Onlookers gasp at Graham’s bookmark

Graham Moss and I demonstrated letterpress printing to those at the Hot Bed Press Wayzgoose, Salford on 30 April.  The event was run as part of the Sights From The Other City arts event, and we joined others creating films, screen printing and enjoying tea and buns.

More than 30 people printed their own bookmarks; and we cleared some of the mystery away of the world of letterpress.

Chetham’s Library

The Letterpress Printers’ Guild held an interactive and intimate conference at Manchester’s Chetham Library.  The first event of its kind, it drew an audience from a wide variety places and sectors.  We were welcomed with an introduction to the library and its purpose before Graham Moss went over the day’s programme.

Christian Brett: Bracketpress

Christian Brett of Bracket Press

In describing his introduction to letterpress, Christian of Bracket Press took us full circle from his beginnings on a Linotronic system to his current use of a Mac to originate plates for some work.

Using ephemera, pamphlets and books, he explained the process behind each and invited questions on the role of the printer and book artist, the process of letterpress printing and the influences on his work.

Graham Moss: Incline Press

Graham Moss and Kathy Whalen’s Incline Press in Oldham produces fine books but also the jobbing work typical of a town’s letterpress printer.  He took us through some ephemera — three small handbills for a dog rescue — and explained how these came together and were shaped by the content.  Turning to a book in progress, Graham explained in detail the step-by-step process that might take two years of going from initial idea to first printing.  Again, the guiding principle was that the subject should dictate the smallest details that contribute to a fine work.

Chad Pastotnik: Deep Wood Press

Chad’s Deep Wood Press of Michigan produces fine books in a complete sense: from initial idea, text and typesetting, illustration and printing and through to binding.  Chad passed around his work to inspect while talking candidly about his development from 1992 to the present day.  He spoke about his enthusiasm for all aspects of the ‘book arts’ and his plans to take steps to have further control over the process — including type casting and paper making.

Themes

Some points were consistent between each speaker –

• The ‘book arts’ are so wide and deep that a person could easily be consumed in learning the allied trades.  We spoke of paper making, type founding, and the act of letterpress printing from moveable types as once-massive industries that now fall to individuals to sustain
• Design, layout and typography of each piece of work is at least guided by the content: whether it’s the period of the work or the content, no-one had a boilerplate template to fill with content