My interest in letterpress was first peaked when we watched a video about Hatch Show Printing on the first day of our typography class. The idea of modern day use of letterpress was fascinating to me. Designers, printers and consumers were not choosing the letterpress medium because it was the latest and greatest technology or the most efficient process. Little has changed since the invention of letterpress 500 years ago. People were utilizing letterpress for artistic expression and for the love of the craft. Despite how old this technology may be, they were coming up with new and inspired ways of using it to not only communicate information but create modern artwork. I started my research in databases like Encyclopedia Britannica, looking most closely at what letterpress is and its history. I soon moved to recent articles about those using letterpress today. I started searching for local print shops using letterpress and found several between Sacramento and Nevada City. Throughout the process, I have learned not only about letterpress, including the tools, processes, history and interaction with society and culture, but I have also learned more about InDesign. I came into this class with very little knowledge of InDesign, but through putting together this booklet I started to expand my understanding. The best way to learn is to do, after all.
1
Printer operating a Gutenberg-style screw press
Letterpress printing, also called relief printing, is a process by which many copies of an image are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. Letterpress is the oldest of the traditional printing techniques and remained the only important one from the time of Gutenberg, about 1450, until the development of lithography late in the 18th century and offset lithography early in the 20th.
2
Perhaps the printing press was first just a simple adaptation of the binding press, with a fixed, level lower surface (the bed) and a movable, level upper surface (the platen), moved vertically by means of a small bar on a worm screw. The composed type, after being locked by ligatures or screwed tight into a right metal frame (the form), was inked, covered with a sheet of paper to be printed, and then the whole pressed in the vise formed by the two surfaces. This process was superior to the brushing technique used in wood-block printing in Europe and China because it was possible to obtain a sharp impression and to print both sides of a sheet. Nevertheless, there were deficiencies: it was difficult to pass the leather pad used for inking between the platen and the form; and, since several turns of the screw were necessary to exert the required pressure, the bar had to be removed and replaced several times to raise the platen sufficiently to insert the sheet of paper. Although movable type, as well as paper, first appeared in China, it was in Europe that printing first became mechanized. The earliest mention of a printing press is in a lawsuit in Strasbourg in 1439 revealing construction of a press for Johannes Gutenberg and his associates. (Scant evidence exists to support claims of Laurens Janszoon Coster as the inventor of printing.) The invention of the printing press itself obviously owed much to the
Johannes Gutenberg was a German craftsman and inventor who originated a method of printing from movable type that was used without important change until the 20th century. The unique elements of his invention consisted of a mold, with punch-stamped matrices (metal prisms used to mold the face of the type) with which type could be cast precisely and in large quantities; a type-metal alloy; a new press, derived from those used in wine making, , and bookbinding; and an oil-based printing ink. None of these features existed in Chinese or Korean printing, or in the existing European technique of stamping letters on various surfaces, or in woodblock printing.
3
Laurens Janszoon Coster is said to have printed with movable type as early as 1430, but definite proof of this claim is lacking. None of the surviving specimens attributed to him bears his name, a form of documentation that is also missing in the case of Gutenberg. Coster, however, is a far more shadowy figure than Gutenberg, and his printing achievement was not recorded until a century after his death. His method of typecasting, consisting of casting in sand from wooden molds, was distinctly more primitive than that of Gutenberg.
4
medieval paper press, in turn modeled after the ancient wine-and-olive press of the Mediterranean area. A long handle was used to turn a heavy wooden screw, exerting downward pressure against the paper, which was laid over the type mounted on a wooden platen. In its essentials, the wooden press reigned supreme for more than 300 years, with a hardly varying rate of 250 sheets per hour printed on one side. Metal presses began to appear late in the 18th century, at about which time the advantages of the cylinder were first perceived and the application of steam power was considered. By the mid-19th century, Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected a power-driven cylinder press in which a large central cylinder carrying the type successively printed on the paper of four impression cylinders, producing 8,000 sheets an hour in 2,000 revolutions. The rotary press continued to dominate the high-speed newspaper field, but the flatbed press, having a flat bed to hold the type and either a reciprocating platen or a cylinder to hold the paper, continued to be used for job printing well into the 20th century.
A significant innovation of the late 19th century was the offset press, in which the printing (blanket) cylinder runs continuously in one direction while paper is impressed against it by an impression cylinder. Apart from the introduction of electric power, advances in press design between 1900 and the 1950s consisted of a great number of relatively minor mechanical modifications designed to improve the speed of the operation. Among these changes were better paper feed, improvements in plates and paper, automatic paper reels, and photoelectric control of color register.
The first pieces of type appear to have been made in the following steps: a letter die was carved in a soft metal such as brass or bronze; lead was poured around the die to form a matrix and a mold into which an alloy, which was to form the type itself, was poured. It was probably Peter Schรถffer who, around 1475, thought of replacing the soft-metal dies with steel dies, in order to produce copper letter matrices that would be reliably identical. Until the middle of the 19th century, type generally continued to be made by craftsmen in this way.
5
Letterpress presses are made up of two principal elements, one bearing the type form, the other exerting the pressure. These elements may be either flat or cylindrical. There are three principal types of presses, according to the way these elements are combined: (1) plane to plane; (2) cylinder to plane; and (3) cylinder to cylinder. The first two kinds of presses are sheet fed. The third can be either sheet fed or roll fed (web fed), depending on the model and type of work. Presses that operate plane to plane are called platen presses. A vertical clamping contrivance clamps the bed, which carries the form into which the composed type is locked, and the platen, which carries the sheet of paper while it is being printed. When this clamping contrivance is open, the typeform is inked by a series of rollers that descend and then reascend, and the printed sheet is removed and a new sheet placed in position on the platen.
Platen Printing Press
6
Stop-Cylinder Printing Press
In presses that operate cylinder to plane, called flatbed presses, a cylinder provides the pressure while the typeform retains its flat surface, generally in a horizontal position. Generally, too, the bed is mobile to allow the typeform, as it moves back and forth, both to pass under the rollers of the inking system and to pass under the impression cylinder around whose outer surface the sheet of paper is wrapped, attached by a set of clamps. In the two-revolution press, the cylinder never stops revolving but is raised on its bearings as the bed moves back again in order not to touch the form. In its lowered position the cylinder’s cogwheel engages a low-toothed rack incorporated in the bed; in its raised position the cogwheel engages a parallel high-toothed rack, which enables the cylinder to continue revolving in the same direction. Printing takes place during the first revolution; during the second revolution the cylinder runs free.
7
A small amount of high-quality art and hobby letterpress printing remains—fine letterpress work is crisper than offset litho because of its impression into the paper, giving greater visual definition to the type and artwork. Today, many of these small letterpress shops survive by printing fine editions of books or by printing upscale invitations and stationery, often using presses that require the press operator to feed paper one sheet at a time by hand. They are just as likely to use new printing methods as old, for instance by printing photopolymer plates (used in modern rotary letterpress) on restored 19th century presses.
Letterpress publishing has recently undergone a revival in the USA, Canada, and the UK, under the general banner of the ‘Small Press Movement’. Renewed interest in letterpress was fueled by Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, which
8
began using pictures of letterpress invitations in the 1990s. The beauty and texture became appealing to brides who began wanting letterpress invitations instead of engraved, thermographed, or offset-printed invitations. At the same time, presses were being discarded by commercial print shops, and became affordable and available to artisans throughout the country. Affordable copper, magnesium and photopolymer platemakers and milled aluminum bases have allowed letterpress printers to produce type and images derived from digital artwork, fonts and scans. Economical plates have encouraged the rise of “digital letterpress” in the 21st century, allowing a small number of firms to flourish commercially and enabling a larger number of boutique and hobby printers to avoid the limitations and complications of acquiring and composing metal type. At the same time there has been a renaissance in small-scale type foundries to produce new metal type on Monotype equipment, Thompson casters and the original American Type Founders machines. The goal before this revival was that you could not tell there was an impression, the type contacted the paper enough to transfer the ink but not leave an impression. However today, when speaking of letterpress, the goal is to have that impression be evident, to distinctly note that is letterpress.
After Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the letter press printed books began to replace costly handmade manuscript books. Designers of early typographic books in Europe attempted to replicate manuscripts, often designing type styles based on current manuscript lettering styles. When the type was printed, spaces were left for illuminators to add pictures, ornate initials, and other decorative material by hand. In this way, the compositor or typesetter was in effect the designer as he set the type. The typographer’s work was from the beginning characterized by four operations: (1) taking the type pieces letter by letter from a typecase; (2) arranging them side by side in a composing “stick,” a strip of wood with corners, held in the hand; (3) justifying the line; that is to say, spacing the letters in each line out to a uniform length by using little blank pieces of lead between words; and (4), after printing, distributing the type, letter by letter, back in the compartments of the typecase.
9
Letterpress was for over 500 years the most functional, commercially viable method of mass communication. But although the process has traveled from 1440 to 2013 largely unchanged, the motivation for letterpress printing is today very different. Letterpress printing is now not so much about
getting the job done in the most efficient way; it is about choosing to take a step back from our highly automated and software-orientated world. Whether casual amateur, designer or professional printer, the lure of letterpress is the satisfaction of producing something through a tangible and hands-on activity.
“I think everybody’s becoming a little bit jaded by the flatness and, in a way, the high quality of print these days. It’s just too polished.” Chrissie Charlton, co-founder of letterpress print and design house Harrington & Squires With recession came not only a wave of consumers turning their backs on big business and saving money in the long run by crafting their own goods, but also a different consumer mentality. With environmental
10
issues also coming to the fore, spending has become more focused on less throwaway, higher quality and locally sourced products.
“Our growth over the past five years, from a pedal-powered press in the garage to three units in an industrial centre, has been down to the variety of jobs coming in. This morning, we could be doing 20 wedding invitations and then this afternoon we could be doing 10,000 flyers, so we’re basically a general printer that just happens to print on letterpress machines.” Mark Moran, director of letterpress printers Blush Publishing But letterpress’s popularity certainly isn’t confined to consumer items such as greetings cards, fine art posters and wedding invitations. Business cards are a key growth area, with companies using the artisan appeal of letterpress print to project a trendier, less corporate image. More and more businesses are keen to differentiate themselves from the competition with a letterpress card.
11
Though a route to market requiring little initial outlay, printing on an Adana press at the kitchen table only makes so much money. Letterpress printing will always be something that most people do out of a passion for the craft, perhaps making a bit of money on the side.
“What we do is really hard work, we’re working all of the time to get the work through, so we have to love it. The business makes enough money to sustain itself, but not loads, because this is a relatively slow, labour-intensive process.� Justin Knopp, founder of letterpress printing workshop Typoretum Another potential barrier to entry is that there are now only so many letterpress machines and so much type in circulation. It takes a long time to look around to find kit and have it repaired. Even the newest of letterpress machines were made in the mid-1960s, so renovations and significant maintenance are often needed.
12
So it remains to be seen whether the letterpress craze has reached its zenith or will continue to grow, as more ‘crafty’ types discover this activity and consumers discover its products. While more commercial operations springing up could raise the profile of letterpress further, a finite number of machines and the realization that there could be more lucrative areas to set up shop in could put a cap on this kind of growth.
“It’s so easy to press a button and print a perfect 40-page book, but where is the heart?” Mikey Burton, designer, illustrator and proponent of letterpress printing
13
Nashville’s Hatch Show Print is a 134 year-old letterpress print shop that has found a way to turn the challenges of our digital world to its advantage. Hatch designs, prints and sells posters set using woodblock type and hand carved images, hand cranked on its own presses. It works in a dying medium, using outdated tools. And yet it is busier than it has ever been. Hatch opened in 1879. Its history has mirrored that of the entertainment industry in the southern US. Its first clients were the travelling shows which crisscrossed the country, as well as silent movie houses, carnivals, rodeo shows, country music stars and advertising for local businesses. As the old travelling
14
shows died out, Hatch switched to printing posters for an exciting new clientele – rock ‘n’ roll bands. It still works in the music business today. And while BB King is Hatch’s biggest client, it now attracts a new, younger wave of musicians who treasure the authenticity of a Hatch print and the chance that their poster might be made using the self-same type that once featured on a poster for Elvis, Bessie Smith or Johnny Cash. Hatch also works for commercial clients like Nordstrom, Pittsburgh Popcorn Co., Taylor Guitars and Fossil Watches. The digital revolution should have been the final nail in Hatch’s coffin. Instead it had been the best thing that ever happened to Hatch because it allowed the shop to find its niche. Hatch’s posters went from being functional to being celebratory. They exist not to advertise an event but to be sold at the event as a memento. While record labels spend
less money on album artwork, bands have become increasingly reliant on merchandise sales – Hatch has been able to ride that wave to its advantage. Hatch has also been very smart about its archive. All posters are produced using the existing stock of wood type, thereby keeping the distinctive Hatch aesthetic undiluted as well as offering new clients a direct link to the romance of its past. Nor does Hatch allow any of its typefaces to be digitized, ensuring that it is the only source. At Hatch the designer is the printer and the printer the designer. This is a holistic operation providing the control that so many seek. Hatch designs, makes and sells its work. It’s a model that will hold great appeal for many young designers. And Hatch has turned negatives into positives. When first offset printing and later the digital revolution came along, Hatch could easily have disappeared
for good. Instead, it has turned these changes to its advantage, reveling in our innate need for tactile objects – it is the antidote to our digital world.
15
All material stolen without permission from the following‌ http://biblemuseum.net/virtual/history/englishbible/tyndale1.htm http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2012/10/hatch_show_print_country_music_landmark_finds_new_home.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress_printing#Rise_of_.27craft.27_letterpress_ and_revival http://futurestartup.com/2013/01/17/building-anything-amazing-is-chemistry/ http://ragehaus.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pict0162.jpg http://simplyletterpressed.com/ http://www.beadesigngroup.com/blog/archives/2005/06/ http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/79581464/fulltext http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1032864/graphic-design http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/139606/Laurens-Janszoon-Coster http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249878/Johannes-Gutenberg http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477017/printing http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/337488/letterpress-printing http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477067/printing-press http://www.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-ideas/events-and-booking/fully-booked-letterpress-printing http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2013/november/nashville-calling http://www.full-circle-press.com/gallery.html http://www.genestout.com/index.php/review-sweet-dreams-of-patsy-cline/ http://www.gordonmarcy.com/2011/11/once-upon-a-time-in-the-church-online/ http://www.printweek.com/Design/article/1123355/crafty-printers-revive-gutenbergs-legacy/
16