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M.C. Pressure — Florida’s Director of Imagination

posted by Marcroy May 25, 2018

In 2014 Ryan Tempro realized that to him printmaking was the missing component digital design lacked. That’s when he started M.C. Pressure. Back then, the company was a small press on a table in his room mate’s kitchen in St. Augustine, Florida. Since then the company has grown. M.C. Pressure acquired new presses, expanded the line, and collaborated on several custom pieces.

The company’s main workhorse is an Original Heidelberg Windmill from 1958. The process of letterpress starts with an idea, firstly sketching the idea and then transfer it into a digital format. That digital file is output and becomes a printing plate. The plate is then put onto the press and the machine works its magic. The machines rollers ink the plate, then moves the paper into the press, debosses the design into the paper. This creates a texture that is exclusive to letterpress.

Another printmaking process M.C Pressure offers is hot foil stamping. They have a Heidelberg GTP from 1972, and it’s a beast. This technique parallels letterpress. The machine heats up a copper die and then presses the design into foil and lays it into the paper instead of using any inks. Foil allows for color to pop and also allows for light colors on dark paper stocks.

Printmaking feels special in that it allows for a handmade touch. The old technology of the presses combines with new graphic design techniques. This pairing creates something that feels one of a kind and is something that you will want to hold onto.

www.mcpressure.com

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