What do you print?
Bench Pressed specializes in letterpress printing.
Letterpress is a process by which a whole lot of pressure smooshes inked designs directly into paper, to create a gently embossed, tactilely pleasing final product. Our stable includes two Heidelbergs (1960s), a Chandler & Price (new style), one Vandercook 219 (1960s), and a pair of smaller table-top presses (1890 & 1950s).
This means we are Paper People™ so we can’t print t-shirts – but our pals at Overproof might be able to help you out!
Do you do custom work?
Short answer: Sometimes!
Longer answer: We’re excited by fun or meaningful projects that let us have a hand in the design process from start to finish. A few thrilling, recent opportunities have included donating prints to the Women’s Prison Book Project, contributing to Springboard for the Arts’ CSA: Community Supported Art program, and providing original design and printing for local small businesses like Tandem Vintage, Hola Arepa, and Lilia Flower boutique.
If you have an idea you’d like to pursue with us, we’d love to hear from you!
Some helpful parameters:
- Our usual turnaround time for custom projects is around 30 to 45 days
- We don’t do small runs (meaning: anything less than 100 finished pieces)
- Custom wedding invites/save-the-dates haven’t been a good fit for us
Will you print my design that’s already finished?
No, sorry. We don’t print other people’s work. We recommend checking in with the folks at Czar Press and Skylab Letterpress – they’re great!
Can I intern with you?
Apologies, but no. The amazing Mary Bruno, of Bruno Press in St. Joseph, Minnesota, has an internship program though!
Do you offer classes?
Not yet, but we’re working on it. We’ll holler once we’ve got those ducks in a row – hopefully soon! Sign up for our newsletter (below) to be among the first to know. Until then, Minnesota Center for Book Arts offers letterpress workshops.