Christmas Card 2009

By now, most of you should have received your Christmas Cards, so this shouldn’t be a spoiler. Many of you have asked about the process of how I made them this year, so here are a few pics to illustrate…

I started by designing the images and text layout on the computer. When I got to a place where I was satisfied with the four different designs, I combined them into one file so they would print four on a page. The idea is to cut it in half vertically and horizontally and you’ll be left with 4 postcard style cards. Next I sent the file to get a plate made.

Here’s what the plate looks like after it’s been inked.

Zooming out, you can see what the whole set up looks like on the press. Notice the rollers? This is how the plate gets inked. It slides underneath the rollers, and is pressed against the paper as it is run through the printer.