Letterpress vs Wood Type
活版印刷 / 木活字ディスプレイ
Letterpress comes from Relief Printing and Wood Type from Type Classification. Both are read here as technique. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Letterpress
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Sets physical type, joining the repeatable order of text with the touch of impression on paper.
Wood Type
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Gigantic letters cut from wood for broadside posters created the display vocabulary of extreme condensation, extension and ornament.
| Letterpress | Wood Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 15th century– | 1827– |
| Family | Relief Printing | Type Classification |
| Kind | Technique | Technique |
| Cues | The regularity of type / Impression into paper / Limited widths / Ink variation | Gigantic sizes / Extreme condensing and extending / Carved ornament / Ink scuff and material grain |
| Best used for | Tactile weight for books, cards and invitations · Making the choice and setting of type the subject itself | Large announcements and banners that must maximize words within a fixed sheet · Signs and menus for eating places borrowing the air of markets and shows |
| Type | One type family in limited sizes for the hierarchy | Change face and width by line, choosing widths to fit each word |
| Composition | Respect physical leading and margins; restrict alignments | Justify every line to the full sheet and divide bands with rules |
| Material | One or two colors, thick paper, a slight bite and ink variance | Firm impression showing grain, few colors, chips and wear left in |
| Caution | Don't over-perform deep impression and dry ink. Let type, paper, pressure and ink set the form. | Multiplying faces line by line without ranking them flattens the order of emphasis, and no one can tell what to read first. |