I decided to order some Wild! paper to give it a try. It is a cotton paper specifically designed for letterpress and it has a nice neutral white texture with a more pronounced texture. When I got it in, I wasn’t too keen on the look of the texture, but after printing with it I was pleasantly surprised with how well it took ink and the pillowy impression. I also tried out some cheap black cardstock I got from Michael‘s and a nicer grey Poptone French paper. I know a lot of printers use French’s Poptone line for its bright colors and generally I think the paper printed and scored nicely.

Below you can see my little scoring device. I picked it up at a thrift store and have been pleased with its clever design and easy of use when I only have to score a few things. Scoring on press works better for cottony papers because there is more pressure and accuracy, but this little thing was a sweet find for just a couple dollars.

This little scoring device has a handle that you pull down which presses a line of steel rule into the paper leaving a nice score.

I decided to work with silver ink for the next experiment because it has the best opacity on dark papers.

Both papers printed nicely, but I was really pleased with how sharp and clean the ink laid down on the Wild! paper. I will definitely be suggesting it to future clients. It’s priced closely to Lettra but it’s stiffer and perhaps a bit thicker. It also took this nice bite with virtually zero show through or burnishing on the back. On a side note, it does not score any better than Lettra. Thick cottony papers just weren‘t meant to be folded.