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WHAT I S LE T TE RPRESS? Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing using a printing press, a process by which many copies are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable type into the “bed” or “chase” of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper. There are many different ways to letterpress. Metal type, wood type, linoleum blocks, wood engravings, and photopolymer plate are many of the techniques still in use today.
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T H E H I S TO RY
MY IN TEREST
Letterpress printing was the first form of
The KU graphic design department offers
mass printing and mass producing text.
letterpress courses in its book arts certifi-
In 1377, the first movable metallic types
cate program. I am personally interested
were invented in Goryeo Dynasty in Korea,
in the print and tactile aspects of graphic
which were used to print Jikjishimcheyojeol
design, so I found the opportunity to learn
or simply Jikji, the oldest extant movable
letterpress, and to create off the computer,
metal print book. The printing press was
exciting. I have taken both Letterpress
introduced and advanced in the west
I and Letterpress II and am on my way
by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, whom
to getting the book arts certificate.
most know as the inventor of letterpress.
Letterpress is a great opportunity to
These presses could produce 3,600 pages
learn something new and creative, while
per workday. Letterpress remained in
expanding your mind and getting off of
use for books and other uses until the
the computer.
second half of the 20th century when offset printing was developed for books and newspapers. It is still used today in a mostly artisanal form.
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The University of Kansas offers a certificate in Book Arts.
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ACAD E MIC U SE The KU letterpress lab is located in Chalmers Hall, room 324, on the KU Lawrence campus. This lab has been functioning and acquiring machines for twenty years. Students who take letterpress have access to several metal type fonts as well as a selection of wood type. Most of the machines in the lab are Vandercooks. There is one Vandercook proof press, and three Vandercook presses. In the lab is also a photopolymer plate machine. Students can choose to laser cut wood blocks, cut linoleum blocks, or use photopolymer plate to add their own art to their pieces.
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HISTORY The University of Kansas letterpress lab has two Vandercook Universal three presses, two number four Vandercook presses, two Chandler & Price platinum presses, one Golding Pearl platinum press, and one Vandercook number one proof press. Four of the Vandercooks came from Allen Press. The two large Chandler & Price came from a printer in El Dorado who’s his son gave them to the University. They were in his farm in an out building before they were donated.
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Wood blocks can be laser cut, mounted to a block, and letterpressed to create type that is not available in the lab.
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“
[ Letter p r e ss ] i s i m p or t a nt t o g r a p hi c d e si gne r s a s a w a y to know t he hi s t or y of t he i r p r ofes s i on a nd t o u nd e r st a nd typ efa c e s i n t he s a m e w a y a n
The distressed
a r chit e c t w ou ld u nd e r s t a nd a
uild ing a f t e r t he y b u i lt i t . You naturebof the und erst a nd w hy t y p e f a c e s look
type, which is
”
the way t he y look .
– li nd a sa m son t a lle u r often very old,
gives a distressed aethetic to the enviroment and occasionally the final product.
The current lab has been operating in room 324 for 20 years. The first letterpress class was offered in the fall semester of 1996. Since then many classes using the presses have been added such as Letterpress I and II, Book arts, Book structures, and more. The University offers a certificate in Book Arts, which includes taking these classes as well as a class on the history of the book.
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LI ND A SAMSO N TALLEUR Letterpress and BDS teacher at The University of Kansas
Q What got you into letterpress? A
I Went to a workshop at the university of Alabama and a lot of the workshop was about printing and I switched my interest from binding to printing at that point.
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The company logo is and name is modeled after founder Jill Shepard’s dog
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C O MME R CIA L USE Ruff House Art is a small business located at 729 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044. Ruff House Art is a letterpress stationery brand and print studio. They have been creating wedding invitations, greeting cards and Eco-friendly paper goods since 2009. They are well known for their wedding invitations and use mostly polymer plate to create their products. In their studio are several machines. They use mostly Heidelbergs and have one machine still under repair.
Ruff House Art has several working machines to print, including Heidelbergs.
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Many people in Lawrence and the surrounding area come to have unique wedding invitations or purchase unique cards.
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Many people in Lawrence and the surrounding area come to have unique wedding invitations or purchase unique cards. They also sell several other products such as wrapping paper, posters, and coasters. Ruff House Art’s designs and products have been seen in Better Homes & Gardens, Food & Wine, BRIDES, Stationery Trends, Gift Shop Magazine, Giftware News, Coastal Living, Country Living, The Knot and Town & Country. Their products can also be found nationally in Nordstrom, Cost Plus World Market, Paper Source & West Elm stores.
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Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (English: Heidelberg Printing Machines AG)
HISTORY Founder Jill Shepard graduated from the KU design program, and In early 2009, Jill had acquired a printing press and had a vision for her own business. She had always wanted to own her own business and the timing was right. She created a handful of wedding suites, put them online, and Ruff House Art was born.
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Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (English: Heidelberg Printing Machines AG) is a German precision mechanical engineering company with head offices in Heidelberg (Baden-WĂźrttemberg).
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After spending a couple of years creating and growing her Internationally sold wedding line, she brought on partner, later turned husband, Brian, to take her dream to the next level. Together, they grew Ruff House Art and the retail line was born.
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Ruff House art is most well known for their wedding invitations and have a home made template to crate their envelopes.
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Hammerpress recently relocated to a larger space to house their many machines.
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Hammerpress has a vast library of wood type as well as metal type utilized to create their art.
COMMERCIA L U SE Hammerpress is a letterpress design studio located at 500 Southwest Boulevard, Suite 1A, Kansas City, MO 64108. They have recently moved to this location because they were in need of a larger space for their merchandise and machines. They make all kinds of letterpress cards, stationery, ephemera, show posters and art prints in their studio in the Crossroads Arts District. Many people in Kansas City and the surrounding area shop at Hammerpress for unique cards, posters, and other gifts. Hammerpress is well known for their band posters. The also sell assorted home goods, desk supplies and personal accessories.
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Hammerpress uses metal type, wood type, and photopolymer plate. They hand design and print each one of their letterpress cards and prints. They also offer custom letterpress printing and design services, which can include business cards, identity development, personal stationery, wedding suites and event invitations.
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Hammerpress sells many items besides letterpressed art. They also sell apparel, books, and other items.
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H I STO RY Owner Brady Vest established Hammerpress in 1994 after graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute. At the time, the shop consisted of one old press and a cabinet of type. Vest quickly earned recognition by creating distinctive record covers and show posters for independent bands and printing letterpress jobs for local design firms.
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Hammerpress is located in Kansas City and is the largest letterpress shop in their area.
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20 years later, Hammerpress has grown to a small team that produces lovely letterpress products and strives to continue the craft of letterpress printing. Now one of the most widely known letterpress studios in the United States, Hammerpress has garnered much attention for our distinct approach to typography and design.
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Hammerpress has access to many machines. All with unique typographic attributes.
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Ha mmer p r ess p r ima r i ly t r i e s t o keep a n element of t he ha nd i n ever ything , so ev en i f w e a r e wor king d ig ita lly w e a r e s c a nning in thing s tha t w e ha ve d r a wn or slicks tha t w e ha ve p ulled fr om a ctua l t y p e or or na ments.
�
– ma tthew mcna r y
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MATT H EW MCN ARY Graphic Designer for Hammerpress Letterpress & Design Studio Matthew graduated from The University of Denver with a degree in Printmaking and later went to The Kansas City Art Institute for Graphic Design.
Q What is Hammerpress about and what does it stand for?
A
We are just a letterpress and design studio and one of the things that defines us is that we are kind of in that gray area between art and design so we are not as constrained by strict corporate design, but we also are not relying on complete freedom of expression in the gallery world, so we are in this gray area
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This book was created for the class Designing as Author with Patrick Dooley at the University of Kansas in the fall semester of 2015. The typefaces used are Futura and Belizio. The pictures were shot with an Olympus camera. Much of the copy and information is taken from the following websites: http://hammerpress.net/ and https://ruffhouseart.com/. I would like to thank Ruff House Art and Hammerpress Letterpress and Design Studios for allowing me to document their spaces. A special thank you to Linda Samson Talleur and Matthew McNary for their interviews, help, and information.