their excellent team.
Her designs are really something else, and I can but almost wet myself with excitement when each Rifle order gets to us. Her faultless grasp of colour and composition really are an inspiration and I can't help a small amount of jealousy seep through from the overall spectacular originality and beauty of each item. If I could I would buy them all myself, but don't worry I won't.

The pictures say it all...

Be sure to check her blog for updates and inspirations.

Rifle 2012 calenders coming in November. More on those here and here.

Friday finds; Ilustrator Peter P. Plasencia

As illustrators and fans of illustration, I couldn't resist posting a few of Peter P. Plasencia's work after stumbling across a few pictures on ffffound. I'm so inspired by these pieces, taken from illustrations from futurist author Jules Verne's book The Man Who Invented the Future. I will have to admit, probably quite ashamedly so that I have never read any of Jules Verne's work. But now, and perhaps due to the inspirational images seen here, I think I will have to take a dip into some of his work (suggestions are welcome)!

Plasencia's use of perspective, composition and tone is fantastic, excellent inspiration for any illustrator who wants to achieve good depth and structure in their work.

Via Wardomatic and ffffound.

Wedding inspiration - Rumana and Devan

I am excited to finally be able to show you a beautiful letterpress invitation suite designed and printed here at Meticulous Ink for Rumana and Devan's Asian wedding. A joining of two cultures inspired the mendhi design at the top of the invitation, with the text kept simple. 

An added sparkle with a Swarovski crystal made the perfect finishing touch. 

The invitations were letterpress printed onto soft Somerset 100% cotton board, along with 

matching reply cards and return envelopes, all held together with a personalised wrap and tissue lined envelopes. 

The bride looked absolutely stunning on the big day, with a change of outfits for the evening celebrations. We hope you too will be inspired and wish the happy couple all the best.

Letterpress stationery suite, designed and printed by Meticulous Ink 

33 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BN. 01225 333 004

Charity wedding raffle.

Having agreed to recently take part in a very exciting stationery donation, it was only fair for us to let all you brides and grooms to be know about this amazing competition.

We have donated an entire stationery suite worth £1,247 to this charity wedding raffle, the raffle itself is raising money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature babies at Bath's Royal United Hospital, through the Forever Friends charity. The Forever Friends charity raises funds for state of the art medical equipment and facilities over and above that provided by the NHS.

The wedding is worth in total over £20,000 and included in the first prize winnings is the venue at Bailbrook House, reception decor, photography, coordination, traditional stationery(ahem), videography, dress, bridesmaid dresses, evening entertainment, flowers, rings, prop hire, cake, childcare and hair and make up.

Our contribution to the first prize is the wedding stationery. This includes 50 letterpress day invitations, 50 letterpress evening invitations, 100 reply cards and 100 information sheets. We will be selling raffle tickets at Meticulous Ink H.Q. from the end of June, and the raffle itself will take place at Bailbrook House, Bath on the 22nd of October. We will also be keeping you all updated on this competition and blog with lot's more examples of the kind of thing we will be donating. Keep those peepers peeled!

For much more information please visit Snapdragon Weddings site here.

Here are some pictures to whet your appetites.

Friday finds - Antique stationery items

These splendid items were bestowed upon us by some relatives to offload some unwanted but un-throwawayable beauties.

I've always enjoyed the look of older pencil cases, such as these two cardboard cases, beautifully designed in a straightforward bold and almost austere fashion. We like it though, it talks volumes of the kind of design we love and always try to take inspiration from.

My favourite piece in this array of goods is the 'Weldon Roberts Eraser'. I love the design of this, and it's odd style too. Many of these pieces came from a relative who was an engineer during the 50's I think so perhaps this eraser is specific to engineering? Are we wrong to think this? Anyone?

Also along the line of engineering I'm almost certain these tiny rulers were used for that purpose. Well only because one has 'engine divided' on it. Also one has 1552 carved into it, surely not from the year 1552 is it?

Also included here is a pen nib box, pencil refills and some very old pattern binders which we presume were used for clothes pattern assembly. I must confess our knowledge on these items is restricted so if anyone can shed any light or interesting details about them we'd love to hear!