hello
I’m Amanda, the owner, designer and letterpress printer here at Inker Tinker, working from my home studio in the peaceful rural area of Plummers Point in Tauranga, New Zealand.
I have always had a passion for art and design and earned my Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design. I then worked for many years as a designer both here in New Zealand and abroad developing my skills and working with some truly wonderful clients. Then I fell in love with letterpress printing and bought my very own beautifully restored 1920's Chandler & Price printing press in 2014 and began the journey to where I am today. I love the hands on nature of my work and seeing it all come to life in beautiful letterpress detail. I really enjoy being able to work on-on-one with my clients to design the stationery of their dreams and tell their unique story, whether that is for a wedding invitation or branding for their business. To then be able to turn those designs into beautifully printed pieces is a dream come true and you can trust that I will work tirelessly until every piece is perfect down to the finest details.
a little bit of history
Letterpress printing was the main form of printing text and books up until the mid 1900's. The typesetter would hand set letter by letter and line by line, producing the page of text. Most of the old presses were put aside in favour of the offset press which was faster and more economical to produce prints. When computers and digital printing became commonplace letterpress became a dying art.
Gradually, as handmade is becoming popular again, the old printing presses are being collected and restored. And with the invention of the raised surface photopolymer printing plates the possibilities for what can be created through letterpress are endless. From the digital design on the computer a printing plate is made. The plate is set up on the press which is operated by a foot treadle. Ink is rolled over the plate while a single sheet of paper is hand fed into the press, as the press closes it leaves a deep impression and ink on the paper. When the press opens again the paper is removed and the next sheet is fed in. Each colour has its own printing plate and this process is repeated until all of the colours make up the finished design. Truly a labour of love.