The internet is full of temptations for those of us who love to play. Whilst in gadget girl mood last week, I stumbled upon this. I read reviews of the complete Epic Letterpress set when it first came out and even spent time in a PaperSource store watching a demonstration, wondering if I might find one useful. Back home, I’d forgotten all about it, the moment had passed and I managed quite nicely without.
But then I got an email from somewhere I’d bought one or two things, offering the “starter kit” for £14.99 and realising that I could use it with the Big Shot die cutter I hardly ever put to work, I hit “buy”. Remembering some of those early reviews, I also ordered another plate.
Whilst I was working yesterday, the parcel was delivered, so this morning I had to play.
First results using the plates included in the set weren’t too bad, but the designs are crude and a little heavy handed. I was glad I had the more detailed plate to experiment with.
Half an hour and a few test runs later and I’m pretty pleased with the result. Okay, I can see why the letterpress afficionados are scathing about the outcomes, but for those of us who just enjoy the process and haven’t got the room or the budget for the real thing, this adds a new trick to the repertoire. The “emboss” aspect of the print is well defined and even on the most basic heavy paper/thin card, gives a further dimension and adds interest to the design.
Could I have achieved the same result with just the letterpress die and the BigShot? Did I really need the “starter kit”? Well, in many ways, yes, the same result could be achieved using the BigShot and one of the “letterpress plates” on offer (which are hard plastic, not soft rubber like the normal rubber stamps). But the £15 spent on the starter kit included the letterpress platform which is like another “sandwich” for the BigShot, a tube of ink, a brayer and a sheet of perspex to roll the ink out on. Oh, and the set of pretty basic printing plates which I doubt I’ll ever use. Still, not bad value, I think. The Sissix plate is very good; well defined and didn’t cost a kings ransom.
Maybe something to add to your Christmas list, Maggie?
