As part of our work with Fontsmith, we wanted to bring something a little bit different to the launch of FS Brabo.
At the press everything we do is printed by hand, so the 4000+ run of the specimen we designed was a little too much for us to chew, but there was still a chance for us to roll our sleeves up and get our hands inky.
With the new typeface having been inspired by the centuries old pages of printed text and irreplaceable metal punches of the illustrious printer Christophe Plantin, it seemed fitting to bring FS Brabo full circle with a limited edition letterpress print.
We should probably mention here that printing from plates is not something we normally do. But when it’s Fontsmith asking, and when it's the only way to use their brand new typeface on our traditional presses, we tend to be a bit flexible with our own rules.
Although separate from the type specimen, we designed the limited edition print to sit along side it as a companion piece. The same size as the folded newspaper, it's a simple celebration of some of our favourite letterforms from the font. The soft deckled edge paper and crisp impression echoes the pages of those early printed books and broadsides, which influenced the design of the typeface in the first place.