Blackletter vs Letterpress
ブラックレター / 活版印刷
Blackletter comes from Type Classification and Letterpress from Relief Printing. One is style and the other technique. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Blackletter
The manuscript hand compressed into dense black verticals, filling the page with an even darkness like woven cloth. It was also the first typeface of printing.
Letterpress
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Sets physical type, joining the repeatable order of text with the touch of impression on paper.
| Blackletter | Letterpress | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 12th century– | 15th century– |
| Family | Type Classification | Relief Printing |
| Kind | Style | Technique |
| Cues | Dense vertical strokes / Curves replaced by breaks / Heavy blackness / Ornamental capitals | The regularity of type / Impression into paper / Limited widths / Ink variation |
| Best used for | Short strings that signal tradition, such as diplomas, deeds and newspaper mastheads · Labels for breweries or leather goods that must read as an old workshop | Tactile weight for books, cards and invitations · Making the choice and setting of type the subject itself |
| Type | Reserve it for a few display words, tightly spaced to even out the black | One type family in limited sizes for the hierarchy |
| Composition | Two narrow columns, close leading, thin margins, the page woven solid with text | Respect physical leading and margins; restrict alignments |
| Material | Black ink on heavy paper with one accent of red rubric or gold initial | One or two colors, thick paper, a slight bite and ink variance |
| Caution | In long text the letters stop being distinguishable. It is not just an old and tough looking sign, so pick the branch deliberately and know the religious, national and political history it carries. | Don't over-perform deep impression and dry ink. Let type, paper, pressure and ink set the form. |