Letterpress is a relief method of printing text and images
which has a beautiful printed quality,
most often recognised by the distinctive indent in the paper.
which has a beautiful printed quality,
most often recognised by the distinctive indent in the paper.
 |
| Walter Hansen, Blue/Black KÅkako Edition Letterpress, edition of 70 |
The first Western printing press and movable type was invented by Johannes Gutenberg
in the mid 1400s, and it quite literally spread the word until the mid 20th century,
when modern technologies evolved in an ongoing quest for speed and efficiency.
Around the 1970s the printing industry worldwide discarded letterpress equipment
which allowed artist printmakers and hobbyists to acquire presses and movable type.
Types of Letterpress Printing Machines
Platen presses' main characteristic is that paper is fed into a ‘jaw’
with the type on one side and paper on the other.
 |
| Example of a Handpress The Printing Museum's oldest item: (Harrild) Albion Hand-Press This press printed the first issue of The Evening Post in 1865 |
 |
| Example of table-top Platen Press - Adana 8x5 at GTO Printers (Auckland) |
 |
| Columbian ('Eagle') Press (approx 1860) at Otakou Press Room, Dunedin |
Cylinder presses are characterised by using a large cylinder
to deliver paper and impression to type on a flat bed.
This principle is used by the latest letterpress machines
like the Heidelberg Cylinder machines or precision proofing presses
 |
| Vandercook #4 at Otakou Press Room, Dunedin |
Letterpress can be made several ways:
Hand-set type (individual letters), cast plates (text or image), polymer plates
Letterpress can be made several ways:
Hand-set type (individual letters), cast plates (text or image), polymer plates
 |
| Wood poster type (hand-set) |
 |
| Hand-set metal type |
 |
| Metal type, set/arranged, ready to print |
 |
| Cast metal plate with image |
 |
| Metal block with shape for embossing |
 |
| Polymer plate with shape for printing |
 |
| Letterpress can also be used for embossing/debossing (same print process but without any ink) |
Here's a few examples
of some NZ printmakers using letterpress:
of some NZ printmakers using letterpress:
 |
| Saranna Dury, Huge Type is Sexy, 2011 Letterpress |
 |
| Rakai Karaitiana, Huia Letterpress, edition of 50 House of Aroha (Napier) |
 |
| Walter Hansen, Romantic Letterpress, 32x22cm, edition of 30 |
 |
| Tessa Gourley, booklet and posters from project On The Plonk Letterpress |
 |
| Tara McLeod, F&X Typo Design, 2011 Letterpress, 38x56cm, edition of 12 |
 |
| Into The White Press, Beer? Chur!, 2012 Letterpress |
 |
| Into The White Press, A Bee C, 2012 Letterpress |
 |
| Walter Hansen, Kaimoana Letterpress, |
Letterpress Workshops
If you are keen to take a letterpress course, here's a few links to follow:
GTO Printers, Auckland regularly run workshops.
There are letterpress workshops scheduled for
13 July, 10 Aug, 14 Sept, 12 Oct, 9 Nov if you're interested.
 |
GTO's workshops on the Adana press
are ideal for learning the principles of letterpress printing |
(If you know of any other people offering letterpress workshops,
please let me know so I can add them to this list)
 |
| Homeprint Studio in Fielding |
Here's a little video I found from Auckland's Magpie Press,
showing the letterpress process in action:
Digital Letterpress
If you don't have room for a letterpress in your studio (like most of us)
but want a better understanding of the process,
you can by an amazing app for ipad or mac called LetterMPress.
It looks just like the real thing (only with an 'undo' button)!
 |
| Here's an image I made on LetterMPress recently, it was a lot of fun! It is great method for learning the process and to play around with type arrangements. |
Have you tried Letterpress yet???
What did you enjoy most about the process?
Comments