Welcome to Paleta Press, a little global print shop and graphic design studio, located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. I print using 100% wood and metal hand-set type and vintage images. My designs are influenced by my travels, ephemera, pop culture, and the eclectic typographic and design inspiration I find along the way. I have a longstanding interest in graphic design and have a background in researching the history of technology, so the world of letterpress seemed like a natural choice. Paleta Press was born in the summer of 2013 when I happened upon my first press in an antique bookstore that was going out of business in rural Wisconsin.

Process
I operate two antique presses from home (a tiny Baltimore platen press and a Line-O-Scribe sign press), and I also print at Zygote Press in Cleveland on a Chandler and Price platen press. My grandfather trained as a typesetter in the 1930s and I hope to carry on the tradition into the 21st century. For these cards and posters, I utilize vintage wood and metal typefaces, some dating from the 1800s. Yes, this means that each letter is set individually! All graphics are vintage image cuts made from wood, lead and copper, not polymer plates or computer graphics. I hope you enjoy these pieces of history!

What is a Paleta?
A paleta is a Mexican popsicle, and also the word for an artist’s palette in Spanish and Portuguese. Growing up in Chicago, paletas were a sign of summertime, and I hope these designs incorporate that sense of fun and nostalgia.