Tag: letterpress

Letter Press write up Extra Credit Ryan Diepold

Letter Press Write-Up

Going into the letterpress workshop, I was very ignorant of what it was and the entire process of. Listening to the background of the letterpress history, it did bring into light a better appreciation of the entire English language and older texts. Learning what points meant (before, I thought that point was just a term that had no significant meaning) and that many of the terms we use in digital writing derive from this older form.

After working with the press and seeing how it operates, I found that there is a lot more thought and precision needed than I believed would be. I had no clue about leading, the points needed, the spacing, placing things backwards so they come out proper oriented, just to name a few. Adding color (or modifying the color) was something that I found very interesting. Instead of using a lot of color in the center, it required only a tiny amount to modify the color and there were multiple ways to apply the color.

After leaving the workshop, I have a better appreciation not only for written language, but for the whole writing process. Similar to thinking about what words should come next in a paper and which font size to use, individuals who work with these press have an ample amount of patience, skill, and desire for their work, as a single mistake would cause whatever was being worked on to need to be restarted

Letter Press(ure)

The letterpress demo we did as a class last week was really eye opening. I had no idea that in the past, printing was such an involved and time consuming process. Just setting the type was complex in itself. The use of em-quads to space the text block and create margins required planning that I had never considered. Having to proofread the sentence with it positioned upside down was also mind boggling. The amount of focus that early printing press workers possessed to compose their print successfully is very impressive. It’s easy to take modern word processing features like spellchecking and formatting for granted. I never realized how much time these features save us when writing or editing documents.

In addition to the extra mental acuity required by early print workers, they also needed to demonstrate a healthy amount of dexterity to make it through the day. Handling the composing stick, tracking down specific letters and punctuation in the type-case and transferring the text block onto the printer all required fine motor skills and coordination. At any time one wrong move would have sent tons of small pieces flying. This would have required even more time for pieces to be tracked down and re-organized. Once the actual printing process had begun it was also important to keep hands, hair and clothing away from the rotating machinery and out of the printed work.

The printing press itself was a mechanical work of art. Multiple rollers spread the ink across themselves before coating the organized moveable type. The use of “furniture” allowed for the text to be spaced appropriately before the paper was rolled across, transferring the ink to the page. The machine had pedals, handles and switches that had to be used to print successfully. I imagine that a larger scale printing operation even more complex machinery to operate on a daily basis. In comparison a modern printer seems so high-tech in its ability to quickly and cleanly print, scan or copy. What used to be a high pressure job is now easily accessible and user friendly thanks to word processing programs and laser printers.

Letterpress Demo Reflection

Dabrianna Green

The letterpress demo was quite the learning experience. Initially, I thought that we were just going to stamp letters on paper and make cool posters. However, it is definitely more of a process. I left this event with more respect for technology and the way we have advanced, as well as the people who dedicated their time to crafting each and every element involved in this evolution.

Letterpress is a skill. There is a lot of detailed work involved before getting to the prize. Seeing the end product is very rewarding. However, I could not imagine doing this by myself. Sorting out fonts, keeping them organized, adding correct spacing, cleaning the machine, and etc. is quite the task. Watching all of this come into play made me think about all of the print sources in the past and what strategies were chosen to make this process easier. To do something like this alone would take up a lot of time. When the instructor said it would probably take her a full day to press one single page of the Bible, that really made me realize that this is a respectable craft.

All in all, I am glad I attended this event. For english and communications majors like myself, I think it is important to learn about these things to educate us and give more of a respect for the craft. It is good to have insight on all aspects of your field, so I appreciate the opportunity to experience this side of it all.