Fine Letterpress Ink

Gerald F. Schulze
on 23 Jul 26 (15:42)

Does anyone know of any ink manufacturers that are making letterpress ink specifically for fine printing? I’ve read a few times that printers would reach out to ink manufacturers outside of the USA for ink. This is mostly people in the private press movement. Any thoughts?

frank hemmings
on 24 Jul 26 (04:03)

As a letterpress printer from the 1960’s and still printing now, why worry about special ink. Litho ink is perfectly ok, bearing in mind that the litho process works with a thinner ink film and the colour was stronger to compensate. The only thing that might be necessary is to shorten the ink slightly for platen use on coated surfaces.

Kenneth Burnley
on 24 Jul 26 (11:38)

I totally agree with the above comment. I have been using litho ink for all my letterpress printing over the past thirty years, and have found that it prints beautifully on many kinds of stock. I would use nothing else.

Kenneth Burnley
on 24 Jul 26 (11:40)

I totally agree with the above comment. I have been using litho ink for all my letterpress printing over the past thirty-odd years, and have found that it prints beautifully on many kinds of stock. I would use nothing else.

foothillpress
on 24 Jul 26 (11:57)

On the other hand, I and many of my associates have been using Hanco https://hancoink.com/letterpress/ for many years and find the dense blacks great.They also have colors but I am not sure if they do PMS colors.
Mike