Pressing on

A documentary about the survival of letterpress and the remarkable printers who preserve the history and knowledge of the craft.

Why has letterpress printing survived? Pressing On is a documentary examining the relevance of a physical process that is anything but modern! We have faster, cheaper methods to print things now – so why has this endured?

As the individuals who have kept letterpress alive are aging quickly, irreplaceable knowledge and techniques stand in danger of being lost forever. However, there is hope! A dedicated faction of young printers, designers, and hobbyists are on a quest to preserve letterpress.

With traditional tools and processes, they push the boundaries of contemporary creativity while sustaining the historic knowledge of the craft. Pressing On will explore the historic culture, the close community, and the remarkable craftsmen who are making letterpress thrive.

To read all about and pledge go to Kickstarter, they're just over half way there!

Typeface

TYPEFACE showing on Sky Arts, next showing Monday 19th March 8.50am

skyarts.sky.com

or buy the film from here typeface.kartemquin.com

Back to the future

In the era of iPhones, iPads and quite-literally iEverything, a Wood Type Museum might seem rather outdated, to say the least. But could it be that something so traditional, primitive even, can inspire today’s avant-garde digital artists?

Filmmaker Justine Nagan’s insightful documentary visits the Hamilton Wood Type Museum and Print Shop in Wisconsin to explore.

Once a bustling hive for artists and designers, the museum now sadly resembles a time capsule of what used to be the glory days of manual printing; in other words, the days of freshly-scented books, hand-crafted gifts and minimal consumerism habits. Housing 1.5 million pieces of wood type, the museum is no-doubt still very rich in resources, but it is nevertheless struggling to remain afloat as the new generation of digital obsession fails to look back on these basic but essential days.

In the documentary Typeface, international artists meet the workshop’s retired craftsmen, who have lived through the evolution of the printing industry and are among some of the last practitioners of the art of wood-type printing. Together, they attempt to comprehend the convergence of modern design and the traditional technique and find the answer to the question “could the future of the printing industry possibly lie in the past?”

We take a fascinating, in-depth look at the effect of computers and the demand on traditional manual techniques.

Thanks to Little Red Press for the Heads up!

UK Screening with Q&A with Amos Kennedy

Proceed And Be Bold!

How far would you go for your one true love? Would you give up all of your earthly possessions, your job, and your family? What if your one true love was a printing press...

At 40 years of age, Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. abandoned the traditional American Dream to follow his own.  Laura Zinger's film, Proceed and Be Bold! joins him for a titillating retelling of this story, while examining the pretensions and provisions of the art world. 

The work of this self-proclaimed “Humble Negro Printer” raises emotionally-charged questions and reveals remarkable depth beneath the bold print. By learning the rules and then choosing to break them, Amos redefines what life (and letterpress printing) can be: exhilarating and subversive.

Join us for a showing of this film and Q&A session afterwards with the man himself.

Tues March 20th, 7pm - 9pm £5 adm

Book here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/2916638745/eorg?ebtv=C

A Letterpress Film by Danny Cooke

Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

Clever idea!

Makr Box Printing. from Jason Gregory on Vimeo.
Box Printing with custom milled platen. Antique press used to print the Daytona Herald. Printed by Nick Sambrato of Mama's Sauce printing. Filmed and edited by Jonpaul Douglass.
found via Type & Press

Letterpress Mexico

Ditoria from typometro on Vimeo.
Thanks to Scott for link to this video, not new but I missed it the first time round via Spiekermann
The music's a little LOUD at the beginning but settles down. Great to see glimpses of book production at a small press!

Guts & Glory: The Commercial

The drama! Like the start of an epic movie and if your wondering what's Ram, they make beefy Amercian trucks, check out the site locked up in a chase Guts and Glory.
Love it, wouldn't find that on your telly in the UK ;o)

Letterpress

Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.
Beautifully presented video and I've never tried mixing coloured ink with silver, one for the to try list.
via www.genghiskern.com on twitter

Anna Fewster

Images copyright of Anna Fewster

Acquired an Adana 8x5 and feel you don't know where to start, well take a little inspiration from Anna Fewster who runs Lampyridae Press.

Anna has created some beautiful work on her trusty Adana from Bloomsbury inspired note cards and bookplates to poetry broadsides using traditional methods of hand set metal type and linoleum cuts. Her work has even appeared in American Vogue, you can find out more about Anna on her website www.annafewster.co.uk or visit her blog Lampyridae Press for the latest updates.

Happy printing!

Victorian delights

I may have mentioned my love for Victorian Theatre bills and posters so I was very happy to pick up a copy of Victorian Delights by Robert Wood 1967 (now out of print) for only £4. I do love a bargain ;D 

The book in in no way about typography but about Victorian Life explored through a wonderful collection of handbills and posters from the collection of John Proctor, printer of Hartlepool. Robert Wood, a well known West Hartlepool, historian, has preserved over 40,000 examples of early printing ephemera from John Procter's printing firm which is now held by Hartlepool Museum, more information is available here.

Example above are just a very small selection I've uploaded to flickr, the book is not only a very interesting read but contains page after page of typography eye candy with the main emphasis placed on the images. Lots more images in my Flickr collection here. The top pic is a crazy wood face I've not seen before and I'm not sure of what classification it would fall in, maybe Gothic Tuscan? Do leave a comment if you know the answer...

A recommended buy if you can find a copy plus I've only photographed about half the pages!

Let’s Press

Let's Press from Strawberry Militia on Vimeo.

Strawberry Militia and Graphic Fury presents in association with the University of the Arts London ‘Let’s Press’ a film about letter press.

via simon goode

play with type

I was honoured to be included in Jens’s mailing list of his recent Christmas work ‘a play with V’ featuring the use of some intricate formes of locked type on the cover and pages. Above is the forme for just one of my favourites, the house of cards, using brass rule and Victory 

You can see more pictures on Bogtrykkeren’s Flickr photos HERE

Are you inspire to have a play?

There are no rules start simple like this one here or go crazy like this one here and this one or this get more technical. If you are new to letterpress just follow the tip below and HAVE FUN!

LETTERPRESS TIP

When you tighten your quoins, tighten each one a little a time starting with the outside ones first (if using more than 2 quoins) and working in, alternating between each one. Don't just tighten one quoin up as tight as you can before moving to another and don't over tighten or you might find your forme lifting and springing outwards. To test wether your forme is locked up tight enough, gently lift your chase a LITTLE, if there's one little bit just not holding, loosen your quoins and add a metal thin or card, tighten your quoins again, repeat until it holds.

The really crazy ones are best done a flat bed press (less chance of things dropping out) but it still works on a platen. More inspiration in the group pool Letterpress Forme on Flickr

All that jazz!

Countdown - John Coltrane from Michael Croxton on Vimeo.
via woodtyper more info here!
Turn up the volume, view on full screen and enjoy! - AMAZING!

type face

Wow this is one huge woodtype forme, 1000mm x 1500mm, designed using a grid by Andrew Bainbridge for the Chase Manchester. You can see more of the process here and  here.

Letterpress & litho

Wings: Making the Field Notes 2010 Fall Edition from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.
Nice to see how things are made on a large scale, especially print...
via poppytalk

$600 worth of prizes up for grabs

letterpress week at oh,hello friend!
image by: letteria
Last day to check out all the great giveaways and some great letterpress inspiration!

Edward Bawden - A Frog and an Ox

picture from the BOOK ROOM ART PRESS

Colour linocut, 1970. In the 1970’s Bawden made a series of prints based on Aesop’s fables. The frog, with feet firmly balanced on the water-lily, puffs himself up to twice his normal size. He points towards a passing Ox and, boasting to his companions, suggests that he, too, can be the size of this Ox. His companions doubt this, and with each puff deny that he has yet reached the Ox’s size. Determined, the Frog continues puffing until, finally, he bursts. The moral? Rather than imitate others, be true to your self.

A little Friday inspiration for you from the talented Edward Bawden and lots here more on flickr
Looks like we are in for a sunny weekend in the UK I'm off to enjoy it while it last... anybody got anything nice planned?

Pictorial Webster's fine press edition

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

Storage solution

I'm so desperate for storage but as my studio is also my dining room I need it to match with the rest of the decor so I am loving this custom made furniture from schubLaden in Berlin.

found on share some candy via I'm patrycja & I love type

I have an endless supply of miss matched type drawers, an eclectic mix of handles and a husband who's a joiner by trade! Maybe the thought of me being more organised will get him to make me one :-)

Exhibition of Mexican prints at the British Museum

A couple of weeks ago a spent a few days in London and had the pleasure to meet up with Helen aka HI-ARTZ press, when she kindly introduced me to an exhibition 'Revolution on paper: Mexican prints 1910–1960' at the British Museum. 

So much print eye candy I found it hard to talk to Helen with my eyes trying to take in all the relief print  splendor, not copious amounts of wood letters but the quality of the lino and woodcuts made up for it! I took lots of pictures, which the quality of in no way reflects the real thing, you see some of my favorites on my Flickr.

The exhibition runs until 5th April 2010 and will then travel to three venues across the UK in September 2010 (details to follow), entry is FREE! There's a short documentary here and you read more about the exhibition here.

So if you can't get to London it will hopefully to your neck of the woods in September, Manchester please then I can go again :)