Meet Adriana Gutierrez of GG Press

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adriana Gutierrez.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Adriana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Even though I always loved the feel, the look, the artistry of a beautifully printed piece of paper, the fact is I didn’t find letterpress: letterpress found me. It was 8 years ago when my sister-in-law started talking about wanting an elegant finish for her new company’s imagery, and I decided to explore the option of letterpress printing. The process of finding and acquiring a press came soon after. I started with a desktop Chandler & Price Pilot press that I found in pristine condition. A fantastic piece of history that now becomes part of my own. I was completely in love. And that was only the beginning of a fantastic journey…

What I enjoy most about the vintage letterpress process is taking modern tech and century-old machines and making them work together. I prepare the files to be printed using state-of-the-art computer programs, but are my trusty vintage letterpresses that deliver the final product. I can transform a virtual design into a three-dimensional touchable work of art, a process I find to be awe-inspiring.

I enjoy every step of the printing process.  And it’s all reflected into a work that somehow connects the past to the present.

Letterpress printing has experienced a revival, bringing back into our increasingly digitalized world a nostalgic mix of tangible history and respect for the old-fashioned craft of printing. And I am very happy to be a part of this comeback.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s never a smooth road, is it? But when you do what you love, it helps. Clients are not familiar with the craft and are used to the fast pacing and cheap prices of the digital printing. And the fact that we are so few fellow letterpress printers in Miami, makes it more difficult to educate the people.

I decided to mix a few printing techniques in order to offer a wide range of products and prices. For example: letterpress and foil stamping, or foil stamping and digital printing, even silkscreening and foil. I’ve been doing intensive courses, reading tons of books, organizing my social media to attract more viewers, and the list goes on and on. It’s a constant reinventing yourself.

But at the end, all what people need is to come and see the machines, all the meticulous process that it entails, all the history, and its love at first sight!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with GG Press – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
GG Press is a specialty printing company. I offer a wide range of printing techniques, including, of course, letterpress, foil stamping, silkscreening, digital printing, and die cutting. I’m not a designer, so I normally work for designers or clients who know what they want. I offer personalized packaging service for product-driven enterprises.

For small businesses that are just starting, I’m the perfect fit. Even though my printing techniques are not cheap, I’m able to print in small quantities, which other big printers are not able to offer. In other words, I help small businesses find their right corporate image, and once they become successful, they can move on to the big printers and order huge quantities of corporate stationery.

And I have to confess that I have a problem with saying “no.” I take every project even if I don’t know how to do it. And I do it.

I am proud of what I’ve achieved in these awesome 8 years on the business. I enjoy every minute I’ve spent with my machines, I’ve named them after heroines of my home country, Venezuela. They are strong and wise and old. Every morning they greet me and deliver beautiful pieces of paper that makes me and my clients happy. So at the end is all about being able to see people smile!

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’ve always loved Miami. Since I was a little girl, we would travel at least twice a year from Venezuela. When we decided to move the family here 10 years ago, Miami felt immediately like home. The beach, the bridges, the skyline, the people… The City has been developing so fast with new museums and great restaurants. But it’s the mix of cultures that I like the most.

Even though I come from a tropical Country, I cannot seem to adapt very well to the mix of humidity and heat… nothing that a pool and a nice beach can’t solve.

Contact Info:

• Address: 7165 SW 47th St., Miami, FL 33155
  Warehouse # 316
• Website: www.ggpressmiami.com
• Phone: 3059652519
• Email: adriana@ggpressmiami.com

Image Credit: Alex Beker

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