Bha Ka It does not dry quite instantly, but it doesn't really need more than 4-5 minutes before it's cured. Honestly, if you're gentle with it and working in thin layers, you can handle it almost right away. The acrylic paint dries quickly if you don't over thin it. Usually, I let them sit for about 20 minutes (or overnight if I have a different job to work on), simply to ensure the edges are not soft from moisture as this can lead to a bit of ragging/tearing, but it's not usually a problem and many time I edge paint, separate, and print in the same day

Absolutely, it just doesn't look as striking because there isn't as much edge showing. I've done it on 300gsm and that's about as thin as I'll go since any thinner than that and the clients are almost wasting the money on having me do it. (UNLESS the thin sheets will stay together as would be the case with a bound book or notepad)

Sarah Loree Cruz I buy online -there are dozens of place. I like paperworks.com

I always get them mixed up haha, thanks for the clarification!

water based - for the edges I just use acrylic paint as it doesn't rub or transfer the way oil based inks can (they take much longer to dry)

@@PantheraPress Do the water in the color damage paper by any means?

I hate my paper cutter currently. I'd recommend that no matter what you use that it clamps TIGHT and the blade is SHARP. I've used cheap cutters and generally the more expensive the better. When you get a stack cutter I prefer the ones with the wheel that tightens it as you can get it super tight. The clap style that has the handle won't get as tight on the stack

I've tried this, and it turns out horrible every time. The pigment (whether ink or acrylic I've done both) goes on WAY too thick and bleeds or tears. It also doesn't coat as even as the airbrush

gabriel cabrera I've done it both ways. I actually like to paint the edges first, because if something goes wrong, I'd rather it be before I spend all the time printing - I've never had edge painting go wrong, but you never know. Obviously if you plan to have a full bleed on some part of the print or you have the room for the gauge pins, edge painting first is nice. I like to cut my sheets to final size before printing when I can, prevents any chance of mis cuts(clamp slippage or accidentally mixing in prints upside down) or bad edge painting at the end. Feeding does not damage the edge paint or rub it off (at least when I'm hand feeding and using this edge painting technique)

+Ganzo McFly 600gsm Savoy or 600gsm Lettra work just fine

+Aline De Feyter I, personally, would not use acrylic spray paint because it would likely lay down very thick. Thus it would bleed more and make the cards stick together too much. Spray paint provides much less control - though I imagine some of the more expensive brands with adjustable nozzles might be okay if you can get a fine mist and lay down light coats. The other negative is you cannot mix colors, so it wouldn't work for a professional shop. If you try it and it works let me know.

Ok! Thank you very much and I'll let you know what the result is :)

I take the pantone booklet with me, and match by eye. If I need to adjust I do it by eye as well. Practice and an understanding of how to mix colors, essentially.

***** Find a letterpress printer who will let you apprentice. It's the best way to learn the techniques, these machines can be dangerous if used unsafely so get proper training and then you can expand into artistic work. Possibly consider taking courses at a school which has this sort of equipment, many art schools still have letterpress in their print department.

Thank you so much, you are amazing!! Can I ask you about what did you study? I think that the only problem is that my university doesn't have a letterpress but I would like to know if maybe you can tell me about good universities in your country. I'm from Colombia, South America, thank you so much again and I hope you can answer to me again. Have a nice day! ;)

You will have to do your research based on where you would want to go. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design has some great print equipment. Many places do, but not all of them have lots of letterpress classes.

Ok, thank you so much for your help! :)