On the surface, this direct mail piece looks like a greeting card – a perfectly conservative piece letterpress printed in deep red and dark blue. The type is fine and the flourishes are delicately fancy.
It is deliciously tactile on the Crane’s Lettra stock. But as my eyes scan the words, the first message is an abrupt “Bite Me.” Bite Me? Huh?
The irreverent copy that follows is not only a play on how a letterpress “bites” the paper, but a message to all those who don’t get how special the craft of letterpress is. The passion in the words makes me want to call Reno Type just to say, “RIGHT ON!” and is the irresistible part of this direct mail piece.
Here’s just a morsel:
“Hot off the offset printing presses – crap. Flimsy, ephemeral, glossy, glossed over, perfectly flushable crap. It happens daily. Worldwide … Behold, the resurrection is upon us … Man and hard-biting metal, cotton and ink, come together in a sculpture …”
