Our Story

I'm Michelle Sparr, and I grew up in a screen printing shop. But that’s not where I fell in love with printing- that happened later, when I fell in love with letters.

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In 2017, while attending Eastern Washington University, I took an intro to typography class. I enjoyed the class so much that I sought out more courses with the same instructor- more typography, production design, and an independent study in which I developed my own typeface.

Eventually that same instructor invited me to visit her letterpress studio. Before visiting, I had no idea what letterpress was; after visiting, it became an obsession- the paper, the ink, the tactile nature of it all. 

I became an intern and learned about pre-press, dieline development, the production process, and finally, got my hands in some ink and began printing. Letterpress is the perfect balance of mechanical thinking and creativity. Rediscovering print through letterpress felt like coming home.

In 2019 I graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Design, and in 2020 I purchased my first machine, a 10 x 15 Chandler and Price old style platen press. Since then, a second press has been added to the shop- a Heidelberg Windmill.

Mysterious Ink is named for the investigative nature of learning such an old craft and restoring the machines, and for the magic of putting ink on paper. 

Press on.

Our Philosophy

We’ve got old school values.

Quality and craftsmanship are at the core of everything we do. We believe in honesty and hard work, and strive to build lasting personal relationships with each and every one of our clients.