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Commercial Printing

How do I submit artwork for print jobs or quote requests?

Send an email to printing@boxcarpress.com. If the file is too large try using yousendit.com. (Boxcar Press can accept up to 25MB via email but your email capacity may not allow a file that large to be sent.) Before you send, make sure you have outlined your type, included actual crop marks or a cut rule and that your files are set in solid, uncoated Pantone colors.

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Do you offer rush service?

Yes, we offer three levels of rush service:

Yellow service – we ship 7 business days after PDF proof approval, add 15% to cost of order

Orange service – we ship 5 business days after PDF proof approval, add 35% to cost of order

Red service – we ship 3 business days after PDF proof approval, add 60% to the cost of the order This service is subject to availability so please call us with your specific needs and we will see if rush service is available for your order.

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What file formats do you accept?

We prefer press quality PDF files and also accept Adobe Illustrator files and EPS files. (If sending an eps file please also send a pdf for reference.)

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Can you letterpress two sides of a sheet?

Yes! We strongly recommend using our heaviest weight papers (Crane’s Lettra 220# Cover or 4-ply Rising Museum Board) to minimize show through of impression from one side to the other. Images and position of images in relation to what’s on the other side will affect the depth of impression we can achieve without show through to the other side.

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How do I obtain pricing? Is there a letterpress printing price sheet you can send to me?

Fill out this form with all the particulars (quantity, number of ink colors, one or two sided printing, size, type of paper and so forth) for each piece and a pdf of your design, if available. We will be happy to provide you with a quote. If you are a designer or store who will be selling the pieces to your customers, let us know and we can prepare a wholesale price guide for you.

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Do you offer edge painting (by itself for supplied printed pieces or for pieces you print)?

We can edge paint cards that we print here but do not offer this service for pieces prepared elsewhere. We do not recommend edge painting when there is a bleed image.

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What ink colors do you offer?

We can print in any ink listed in the Pantone Solid Uncoated Inks guide. Inks in our current library incur no additional charge. Custom inks (those not in our current library) are $50.00. This is a one-time charge. Let us know the color you have in mind and we can tell you if we have it.

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What are your stock papers?

Crane’s Lettra 110# and 220# Cover in Fluorescent White, Pearl White and Ecru. (We can also provide you with the matching envelopes and 32# Writing paper from the Lettra line.)
Rising Museum Board – White and Black – 2 ply and 4 ply
Mohawk Loop Smooth 160# DTC – White and Ivory. Both are 100% PCW! Chipboard – 28 pt and 60 pt                                                                       Mohawk Loop Antique Vellum – 80# cover

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Do you ship internationally?

Supplies: We ship supplies to Canada via UPS Standard or UPS Worldwide Saver and US Postal Service.
We ship international orders (outside of Canada) via UPS Worldwide Saver and US Postal Express Mail.

We think our online ordering system is pretty nifty but of course you can phone in your order to us by calling 315-473-0930. We love to talk to our customers.

Platemaking: We ship platemaking orders to Canada via UPS Standard or UPS Worldwide Saver and US Postal Service. We can ship Worldwide Saver to any international location or opt to use the US Postal Express Mail. These options are all at the click of a button through out platemaking site.

Printing: Yes, we love working with international clients and sending off printed letterpress beauties to destinations far and near.

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Do you print for stationery/invitation designers who need a letterpress printer and will resell the cards/invitations?

Yes, it’s a specialty of ours! Please contact us at printing@boxcarpress.com and we will be happy to introduce you to Boxcar Press and provide you with information, samples and pricing. We can also be reached by phone at 315-473-0930.

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Can you mix foil and letterpress in a job?

Yes you can – and what a wonderful combination!

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Do you offer wholesale pricing?

Yes! Please call us at 315-473-0930 to discuss your needs and we’ll be happy to prepare wholesale pricing tailored for your needs.

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What sorts of designs are appropriate for foil?

Overall, most designs that are appropriate for letterpress will translate well to foil stamping.  Each customer file that is submitted is reviewed by our prepress team, who are experienced in the foil die making process. Any design that contains areas of intricate detail, thin line fonts, or reverses will be addressed by our prepress personnel and we’ll contact you with any concerns that need addressing.

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What is the lead time?

Normal production time is 10 working days, with day 1 being the day after we receive your signed contract. We will email you a contract the day or day after we receive your order and you can return that to us via email or fax.

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Is it true that foil does not print very crisply?

Art and type tends to look thicker or bolder in foil stamping, especially on thicker papers. However, we have done extensive testing with our dies to maximize our printing quality, and the type of foil that we use creates beautiful images with clean release.

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What is the largest size sheet you can print?

22” x 30” is the largest sheet we can letterpress.

The largest paper size for a foil stamping job is 14 x 22 with the maximum foil image area being 12 x 16. If your piece is larger than 50 square inches please send it to us for review so we can make sure our presses can handle the impression.

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Are foil pieces recyclable?

Yes, you can place your foil pieces in your recycling bins along with your other paper products. And by the way, there are no solvents, inks, or vapors associated with foil stamping.

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Does the print pricing include the cost of the plates?

Yes, it does. There will be additional charges if you make changes after plates have been made. We send you a final PDF proof before we make plates so please take advantage of that to check one more time for typos and misspellings.

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Do foil stamped pieces have any additional handling or mailing concerns?

We have conducted mailing tests on foil stamped invitation sets and postcards with terrific results. There are no additional handling or mailing concerns for foil stamped pieces.

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How do I order samples?

Find our letterpress samples in our shop. We will be happy to send you a sample pack.

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What’s the biggest piece I can print foil on?

We can print up to a 14 x 22 sheet with a maximum foil image area of 12 x 16.

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Do you print on colored papers/envelopes?

Yes, we do print on colored papers and envelopes. See the papers and envelopes we stock. Some customers supply colored paper and envelopes which we can print on and we can special order some papers and envelopes.

There are some things you should avoid. For instance, light ink letterpressed over dark paper does not work well; dark ink over light colored paper works better. We now offer white digital addressing and return addresses on envelopes that are too bright or dark to accept letterpress inks. Foil stamping is also a good option for reply envelope addresses and return addresses.

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Why can’t you rush my foil job?

Each foil stamped piece requires us to create a custom die that will be used in the foil stamping process. This die-making process is more time intensive than making plates for letterpress and doesn’t allow for a rush turnaround.

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In addition to letterpress, what other printing methods do you offer? Do you offer offset printing or foil stamping?

We have some offset printing capability. Most often we use our offset equipment to print a pattern or flood coat for an envelope liner or as a backing or background on a business card or invitation. We also foil stamp. Foil colors available are: Gold Shine, Silver Shine, Gold Matte, Silver Matte, Copper Shine, Red Shine, Blue Shine,  Indigo Shine, Purple Shine, Fuchsia Shine, Forest Shine and Teal Shine.

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How do I set up my files for 2-color printing?

The easiest way of setting up a 2-color file in an image editing program, such as Illustrator or InDesign, is to set your first color’s objects in either 100% of a color channel in CMYK mode where the three other color channels not used are set to 0%. The second color would then use 100% of a different color channel. For example, your first color’s objects may be 100% black and your second color’s objects are set to 100% cyan. If you are using this method, be sure to let us know which color channel corresponds to the ink colors you have chosen for your printing.

Our Preferred Method:  If you are very comfortable with Illustrator or InDesign, you may use Pantone Swatches from the Swatch Color Libraries palette in lieu of using 100% of individual CMYK color channels. We recommend using swatches from the Pantone Solid Uncoated color book.

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Do you offer design and or typesetting services?

Yes! Our designers can help turn your ideas into print-ready files suitable for our beautiful letterpress printing. Please call for a quote. Design service typically adds a week to your total production time. We ship 10 working days after you approve the final design proof.

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When do I need crops and / or registration marks?

You will need crop marks if you are sending the files to us for printing. This will aid us in setting up your files into its final layout. While we will have the info on the final size of your printed piece, your crop marks in your file will help us determine that we are including all the elements you intended and in their proper place. This is especially important when your design will bleed off the page. How to place crop marks on your file, in Illustrator will depend on your CS version.

In CS3 or older – Filter > Create > Crop marks

 

In CS4 and newer – Effect > Crop marks

If you created your design in Illustrator and set up your artboard to measure the finished size of your printed piece, the crop marks will be outside the artboard. You will need to save your file with an eps extension so the crop marks will be included. You can then save the file as a PDF and send us both EPS and PDF. If you save as an AI extension, the crop marks were left off outside your artboard and not included in your file.

If you created your design on a larger artboard, use the rectangle tool to draw a box the desired size around your design. It will temporarily block your design until you go to your Color window and click on the white square with the red diagonal stripe. Using the selection arrow, move your box around until it’s the correct size and in the preferred place of your design. Add crop marks and save as a PDF.

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If I’m supplying paper or envelopes for you to print, how much do I need to send you?

Send us all the details on your project, as well as the name of the paper and envelopes you’d like to use. We also need the sheet size you plan to send. Once we have all that information we will figure how much paper we’ll use, taking into account what is needed for setup and waste and let you know how much stock you need to send for your job.

There are some things you should avoid. For instance, light ink letterpressed over dark paper does not work well; dark ink over light colored paper works better. Coated papers are not compatible with letterpress. Foil stamping is not compatible with all papers. Deckle edge papers are okay for 1 color letterpress but not for multiple colors; there is a high waste factor. Please call us for a consultation before you order paper or envelopes. We’ll need to know the paper type, sheet size and all your job specs in order to tell you how much paper or how many envelopes you should provide.

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