Letterpress inks, oil-based

Most of the oil-based ink colors listed here are Pantone Basic Colors. If you have these 14 colors, you’ll be able to mix any of the 1600+ colors in the Pantone Formula guide. The other colors we carry are important for different reasons: opaque white (if you want to print white); printing black (if you want to print black); a few popular metallics (if you want a very muted bit of shine); and custom ink mixes (especially good if you don’t have all the Pantone Basic Colors, or for very light colors and pastels). The inks below are oil-based inks, a glossier ink ideal for printing with coated papers (note you won’t be able to leave oil-based ink on the press overnight). Use rubber-based inks if you want a more general letterpress printing ink.

oil-based letterpress ink

break down of components (varies depending on color)

• 20-30% vegetable oil (includes soy and linseed)
• 15-30% petroleum
• 30-50% synthetic resin
• 15-25% pigment
• 1-2% dryer

pros: glossier ink (if that’s what you’re looking for); sets quickly so works well especially with coated papers; basic colors can be mixed with metallics for more ink options; ink additives such as high gloss or varnishes are better suited for oil based inks; colors are brighter than rubber-based; metallic inks are oil-based (but lose their shine on uncoated papers).

cons: should not leave ink on press for an hour or overnight or you will have a royal battle to clean off your rollers; skins in the can (use Van Son anti-skinning spray or wax paper to avoid skinning) so you may waste ink.

keep in mind: don’t mix rubber-base inks together with oil based letterpress inks.