Letterpress printing is essentially done entirely by hand, with the printing blocks assembled, ink applied, and each sheet of paper fed by hand into the machine to be printed. It is not possible to produce a large number of sheets at once, but it is a fascinating printing technique in that each print will have its own unique characteristics, such as ink color and unevenness, scratches and fading on the block, etc.

Since the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany in the 15th century, it has become widely used to produce large quantities of the same thing. It is said to have been introduced to Japan at the end of the Edo period, and since then, it has been the most widespread printing technology around the world for about 500 years.

Something called a "plate" is essential for printing. When printing, ink is applied to the protruding parts of the plate, such as letters, and then the paper is placed on it and high pressure is applied from above using a printing press, which prints the letters and images onto the paper. The plate used to print letters is called "type."

Originally, letterpress printing was a method called "kiss touch," which involved gentle pressure without creating any unevenness, and was used for newspapers and books, and was highly regarded as a high-level technique that did not affect the back side. However, the shading created by the unevenness created by the pressure began to be said to be the unique beauty of letterpress printing, and this characteristic led to a reevaluation of letterpress printing.