Short Documentary Worth Sharing - Ink + Paper

ink&paper from Ben Proudfoot on Vimeo.

I was recently sent a link to the above documentary by Alex Kefalos at Wits Pictures. I get sent quite a few clips from people wanting them to be posted on the blog, and more often than not they are just short clips of a Heidelberg Windmill's magnificent parts moving together to create something beautiful. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but I was excited to see this little documentary was something different and special.

I think this is one of the first little movies that wasn't entirely promotional in nature. Here instead is a real look inside the situation that many letterpress printers and their suppliers find themselves in. Letterpress printing is not the glamorous industry that many people think it is. I think it is assumed sometimes that because letterpress is expensive, that it means printers are making lots of cash. The reality is that our supplies are very expensive and hard to find, parts and equipment is scarce, and that our work involves lots of physical labor (blood, sweat and tears - literally). And, as the film shows, it's not at all easy to make a living - especially during a recession.

So on that note, I invite you to watch the documentary yourself and see what you think. Thank you Alex for sending it to us and to Ben Proudfoot and company for putting together this more realistic view of the state of the printing and print supply industry.