Magpie Press is a busy letterpress studio based in Whakatane (formerly Ponsonby, Auckland).

We take pride in producing beautiful letterpress printing with heart. The cornerstone of our printshop is a weighty Heidelberg Windmill Press (we call her Hildegarde!), which faithfully whooshes her way through printing, perforating and die-cutting for us.

The craft of letterpress lends itself to a little whimsy, and it constantly astounds us that such a big, noisy machine produces gloriously elegant, long-lasting pieces.

Most of the process is done by hand and is time consuming – from making the photo-polymer plates for printing, mixing your ink (using an old-fashioned weighing scale), to inking, printing and cleaning the press.

We’re based in Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty, and work with clients nationally and internationally. We work hard to produce work you’ll love for important moments in your life.

A note on Artisan Printing: Letterpress is an intrinsically artisan process – every print is unique, and you may notice subtle changes in inking, colour and impression through the print run. This is a natural part of the process and is one of the things that makes letterpress so loved.

View our work→

We’d be delighted to work with you on your letterpress printing project – and can also recommend great letterpress designers (if you don’t already have one in mind) for any of the following:

For your Wedding: Engagement / Invitation / Save the date / RSVP card / Menu Cards / Maps / Order of Service / Wedding Registry.

For your Business: Business Cards / Compliment Slips / Tags / Wedding Registry Cards / Book Marks and anything else you may need!

Social: Personal Stationery / Calling Cards / Change of address / Baby announcement / Birthday Party / Seasonal Celebrations and just because you feel like it!

A note on the Environment: Letterpress printing is a relatively environmentally friendly form of printing. There is little waste and we endeavour to use stock from renewable sources and recycled material. We use soy-based inks, and clean with the most environmentally friendly products we can find.