Canadian Letterpress Resources
I’m just starting off in the adventure of letterpress with a 8x12 C&P, and now the search for letterpress resources is on!
Most of the research I’ve done for sources of ink, polymer plates, etc tend to lead to the US, either Box Car or some other source. But the thing is I don’t want to pay the hefty duty and also on top of that the UPS import fees. So what are some sources for rubber inks, polymer plates, paper letterpress resources in general for Canadians?
Don Blacks is great! But they don’t supply any above.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I am mailing a small order to Canada today and the postage is $9.50. Most of what we ship outside of the U.S. goes by mail rather than UPS or FedEx. That avoids the brokerage fee charged by those carriers. Heavier items like tympan paper and the like obviously cost most to ship regardless of destination. UPS and the U.S. postal system offer rate quotes through their web sites so it is possible to estimate before hand what the best shipping option may be. Some suppliers will not use the postal system as in most cases it may require a special trip to the nearest postal facility but we do it every day as part of what we offer. And higher value shipments within the U.S. almost always ship from us by UPS because of the insurance coverage. In most cases, postal delivery for small items that can go in a Flat Rate box will have 2 or 3 day delivery which beats UPS and FedEx hands down.
Hi, I’m a printer/type setter in Ontario and make polymer plates, type set etc. Ink and paper can be purchased from Spicers Canada. Where are you? Send email and I will answer.
I am on Vancouver Island but I use Williamson Printing Materials Ltd in Ontario for photopolymer and related materials. It takes very little time to get stuff here and their prices are competitive. For inks I have used Ernest Green and Son, I think they have been acquired now by Cansel, my last order came from Cansel. Unfortunately for papers I end up going directly to the US suppliers and paying the freight tax and cross border fees. I find this is less expensive than going though local suppliers. The type of papers I use are not used locally enough for local suppliers like Spicers to carry them.
I usually make my own plates but if I order them they usually come from California, UPS express envelope, fast but very expensive.
Hope this helps, good luck.