1848-1872 1873-1897 1898-1913 1914-1945 1946-1990 1991-2008
Linen Postcards
1931
By the late 1920’s new colorants had been developed that were very enticing to the printing industry. Though they were best used as dyes to show off their brightness, this method proved to be problematic. Where traditional stiff pigment based inks would lie on a paper’s surface, these thinner watery dyes had a tendency to be absorbed into a paper’s fibers. Once absorbed the dyes loose their advantage of higher color density leaving behind a dull blurry finish. To experience the rich colors of dyes light must be able to pass through them to excite their electrons. A parcial solution was to combine these dyes with petroleum distillates, which led to faster drying heatset inks. But it was Curt Teich who finally solved the problem by first embossing paper with a linen texture before printing. The embossing created more surface area that would be exposed to the air, which allowed the new heatset inks to dry even faster. The quicker drying time allowed these dyes to remain on the paper’s surface thus retaining their superior strength, which give Linens their telltale bright colors. In addition to printing with the usual CYMK colors, a lighter blue was sometimes used to give the images extra punch. High speed presses could also accommodate this method lowering costs and ensuring its widespread use. Although first introduced in 1931, the growing popularity of linen cards were interrupted by the onset of World War Two. They were not to be printed in numbers again until the later 1940’s when the war effort ceased consuming most of the Nation’s resources. Even though the images on linen cards were based on photographs, they contained much handwork of the artists who brought them into production. There is of course nothing new in this; what it notable is that they were to be the last postcards to show any touch of the human hand on them. Linens would be sold alongside Phothchromes during the 1950’s when they finally went out of style.
Although a printing revolution was inspired by Curt Teich’s understanding of the advantage embossed paper had in speeding the drying time of dye based inks, he was not the first to use embossed paper. Textured papers for postcards had been manufactured ever since the turn of the 20th century. But since this procedure was not then a necessary step in aiding card production, its added cost kept the process limited to a handful of publishers. It is most likely that linen finishes were originally used in attempts to simulate the texture of canvas, thus relating the postcard to a painted work of fine art. These early cards are not considered to be true Linens.
Use the link below for a more compleate history of this period.