Paper Bandit Press

Kim and Brett Borup, Paper Bandit Press, collaborate with several designers resulting in a wide array of gorgeous card designs. Their daughter, Stephanie Ford, designed this festive Party Animal birthday card. I hope you have a party animal in your life deserving of such a beautifully printed group of raucous animals!

• WHERE DID THE NAME OF YOUR STUDIO COME FROM?

  We brainstormed as a family as to what we could name our company. We wanted a name that described what we do but would also help us develop some unique branding. We all agreed on Paper Bandit Press…maybe that was because we all love to wear black and white striped clothing. We even named one of our presses “Bandit”. One of our slogans is, “You’re gonna wanna steal this loot!” It has been the perfect name for us.

• Who is on your team, and how did you come together?

  Our daughter and two of her friends had been successful designers in the letterpress industry for quite a few years when to their surprise the press they worked for decided to eliminate all out-of-house designers. We knew our daughter loved designing and we (her mother and father) didn’t want to see her quit something she loved so much. With a lot of faith, desire, determination, and some retirement funds, we decided to start a letterpress company of our own. We studied hard, took some classes, used our life experiences and degree in business management, along with advice from other printers to set out on this amazing journey. So, our company is made up of our daughter, Stephanie Ford, and the two other graphic designers that work as a team that she used to work with, Amy Shaffer, and Kristin Mills, along with my husband and I who own the company.

• Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

  In everyday living and life experiences. You just have to be looking for it. For instance, our grandson used to say, “Gracias, that’s thank you but in Spanish.” We all loved it and thought it would make a great card so Stephanie designed a card around that.

• What kind of press(es) do you use?

  We print on two vintage printing presses, a Vandercook proof press and a Heidelberg platen press. We cut paper by hand using an old 26″ Chandler & Price paper cutter. We love the character of these wonderful old machines.

• Which press was used to print the Nicely Noted cards?

  We print our cards for you on the Heidelberg platen press. We love these old machines.

Featured In These Collections:

Creatures

Toast