Yesterday I visited Graham Judd at GTO Printers, a small specialist printing company
situated in Birkenhead, on the North Shore of Auckland.
situated in Birkenhead, on the North Shore of Auckland.
GTO offer unique print capabilities not found in many other printing businesses,
such as traditional letterpress and thermographic printing.
Saturday isn't a usual work day for Graham,
however, about once a month Graham offers a workshop in letterpress at GTO.
however, about once a month Graham offers a workshop in letterpress at GTO.
Graham Judd, the owner, trained as a letterpress machinist, then retrained on offset.
He started GTO Printers about 20 years ago, and is the General Manager,
yet you can see his passion and enthusiasm for the craft of printing.
He started GTO Printers about 20 years ago, and is the General Manager,
yet you can see his passion and enthusiasm for the craft of printing.
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GTO Printers have 4 Adana 8x5 printing machines which are ideal for printing cards and invitations - a great tabletop model for a small studio |
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In the morning students explore Graham's eclectic collection of lead and wood type and ornaments to print a range of experiments and practice inking |
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Here's an unusual find in Graham's collection: a vintage font with separate outline and fill sorts (I've not seen these sorts before) |
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During the afternoon session, workshop participants can produce a set of personal cards of their own design |
...a basic cylinder press for proofing... I love how the paper is registered using the clip from a clipboard - Genius! I'll have to remember that one. |
Much of GTO's commercial letterpress work is done on the Heidelberg 10x15 platen |
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Graham holds a poster by Tara McLeod, showing that letterpress is also great for large works |
A sample of a card made by Kim from Passion For Paper |
Kim's card used fluorescent red ink with thermographic powder to create the raised metallic gold sheen. I'd never seen this process done in person, so that was a great learning experience for me too! |
Graham has a collection of videos in YouTube which show the processes.
If you are interested, you can see them here:
If you are interested, you can see them here:
click here to see GTO Printers' YouTube Channel
If you're interested in doing a letterpress workshop
I think Graham has a Christmas card workshop planned for November.
Or get a group of 4 people and see if you can book your own lesson?
Click here to see GTO's website for more details about the workshops,
or Email Graham or phone 09 480 0218
If you're interested in doing a letterpress workshop
I think Graham has a Christmas card workshop planned for November.
Or get a group of 4 people and see if you can book your own lesson?
Click here to see GTO's website for more details about the workshops,
or Email Graham or phone 09 480 0218
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