Trip Print Press

I believe in well-printed promos; something that tells me the person who made it cares about presentation. After all, we are visual people. Business cards, postcards, books, exhibition catalogues, I’m a total sucker for print. Which means I was thrilled when Nicholas Kennedy gave me a tour of his Toronto-based letterpress studio, Trip Print Press.

Kennedy became interested in typography and letterpress while studying graphic communications management. He bought his first press from a dealer in Scarborough, rented studio space at Bloor and Lansdowne, and began making custom posters for bands and events. Six years later his business has taken over the whole studio and Kennedy’s practice has expanded to include a variety of machines and presses, allowing him to offer additional services.

Embossing, debossing, and foil stamping are some of the custom options Kennedy provides. (Think about a vintage book; the title pressed into the cover has been debossed, and the gold comes from foil stamping. A wedding invitation you can run your fingers over and feel raised lettering has been embossed.) Thick card and rich paper become business cards, invitations, posters, signage, and anything else his clients can imagine.

Small print runs can be rather costly. (Kennedy cautions against an order for 40 business cards, for example.) However, quality printing is certainly a worthwhile investment – (check out this article describing how painter Thrush Holmes obtained gallery representation the day a gallery received his hand-made wooden box promotion). I discovered the studio through a photographer who had business cards and custom portfolio boxes designed for her work. As Kennedy says “there’s no job that’s just like the last one”, so the Trip Print Press website includes the specifications necessary to provide an accurate quote.

Trip Print Press – 224 Wallace Ave, Unit 402
www.tripprintpress.ca