About Us

Kat's experience in graphic design has spanned over ten years, and Paper Mint Press was her creative outlet after realizing how much she loved combining modern ways of design with centuries old printing techniques. 

Commemorating important life events and milestones is something she takes very seriously, and she loves working closely with clients to turn their vision into a tangible keepsake. 

Paper Mint Press is a bespoke letterpress, design, and calligraphy studio in Orange County, California by designer and owner, Kathleen Bantad.

Emil had no idea what he was getting himself into when his girlfriend at the time said, "Hey do you want to take this letterpress class with me?" Turns out, he ended up loving the process for the level of craftsmanship and artistry involved in printing.

You probably won't meet him face to face, but he's the man behind the print and production work, a supportive husband, and problem solver extraordinaire! 

ABOUT Letterpress

We offer several printing methods, but our personal favorite is letterpress. We took several classes and spent countless hours learning this craft right here in our home studio, so we're slightly biased towards it. So, what is letterpress? In a nutshell - it's a method of relief printing that utilizes a raised image (like a rubber stamp), that is then pressed directly onto paper. This creates a beautiful debossed effect that you can see and feel. 

Traditionally, letterpress printing involved a typesetter who would arrange lead or wooden type blocks into a chase (a frame that holds the design together). In the old-school days, this was done one letter at a time and had design limitations. 

Nowadays, we are able to flawlessly combine images, text, and design elements into photo-etched polymer plates from digitally created files and have it pressed - creating a beautiful, textural component to your stationery.

Many steps of the process are still done the old fashioned way, requiring a high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. We still hand mix the inks, manually register the position of the print, inspect each sheet as it goes through the press, and trim the final product by hand. In this way, modern technology melds with old machinery to create a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind work of art.

Can't wait to get to know you and create something beautiful together!

MISSION

We want to help create beautiful, one-of-a-kind stationery for people who want to
tell their story through meaningful design.

We believe in the power of paper. Whether you are looking for luxe wedding invitations to make that first impression count or you are ordering unique stationery to elevate your brand, we want to help make your paper memorable.

...

We're here to give you a personalized experience. We've been there and we get it. We want to make this part of wedding planning stress-free and fun! We are here to guide you every step of the way - from Save the Dates to Thank You Cards.

...

We value diversity, inclusion, and equality. We welcome clients of all religions, sexual orientations, cultural identities, gender identities, ethnicities, ages, and life experiences. 

OUR VALUES

When we're not printing, we're obsessing over our two kiddos, Eames and Sevyn, who pretty much consume all of our free time (not kidding). We love the simple things: coffee, sunshine, play dates, delicious eats, vintage things... Head over to our Instagram and Blog where you can see more behind-the-scenes stuff at all the latest happenings here at Paper Mint Press.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Ah, the star of the show! Our studio wouldn’t be complete without our Heidelberg Windmill. Weighing in at over 2 tons, she is a workhorse and we are so fortunate to have her. It never gets old seeing our designs get printed on such an old machine.

TAKE A LOOK AROUND...