Wednesday 2 December 2009

Learning the Letterpress




At the beginning of the year we signed up for some inductions and workshops. As well as ceramics, woodwork and bookbinding, I thought I'd try out the letterpress induction. 10th November was the day we were introduced to this workshop.

In a tiny room by reception are the letterpress machines. Inside is a very helpful technician who showed us how to use the machines and how to work efficiently in such a confined environment.

To begin with, you should collect a tray and decide which size and font you would like to work with. The tricky part to the whole procedure is remembering to put each letter back-to-front so it appears the right way when printed. After choosing some ink and material to print onto, you can get started on the printing; line it up and start pressing!

A minute or so later, you are left with some lovely typography. As I really like the finished result of the letterpress, I plan on using this technique more often. As well as jazzing up notebooks and journals, I think I could use it within graphic work or drawings and illustrations, perhaps even combined with photography.