Monograms + More

© 2008 Sunlit Letterpress

It's Friday again - can you believe it? Where does the time go?

This week I worked on some new custom monogram orders (see photo above monogram in chocolate brown with kraft envelopes for Carron in Maryland). I also worked on a non-letterpress invitation for a luxury hotel in Victoria (BC) that is having an unveiling party for it's new renovations and restaurant opening. I really enjoyed designing that invitation - although I love letterpress, I do also design invitations for offset and digital printing - and switching back and forth is fun. When I get my hands on a hard copy of the invitation, I'll be sure to post.

This week I've been feeling a bit isolated - this happens every once in a while. Working for yourself is fun, but unless you have interactions with other people everyday, you can start feeling like a recluse. I guess it sort of comes with the territory - lots of designers, artists, and printers work alone. I've been looking at some local Etsy-related craft groups to join, but a lot of these are downtown, and I'm in the burbs. It would be great if there were a burb-centered group of designers that met every once in a while to talk shop. It would be an opportunity to meet new people who know what you're talking about (if I start talking about logo design with my friends and family, their eyes start glazing over). Where are all the suburban designers at? I can't be the only one :)

I've gotten a few questions lately from readers asking if they will be able to get a decent impression with a table-top press (specifically Kelseys). As I've noted in previous posts, the short answer is no. The long answer is - if you get good paper, pack your press right, print something with a small surface area, and try other tricks like dampening your paper before printing - you can sometimes get an impression. But, will you get an impression equivalent to what a floor model press could produce? No, sorry : (

In other news...One thing I am super excited about is that my husband and I finally picked dates for our trip to Asia in September. As long as I can remember I've always wanted to go to Japan. I have always been in love with Japanese design and art. My husband's co-workers tell me there is not only a printing museum in Tokyo, but also a paper museum. I can't wait to take in the architecture and bright signs and...I'll be on visual overload I'm sure.

By the way, if you are a member of Facebook and haven't joined the Sunlit Letterpress Facebook Group, c'mon down!

So that's it for now, happy letterpressing!

Un message pour Eve...

This message is specifically for Eve from Montreal, so if you don't speak French, well...you may want to skip it. Mind you, I'm a bit rusty, so if you do speak it and want a laugh, go ahead and read. You can see what happens when you have few chances to keep up a language...

Alors Eve, je vous demande d'ignorer mon français terrible...Il n'y a pas beaucoup d'opportunités pour pratiquer le français ici à Vancouver, et par résultat, mon français souffre. Je parle aussi l'espagnol, et des fois je me trompe un peu entre les deux langues.

Oui, j'utilise le Boxcar Base, et pour moi c'est formidable. La raison pour laquelle cette base existe est très simple: si vous n'avez pas, ou ne voudrait pas, utiliser les lettres en métal pour imprimer - vous avez le choix d'utiliser des plaques d'impression en lieu des lettres en métal. Ces plaques d'impressions sont faites de matériaux differents. Par exemple, nous pouvons utiliser de plaques faites de magnésium etc. Ces plaques sont appliquées à une base, et il faut serrer cette base dans l'affaire on appelle un "chase".

La base Boxcar est faite d'aluminium, et il faut commander les plaques d'impressions de Boxcar Press à NY pour appliquer sur la base lorsque vous voulez imprimer. Les plaques d'impressions de Boxcar sont faites avec un type de plastique (photopolymer). Ceci est important, parce que si vous voulez, vous pouvez couper les plaques avec des ciseaux et réarrangez vos dessins facilement. Les plaques faites de magnésium et autres matériaux ne peuveut pas être coupées.

Les plaques peuvent être appliqués à la base Boxcar car le dos de ces plaques contient la colle qui est appliquée par Boxcar avant d'être envoyé chez vous.

Je n'ai pas une photo de la base actuellement, mais si vous regardez dans la photo ci-dessous, la base serait derrière les rouleaux.

J'espère que j'ai répondu à vos questions...et que vous pourriez comprendre mon français en dépit de ma grammaire!

Happy letterpressing!

Sleepless in Seattle...

Ok, well I was sort of sleepless in Seattle this past weekend, but not from insomnia. A friend and I went down for our annual girls-only Christmas shopping weekend. This year there was a bonus - the Canadian dollar was at about $1.08 US, so it was like a bonus 8% off of everything. The trip was great fun, I scratched off about 80% of my Christmas list recipients, and I found my new favorite store...Paper Source in Bellevue. I know Paper Source exists all around the US and on the Internet, but I'd never stepped foot in one myself. It was fantastic. A candy store for paper and stationery junkies. I'd list all the wonderful doodads and whatnots that I discovered, but that would take all day. I did find some PVA and another paper product that I am going to experiment with over the next few weeks...

When I returned from Seattle on Sunday I had one bit of bad news waiting for me, and two bits of good news. The bad news - while I was away some moron decided to hit and run my car while it was parked in front of my friend's house where I left it. The arse either didn't notice they hit me, or they didn't have the guts to leave me a note. Nice. Now I'm out $300 in deductibles. Luckily I don't have to pay the full $800 in damage he or she did. L-O-S-E-R.

The good news, an article written by Alex Browne of the Peace Arch News (a local paper) about me and fellow artists from the Creative Finds art show (December 1st) was printed in the Sunday run. Although I was not properly identified in the photo (see above photo [I'm the one on the right]- they noted me as the mother of the little girl in the photo), and I was misquoted on most items, the gist of it came out ok. The focus was more on Rachel, the little girl, as she is quite the entrepreneur! You can read the whole article here...The photo was taken in the paper's lunch room with all of us sort of sitting on a tiny table!

The other good news, my dear friends Harold and Rebecca welcomed baby Mathias...and boy is he a cutie patootie! Congrats!

While I was gone I also received an email from an AIL reader asking about my paper cutter - the QCM stack cutter. The reader asked if I liked the QCM - the quick answer - yes, I love it. But, there are drawbacks - the grid on the measuring area is not that exact, and it's a bit hard to line up papers just so. I've actually taken a Sharpie to mark my measurements better on the grid, but it's still not exact. If you need exact measurements, it would be best to invest in a proper cutter. Personally, $350 was about what I wanted to spend - the better cutters are in the thousands...

Best of luck and happy letterpressing!

Fixed!

It looks like the header is finally working...silly Blogger interface! At least it's fixed now, and the blog is finally looking like my own, instead of a template.

I've had a few emails lately from some designers/artists interested in getting started in letterpress printing. If you take a look back to my old postings from last year, you will find some good (and lengthy) advice on getting started, where to find classes, where to find presses, etc. But, I will recap some useful websites here for those who'd rather not read through the old postings:

Briarpress - The best source for letterpress information, classifieds, discussions, and access to many experts...
Beginner's Guide to Buying A Press - The name speaks for itself, also from Briarpress...
Intro to Letterpress - Good advice from David Rose...
First Press Suggestions - Don Black's advice for beginners....
EBay Guide to Buying a Letterpress - I wouldn't always recommend the EBay route for buying your first press, but there is some good advice here.

I hope these links are useful to you. There are plenty more resources available online - just Google "Buying a Letterpress" and you'll find a whack of links to help you.

Happy letterpressing!

Brown Birds...

I recently posted the above notecards in my Etsy store, and they sold within hours. I'm learning that birds are a very popular motif. At the craft fair I showed at last month, the bird cards were the first to go. Hmmm... I have some more notecard sets (non bird-related) to post on Etsy tonight so we'll see how they do.

Things have been very busy around the studio this week, and it's been fun trying keep everything in order. Wedding invitations, business cards, a provincial newsletter, and a national magazine that I do the design and layout for just went off to the printers. In terms of my design work, I can smell Fall in the air as my regular clients and new ones get prepared for September and the "back to work" rush.

The cleaning of the C&P is almost complete, and I managed to find an online "parts manual" for putting everything back together. It seems the manual was last printed in the 1950s, so it will be fun to use. We've recruited our friend Harold (a firefighter) to help us put the platen section (see below left) of the press back on the base. It weighs about 200 lbs, so my husband and I need an extra set of hands.



If everything goes as planned, I could possibly be printing within a week or two (crossing fingers). I then need to get my rump in gear and get working on the new stationery for the holidays and upcoming craft/art sales I plan to attend. I will also likely participate in Portobello West sometime this Fall.


In other news, I recently received this email from Jane asking for advice:

Hello, I have a few questions regarding the C & P letterpress that you recently acquired. I also recently bought the same size C & P letterpress from a listing on briarpress.org. When I got to the person's place to see it was in good condition, everything seemed to be fine except that it wouldn't turn on. The seller is willing to knock the price down, but do you know how and where I would start so that I could find out what is wrong? I don't want to take a broken machine if it's unfixable. Also, I have to take the machine apart to bring it home. Which parts should I leave on the press and which parts are the easiest to take off and put back together? I do have to clean it once I bring it home so I would like the best possible recommendation, if any.

Jane

Jane - I'm guessing by "turn on" you mean that the motor wouldn't run? I have to assume that's what you meant, because the press itself doesn't turn on, it only works by rotation of the flywheel or pumping of the foot treadle. The motor the person might have the C&P on could just be worn out or dead, and really doesn't affect the overall functioning of press itself (the motor just does the physical work for you).

In my humble opinion, I would be more worried about whether the C&P works without motor power. Did you see it function at all? Did the seller show you the press in action, maybe by printing a sample to show you? Does the press have any cracks, welds, or obvious damage? The motor can always be replaced, but a press in bad shape is not a good thing.

As far as the price goes, again in my opinion, the value of the press totally depends on what the buyer is willing to pay. I really see the sale of letterpress equipment as a buyers market in the sense that the cost (physical and financial) to move equipment is so high, that it strongly affects what a buyer is willing to pay for the press itself. I have heard of many people who have gotten their floor model presses for free or for a few hundred dollars, because the people selling wanted to get rid of them, and the people buying knew what a pain it would be to extract the press from the seller's place and get it home. In my case, I paid more to move my C&P than I did to buy it.

As for removing parts, many can be removed - flywheel, platen, treadle, etc., but this isn't to say that everyone should undertake this task. I had the parts of my press removed because if I hadn't, it wouldn't have fit in my house. And, the seller knew what he was doing and had taken the press apart before - so he did it for me. For advice on removing parts, I would post in the Briarpress.org forum or search the archives for instructions.

As for cleaning your press - it depends on the condition. Some people buy presses from sellers that loved them and babied them. Some presses are bought after they've been sitting in a garage for decades. Unless your press needs the cleaning, why bother? I'm doing a light cleaning on my C&P just to get rid of some of the dust and surface grease on non-moving parts. It doesn't even really need that - it's just my preference.

Best of luck to you Jane, and happy letterpressing!

Busy, busy, busy...

Well, it's July 5th today...meaning I have 15 more days until the launch of my letterpress line at Got Craft. There is still sooooo much to do. The weekend did not yield many results as I goofed off at my friend's lovely lakeside cabin on Shuswap lake, here in BC. But, after printing nearly every day for weeks, I needed a break :)

So in this post, I will answer some of the questions people have left in the comments, and post some more photos of the goods that will be for sale at the Got Craft show...

Q. What weight of Crane Lettra do you use?
A. 110 # Cover. You can get a much heavier weight (I got some in my samples) but I haven't bought any yet...

Q. Do I illustrate my own designs?
A. Mostly yes. I (and you) can't print other people's designs without their permission or license to reproduce their artwork for sale. So yes, I illustrate my own designs. Luckily for me, I love type, so often my designs do not require too much illustration. I have two flower designs that I am currently using that I purchased licenses to reproduce and sell as greeting cards, framed art, etc. One is a vintage illustration of a rose - which I couldn't do myself without spending hours, and hours on.

Generally letterpress works best with type and line art - both of which I am comfortable with.

Q. What size Boxcar Base do you use with the Kelsey 5x8?
A. Visit this page for more info. You will need a Deep Relief base cut to 3.5" x 6.5" - you cannot order this size online, you'll need to call or email the kind, friendly staff at Boxcar. By the way, Boxcar staff are extremely helpful, so don't be afraid to call them with questions. The plates you will use with the Deep Relief base are KF 152.

Q. How do you print the two-color cards when using plates?
A. Well, there are two options...Get two plates made, one with each color (which is the more expensive method). Or, have one plate made with both colors, and cut them up and print with the pieces for each color. Boxcar Press has a webpage that explains exactly how to do this (the "Jigsaw Jamboree"). It's a great technique. This is why I love the Boxcar system - you can cut your plates up and move the pieces around and pretty much do what you wish.

Q. Will you sell your work online?
A. Yep! I will be opening an Etsy store a.s.a.p., and a new website specifically for my letterpress work. My studio website is more of a showcase for my graphic and web design work.

And finally, some recent work...


My banner for my table at the craft fair - printed at Kinko's. I am pleased.



A navy set of notecards paired with really cool envelopes made with lunchbag-style paper, and a lunchbag-style flap.



A card for the newly engaged, newly wed, for a daughter from a mother, or a bride seeking a bridesmaid or maid of honour. Anything goes with this wedding card.



Here is one of the goodies being given away if you are in the first 25 visitors at Got Craft...I heard people came early to the May Got Craft so they could get their swag bags. Sounds like they are highly coveted - so come early!

Questions about buying a press...

I recently received an email via Briarpress.org from a fellow beginner with some questions about buying her first press. Though I am certainly not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to different presses, I will try to answer her questions as best I can. If anyone has anything else to share with Tanya, feel free to comment below.

Hi Erin, I found you on Briar Press, I love your blog. It's encouraging to see others start out and be successful at letterpress. I might be able to get my hands on a small iron cast letterpress and was wondering if you could tell me what are the basic parts that should come with the press? Or point me towards a resource that lists the crucial parts. The person I might be purchasing it from didn't seem to know much about it unfortunately. He says the printable area is 5x8 which I was glad to hear. I am a novice and just want to make sure that before I buy it from him that all of the parts are coming with it. What needs to accompany the press and what would be good to have to make it function? Apologies for all the questions, but I'd like to make an informed purchase. Thank you Tanya


(Tanya also attached this photo)...




First off, thank you for your email Tanya. I know how hard it can be to want to get started in the world of letterpress printing when you're not 100% sure on how to go about doing it! I hope this helps!

In general, I think it is best to take a course on letterpress printing before buying a even a small press (I'm not sure if you have or not, so I'll assume not just to be safe). This is not to say that it is impossible to learn on your own, but I can imagine it would be very hard to get started, let alone purchase a press, without having used one before. I don't say this to discourage you, but letterpress printing is very time consuming and involves a lot of trial and error, and can be somewhat expensive to get started in if you don't have all of the supplies available to you. Living in Canada, which I think you also do, is even worse in that it is harder to find many of the supplies you will need, and shipping items across the border isn't cheap.

Making sure the press works...

I think on many occasions people selling presses (on Craigslist, Ebay, etc.) are not printers. Some sellers find the old presses in church basements, in their grandparents' attics, and so on, and sell them because they know there is a market. This is not to say that the presses are not good, or working, but I think it is something to be aware of.

If at all possible, I would try to buy a press from someone who has used it before and who knows it is in working order - especially if you are a beginner. If you end up with a press with broken or worn parts, and you're just starting out, it would be very frustrating to have to figure out how to fix these things on your own. So, bottom-line, if you can buy a press from someone who has used it and can say it is in working order, that is your best bet.

My press of course came from Jim Rimmer's workshop - so though he hadn't used it in many years (and there was a nice spider web underneath that came with it :), I knew when he told me it worked that it in fact did, and so there was no worry there. Another press I had contemplated buying in the past also came from a well-known letterpress printer in my area, thus also guaranteeing that the press was in working order.

Parts that should come with the press...

Most table-top presses are made up of 5 major parts. 1 - The body, or main structure holding together all the working parts. 2 - The chase, or frame that holds your type, furniture, and base if you are using photopolymer or other plates. 3 - The ink table or ink disc, where the ink is spread by rollers. 4 - The platen - the area that holds your paper and is pushed up against your type when printing by function of 5 - the lever (or handle) that you push down upon.

Arguably the most important part of the press is your rollers, which apply the ink to your type/plate. They are removable for cleaning, etc. If the press has been sitting a while, or if the last user didn't look after the rollers, the rollers may need to be recovered. Mine needed to be covered and it cost about $180 CDN to recover them. The rollers also come with trucks that allow the rollers to...well, roll...over your type/plate and apply the ink.

Please see Don Black's fab website on press parts for more info: http://donblack.ca/kelsey/press-parts.htm. The descriptions are specifically for Kelseys, but apply for most table top presses as well.

About your press...

Now, though your photo is small, and I'm not quite sure what type of press it is, I notice that there is no ink disc. So, either it is missing (which is a problem), or this is a hand-inking press (meaning you'd have to apply ink to your type/plate by hand using a brayer rather than rollers - which would make printing a much more time consuming task). I also see no rollers, or place where rollers would attach (roller hooks), so this is looking more and more to me like a hand-inking press (someone please correct me if they know otherwise).

I'm not sure if that is what you set out for when looking for a press, but if you want my honest opinion, if I were in your shoes, I might wait and find a Kelsey or a C&P Pilot press to start out with instead. It might be fun to play with a hand-inking press for a while, but you'll probably get tired of hand-inking pretty quickly.

I am also not sure from the photo that your press comes with a chase (to hold your type/base). This would mean you'd need to go find and buy one. I would also double-check the size of the press when you see it - if the person selling it (who doesn't know too much about the press) says it's a 5x8, I'd check it out. The 5x8 measurement refers to the size of the chase (not necessarily the printable area once you get your type/base in there with furniture/quoins, etc.).

Other things you will need...

Just a quick list - ink, type or base/plates, composing stick if using type, cleaner, furniture, quoins (to lock up the chase), tympan paper (to go under the paper you print on), oil/synthetic lube to keep the working parts of the press lubed, rags, gauge pins (to hold paper in place for printing) or tape/paper combo (see post below for alternative to gauge pins), and so on....

My recommendation...

Have you ever spoken to Don Black in Toronto (donblack.ca)? He is THE letterpress supply guy in your area and can probably help you find the little press of your dreams. Give him a call!

Tanya, I hope it all works out for you and I hope I haven't scared you off of letterpress. Just a good idea to know exactly what you're getting yourself into. When I started, everyone told me - "be careful, soon your basement will be full of supplies and you'll be ready to get a bigger press". Yep, that was less than a year ago...and I'm already there!

If anyone else has feedback for Tanya, please post in the comments.

Happy letterpressing!

Letterpress Courses

I was recently asked where I took my intensive intro to letterpress course here in Vancouver, BC. I attended a Summer workshop at the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design where Jim Rimmer (letterpress printer, illustrator, type designer) was our instructor. From what I've heard, Jim may not do the workshop again in 2007, so I'm not sure what the future of the letterpress course is at ECIAD. However, there are many letterpress printers in the area, some of whom take on apprentices. There are also a variety of courses/workshops held across the U.S., if you feel like doing some travelling.

Doing a Google search for "book arts workshops", "letterpress workshops", or "printmakers workshops" will yield some results (i.e. Hamilton Printmakers Letterpress Workshop in Ontario, Creative letterpress printing workshop at Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild "Lead Ain't Dead" Workshop).

Good luck and Happy Letterpressing!

Questions from a future beginner...

Rita from Indiana had some questions for me about letterpress, so I'm answering them here in case anyone else has the same questions.

I’m considering buying a 3x5 Kelsey and using it to make some cards for friends. Except, I’m not sure if the 3x5 can handle the greeting cards. Do you know?

The 3x5 refers to the size of the chase that would fit into your press. 3x5 is quite small, and is probably too small if you were thinking of using say a Boxcar base with photopolymer plates, but it is a good size for doing small things like business cards, and smaller greeting cards. You will be limited by the size of this press, but if you just wanted to use say metal type for small designs on small cards, then it would be ok.

Though I've only just started with my 5x8 Kelsey, I've already found the size to be somewhat limited for some of my ideas. Personally, I don't think I would buy a 3x5 as it is too small for what I would want to print.

Did you regret getting your Kelsey?

Absolutely not :) I am very happy with my press. But, going into it, you have to know that you won't get the same results, or have the same amount of room for your designs as you would with a larger press. When I took my letterpress course, we used large letterpresses (ie. Chandler & Price Oldstyle) which had a large chase and allowed for deep impressions if you wanted it. A table-top press is just that: small.

Would you buy a different type of letterpress?

If I had more space, and wasn't a beginner, I'd love to have a larger press. But, because the only room I have for letterpress equipment at this time is in my basement, I can't really have anything too big or heavy. Some of the larger presses weigh hundreds of pounds and you need forklifts and such to move them. Until I have a bigger house, with maybe a ground-level detached garage, I can't really get much bigger than what I have now.

So far, just getting myself set-up with the little Kelsey has been quite a bit of work, so I'm really not ready for a larger press right now anyways :)

If I got a Kelsey, can I put it in my office? I have carpeting in the office. Is it dirty? Should I have a canvas covering underneath it? What do you think? I have white walls? I’m afraid of ink blotches and stuff.

Yes, you could put a Kelsey in your office, as long as you have a sturdy table for it (it is best to screw the press into the table so that the press doesn't lift when you actually give it some muscle) and room to move around. The press itself isn't a dirty mess, but the grease from oiling the joints/levers/moving parts can be, and so can the inks and whatever you use to clean the rollers etc. My basement is unfinished, so I can be less careful, but I'd be afraid to use the press near a white [or any nice] carpet, just in case some ink went wayward.

If you would use it in an office with carpet, I'd be sure to put cardboard or other covering all around your work area, and maybe even some paper to protect the walls or other things you wouldn't want letterpress ink to land on.

I am learning that you really have to be organized and clean to keep everything sorted out and not get grease or ink everywhere. It is also necessary to wipe your hands frequently to avoid transfering inks, grease, etc. to your plates and other areas it shouldn't be.

I hope this answers some of your questions Rita, all my best to you!

Erin

How much does it cost to get started?

A member of the HOW forum recently asked me how much my little Kelsey press cost, and what other costs are involved in getting started with your own small press. Here are just some of the items I've had to locate/buy so far and what they've cost:

• Kelsey 5 x 8 Press: Donated to me by my letterpress instructor (but you can usually find them for $300-500 USD at Briarpress.org, etc.)
• Furniture, quoins, chase, tympan, gauge pins: Ditto (donated by instructor)
• Recover rollers: $200 CDN
• (Deep Relief) Boxcar base for 5 x 8 chase: $150 USD
• 2 Photopolymer plates for first greeting card design: $50 USD
• Ink: Some donated, plus an assortment of oil inks from NA Graphics: $65.75 USD
• Solvent, rags, hand brayer: approx $20 USD
• Plus paper costs and lovely taxes, duties, and shipping on everything ordered up from the States.

So, letterpress so far is not a cheap hobby or business venture, but the results (once I get going) will hopefully be: priceless.