Reference manual project report by Vidhushri Ladha

Reference manual project report Printing with letterpress Vidhushri Ladha Masters Book Design 2014 University of Reading

This project involved putting together, editing and designing the content for a home reference manual. The main aims were to understand how images and text work together in a reference manual, to experience the systematic approach to content generation and page design and most importantly to design keeping in mind the commercial requirements of the market. A manual was designed on the technique of letterpress printing for beginners and enthusiasts. The design process for this project has been documented under the following headings — Discovery 2 Transformation 10 Design and making 22

discovery What is a home reference manual? The discovery phase began with understanding this genre of books. Though I had come across and used these books before, I was not familiar with the term. The term ‘home reference manual’ refers to books aimed at a general market on topics such as cookery, gardening, DIY sports, travel, collecting, rafts or hobbies. Well-known producers of home reference manuals include Time-Life, Reader’s Digest, Dorling Kindersley, and Mitchell Beazley.

Visit to the bookstore During the second week, we visited the local bookstore with Bryn and Ole to have a look at the various home reference manuals in the market. We discussed structures, layouts, photography, illustration, the way different topics were approached and the overall feel of each book. At this stage I was yet deciding between two shortlisted topics – letterpress printing and home remedies.

2 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

A glance through home reference manuals of various topics.

Observing the various ways in which illustrations and photographs have been used to show processes.

Information spreads are very interesting to look at. Every design has its own style of incorporating lot of information on the same spread.

While some books have seperate spreads that tell you about the tools, other books include it within each process spread.

Looking at typographic details â&#x20AC;&#x201C; headers, pull out boxes, hierarchy and large titles.

Discoveryâ&#x20AC;&#x192;3

Online research An addition to the visit to the bookshop was to look at examples of manuals online at Amazon and the Dorling Kindersley website, look inside at the examples and develop an understanding of the kind of various layouts and structures used. It was important to understand the market and develop a market appropriate design. I also did a survey of the jacket designs. Since I finally chose to make a manual on letterpress printing, I looked at several books under the art techniques category.

Covers of some of the books under arts and crafts that were referred to on the Dorling Kinderslay website.

Materials/ tools spread The various ways of depicting materials â&#x20AC;&#x201C; photography/illustration Use of the spread Extent of description of each material

4â&#x20AC;&#x192;Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Process spread The flow of steps and information Use of images Language and tratment of steps Layout and composition

Information spread How does so much information fit on one page Information content for various topics Graphic elements used for seperating and highlighting information

Discoveryâ&#x20AC;&#x192;5

A moodboard of images was made during the first week when the topic was selected. These images helped me come up with words, propose a colour palette and also develop an understanding of the kind of photography required.

6窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Tools Texture Impression Woodtype Metaltype Inks

Roller Prints History Traditional Style

Choosing the topic - Letterpress printing After having a look at various examples of home reference manuals and the variety of topics under which they are available, I thought of choosing a topic relevant to my field and something that has gained popularity in the recent years. I chose to make a manual on the technique of letterpress printing. This was also because of the curiosity in me to learn more about the technique in the process of making the book. The fact that department has a letterpress room and amenities, makes it a useful source for the content and information. The idea was to bring together a manual that could help students like myself who want to know more about the various processes in the technique and try our hands at letterpress. Audience The book was targetted to beginners and people getting interested to know more about this printing technique. I believed a major part of the audience for this book would be art school students. I aimed to design the book in a way that it is simple to understand by someone who is not familiar with any terms related to printing and typography.

References The research on the topic involved looking at other books on letterpress as well as various websites that promoted and explained the technique. There are several books published on the topic today and several old books in the library as well. Most of these are text heavy and explain the history and the process of the technique. Some of them put together examples of letterpress projects and printed artificacts. Few of them illustrate the process. I studied the content structure of these books, the way the images had been used, the various processes that had been explained and the ways in which letterpress prints were photographed and presented. Ths then helped me to form the content structure. Two references that I analysed thoroughly were a book called ‘Letterpress Now’ and another one titled ‘Letterpress printing – a manual for beginners’. While the first was rich in imagery and process descriptions, the later gave me the base for a lot of content that I finally wrote and edited.

Some of the books on letterpress which were analysed.

Discovery 7

Spreads from a book I found online. A look through the contents page gave me an idea of the kind of topics to be included.

Interesting spreads from the book, Letterpress Nowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The flow chart explaining how to choose a press was very intersting.

8â&#x20AC;&#x192;Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

The way in which the typecase was illustrated and explained in this book provided me with the inspiration for my tools spread.

This was an old book shown to me by Martin Andrews. The illustrations in this book are detailed and very inspiring. Though a small format book and not very long, it explains printing processes in an engaging manner.

Discoveryâ&#x20AC;&#x192;9

Interviews with Martin Andrews formed the major source of the content for this book. He elaborated on several important points that should be mentioned in a letterpress printing manual targeted at beginners .

transformation Putting together the content One of the most important tasks for this project was to decide and put together the content for the book. Hence I was functioning as not only the designer but also the author. As this topic was relevant to the department and I had people around who had worked with letterpress, I went ahead to do a thorough research to put together the content. This process went on from week 2 to 4 and the content developed as I designed the pages. To start with, the research helped me identify processes which were discussed in other books on letterpress. Further, I interviewed Martin Andrews, a faculty at the university and Stephen, a former student, where they described several processes and demonstrated them on the press while I recorded the conversation and photographed the various steps. Martin helped me understand what were the important processes to be explained to a beginner, and this helped me structure out the content structure. Developing a structure The interviews with Martin along with my notes from the research helped me pick up topics which would be a part of this manual. The various topics were then grouped to form the sections of the book. At this point it was an estimation about the number of pages that would be dedicated to each topic. The design would affect the pace of the book and hence this decision was taken in the later weeks.

10窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

To illustrate how pressure and ink were two factors that affected the quality of a letterpress print, Martin printed out variations.

Front matter Cover Half title Title Contents

Sections

1 Introduction History The technique Kinds of presses Choosing a press Inks and paper Variables for a good print

4 Post-print Drying prints Cleaning up Maintenance Press troubleshooting Storage

Composing Type terminologies Typesetting tools Setting type by hand Imposition

Printing The inking process Regulating pressure & ink Proofing Working with cylinder press Working with platen press

5 Projects Planning to printing Custom book covers Event posters Invites Stationary

End matter Glossary of terms Resources Acknowledgements Index

A content structure was developed in week 2, after the research phase. As the design evolved, some changes were incorporated into this.

Transformationâ&#x20AC;&#x192;11

Photography Once I had a rough draft of the text, I needed the images to support the text. I decided to use photography as the medium to capture the steps. Photography done for this book helped me improve my judgment regarding lighting, cropping and angles. In the process I noticed how the colour of the ink chosen makes a difference in the aesthetics of a picture. Stephen, a former student at the department was generous to be my model for the images and also demonstrate each process that I had decided to capture. I also developed several prints myself to explore various design ideas for the book and the jacket.

Recording a process For the first stage I clicked photographs to record the process. While doing this I tried various angles and stages. I was working with navy coloured ink at this point. The use of these the design of a spread made me realise how the colour of the ink affects the look of the page. I chose to work with red ink for the final photographs. The photographs shown above are the images selected for the process of preparing the ink and inking the plate. These photographs were taken in the printing room at the department with lighting that was installed with the help of Laura. The angle of photography was a very important factor to capture the hand and the action right.

12窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Photography with Stephen.

Photographs for section openers While recording several processes, I came across this woodtype at the department, which I experimented with and printed several words related to this manual. I used the images of the process for the section openers of this book.

Other photographs Apart from the processes, the book also demanded pictures of tools, materials and the working environment. These are two pictures that I used for the tools spread.

Cropping images While designing the spreads in the later stages, I developed an understanding towards the effect the crop of an image has on a composiiton. The photographs that I had clicked were better highlighted by cropping them to the required amount.

Transformationâ&#x20AC;&#x192;13

Decisions with format and binding I studied several home reference manuals in the market for their format and binding. I wanted this book to be handy and open comfortably when kept on the table. This makes it comfortable for the user to read and try his hands on letterpress at the same time as well. 190mm by 240 mm(portrait) was the format that I finally chose to work with. This worked well with the kind of content I was dealing with. The proportions of the margin within were decided based on the style of the running header and the binding. I imagined this book to be section-sewn with every spread opening comfortably such that the photopgraphs used across the section openers are completely visible. Typeface explorations With the text and the structure in place, I had the exact idea of the kind use the typeface would have. I started with a mix bag of typefaces trying to form a combination for the main title of the page and the body text. Within the main text there were levels of hierarchy like the headings, subheads, questions, captions for images. The choice of the typeface for the body needed to be such that it was readable at smaller point sizes as well. One another feature to be used for the process spreads was the numbers. While exploring glypha, I liked the stability of its numbers and hence decided to use that for the step-by-step processes. I started with a combination of Glypha for the title and Kepler for the body and went on to explore designing a spread with the use of Glypha as the single font. However, a combination of two typefaces seemed to give a better look to the overall spread. Moreover the titles on each spread stood out when treated in a different typeface. I finally chose to work with Glypha for the title and the headings and Scala Sans for the body type. These two provided a good combination. Also, Scala Sans offered great clarity when used for less amount of text and at smaller point sizes as well.

Observing various kinds of bindings in home reference manuals.

Opposite Examples of some of the typefaces considered.

14窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

The technique

How does letterpress work? Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots.

Scala

Trade Gothic LT Std

The technique How does letterpress work? Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots. Scala Sans

The technique

Garamond Premier Pro

Glypha

The technique

Utopia Std

Univers LT Std

Transformation 15

The technique

Glypha + Kepler

Glypha + Scala Sans

The technique

Trade Gothic + Scala

Scala + Scala Sans

Examples of some of the combinations of typefaces tried out at various stages of layout explorations.

1234

1234 1234 1 2 3 4

Figures were important in this book as it explained several step-by-step processes. Hence, every typeface I explored I made it a point to look at the figures.

16 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Stage 1 My intitial design had rigidness in the structure and approach. I was yet trying to handle the content and visualise the extent of images required. For the first feedback session I had explored a few spreads. I was working with dummy text and images at this stage and exploring typefaces simultaneously. The design lacked structure and details. However the feedback at this stage helped to understand what was lacking and hence improve these to a great extent.

00 Introduction

Printing with Letterpress 00

THE TECHNIQUE

KINDS OF PRESSES

The process of inking involves first preparing the ink and then applying it, either to the plate or the roller. Substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of

The process of inking involves first preparing the ink and then applying it, either to the plate or the roller. Substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pres-

00 Variables that affect a print

PRESSURE

Platen Press

Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots. Videnihit am fugit mos etur, consed quostiis earunti volum re seque prae conet ut eaquas si nulparum idest explige nditini hillupt

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Cylinder Press

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Printing with Letterpress 00

Rotary Press

Information spread explaining the technique of letterpress printing and the kinds of presses.

VARIABLES THAT AFFECT A PRINT Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots. Is, vercere adducoentius iaequidiem det vissiditOculiam tebus clegit, dicut publi scit, vis, tus ad ferios comaion intem missa quam, ta, que ala moracite mod me aucerte clesid conduce ribunte, cus? Olis sina re, qui sessimpotam ego viverni hillem morbi pripsenati, cerio vem facte publiist consultoret antium. Ihilintri pat. Perordintem intio, CatraeIbuntem quonsum enimul hala iam imulibunum 1. PRESSURE 2. INK 3. PAPER

INK

Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots. Is, vercere adducoentius iaequidiem det vissiditOculiam tebus clegit, dicut publi scit, vis, tus ad ferios comaion intem missa quam, ta, que ala moracite mod me aucerte clesid conduce ribunte, cus? Olis sina re, qui sessimpotam ego viverni hillem morbi pripsenati, cerio vem facte publiist con-

Letterpress printing exerts variable amounts of pressure on the substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per

Information spread explaining the three variables that affect a letterpress print.

00 Tools and Materials

Printing with Letterpress 00

00 Inking

Printing with Letterpress 00

INKING

TOOLS AND MATERIALS The process of inking involves first preparing the ink and then applying it, either to the plate or the roller. Substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. 1 Furniture Erum eictus magnis volestem quae. Nam volectempore nonseniati dolo es rem im quos ea aut qui aut alitiis quo conse solenti iscitam num.

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Spread putting together the various tools and materials used in this technique.

PAPER

Letterpress printing printing exerts exerts variable variable Letterpress amounts of of pressure pressure on on the the substrate substrate amounts dependent on on the the size size and and image image eleeledependent ments in in the the printing. printing. The The amount amount of of ments pressure per per square square inch inch or or “squeeze” “squeeze” is is pressure greater on some highlight dots than itit is is greater on some highlight dots than on larger larger shadow shadow dots. dots. Is, Is, vercere vercere adduadduon coentius iaequidiem iaequidiem det det vissiditOculiam vissiditOculiam coentius tebus clegit, dicut publi scit, vis, tus ad tebus clegit, dicut publi scit, vis, tus ad ferios comaion comaion intem intem missa missa quam, quam, ta, ta, ferios que ala ala moracite moracite mod mod me me aucerte aucerte clesid clesid que conduce ribunte, ribunte, cus? cus? Olis Olis sina sina re, re, qui qui conduce sessimpotam ego ego viverni viverni hillem hillem morbi morbi sessimpotam pripsenati, cerio cerio vem vem facte facte publiist publiist conconpripsenati,

What has to be inked?

The process of inking involves first preparing the ink and then applying it, either to the plate or the roller. Substrate dependent on the size and image elements in the printing. The amount of pressure per square inch or “squeeze” is greater on some highlight dots than it is on larger shadow dots. Int aperiossunt que cum nimolut

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Getting the ink ready 1

Old ink often has a dried layer of skin settled on the top

Furniture Reglet

Leading

Chase Quoin Quoin key

1 1

Galley Line Gauge Form String

Brayer Gauge pins Linoleum Block

1 1

Metal type Wood type Palette knife

Ink Inking palette Painter’s tape

1 1

This layer needs to be scraped off carefully 6

Composing stick Craft Knife Tweezers Spacers

Inking the plate

Inking the roller

This layer needs to be scraped off carefully

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Old ink often has a dried layer of skin settled on the top

This layer needs to be scraped off carefully

Process spread explaining the process of preparing the ink and inking a plate.

Transformation 17

Stage 2 The following weeks I decided to work on a particular type of spread and then adapt the design to the others. I started with the process spread and then went on to the information and the tool spread. At every stage the designed evolved in hierarchy, layout and the content. The struggle and feedback in the initial weeks shaped up the design and concept to make it look visually strong and appealing. I had now developed a colour palette for the spreads, photographed the final images and finalised the use of typefaces. What followed were several detail decisions at every step.

Information spread This spread describes three variables that are important and affect the quality of a letterpress print. I decided to take actual prints and scan them to demonstrate what the content was highlighting. The information to go on this spread was a lot and I went through several explorations to finally come to a structure that categorized the information well, offering it the required hierarchy. Bryn’s feedback on this spread was that it had the required look and structure but somewhere needed further grouping of the information. The reader should be able to follow the information in the order as planned by the designer.

14 • Introduction

Variables for a good print

The correct amount of pressure makes all the difference in a letterpress print. Since the feel of letterpress is because of the pressure applied, this becomes a very important characteristic to take care of.

What factors need to be taken care of for producing good prints?

Excess pressure

Apart from the press used itself, there are three main factors that affect the quality of a letterpress print. Exploring and adjusting these results in different types and qualities of prints.

Variables • 15

Variables for a good print

PRESSURE

Examples of varying the pressure while printing

Apart from the press used itself, there are three main factors that affect the quality of a letterpress print. Exploring and adjusting these, results in different types and qualities of prints.

pressure

ink

paper

The amount of pressure makes all the difference in a letterpress print. The beauty of letterpress prints is enhanced due to the indented effect that pressure creates.

Ink is another variable that along with pressure affects the quality of a letterpress print. Here, two factors are important, the quality and the quantity of ink used.

The amount of ink and pressure required differs with the type of paper. The thickness and the texture of a paper determines the kind of print produced on it.

Understanding the variables through images

underink, less pressure In the case of images, details get more lost when the ink is more rather than less. However the print is not very clear and the contrast is very low hence the beauty of the image is compromised.

overink, more pressure With too much pressure or ink the details in the image are getting lost. Notice the tree on the right side, it has marged into the background.

INK

Effect of ink and pressure on type

Ink and pressure together affect the characteristics of printed type. The stroke width, contours, details, colour, texture of type, all depend upon the balance between the ink and pressure. If even one of them is too much in excess or too little, the effect on the printed type is clearly visible.

Examples of prints with varying quantities of ink overink, more pressure When ink or pressure is in excess, the strokes of the letters become thicker, counters become smaller and the overall texture of the print is uneven. The extent of the embossing into the paper helps judge the amount of pressure.

PAPER The correct amount of pressure makes all the difference in a letterpress print. Since the feel of letterpress is because of the pressure applied, this becomes a very important characteristic to take care of.

appropriate ink and pressure When the quantity of ink and pressure is adjusted correctly, you receive a print where the type is clear, details are not lost and the inking is even throughout.

Examples of prints on papers with different qualities

underink, less pressure When the ink or pressure is less than required, the print is pale and the details of letters get lost.

on textured thick paper The texture of the paper affects how the final print looks. In this case the texture is interfering with the smoothness of the print and making it look more scattered.

on glossy smooth paper In the case of uncoated paper, it soaks the ink well, whearas here since it is coated glossy paper, the ink sits on and does not sink in. Due to this details are lost and the impression is heavy.

Two stages of the information spread explaining the three variables that affect a letterpress print.

00 • Composition

Tools for setting type • 00

Tools for setting type

The type case face point size

Setting metal type is process that demands precision. Type is set or arranged in a composing stick. One has to be familiar with the various tools used for setting and the layout of the typecase, in order to be efficient in the process.

body

type height

counter nick

metal type feet

leading Strips of metal in varying thicknesses and lengths used as spacing between lines of text.

spacing material These are small pieces of metal added while setting type to create space between words, to add white space to the end of a line or to tighten up a line of text.

Em quad

2 En quads

3-tothe-em spaces

4-to5-tothe-em the-em spaces spaces

composing stick A handheld tool that is used for setting metal type . It should be held in this way, with the thumb holding the type against the side for stability.

You will also need: Galley: A metal tray that is used for temporarily storing set type. Tweezers: Handy for changing out letters while setting type Form string: Used to tie up type after it is set and before it is locked up on the press.

Frequently used letters The most frequently used letters are grouped around the center of the lower case arrangement

Patterns to memorise Four patterns, when memorised, help to locate many other letters

Spaces Where spaces are side by side they are arranged with the smaller of the two spaces to the left

Uppercase guideposts Knowing the first, middle and the last letters in each row is a very good way to orient oneself in this part of the case

18 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Tools spread I started working on this spread in the later stages of the project. After discussing some alternatives, this was the spread I presented. Bryn and Ole liked the overall look and structure but however suggested that the images could be made bigger and the headings should be reconsidered.

Process spread This spread explains the step by step processes of getting the ink ready and inking the plates before taking prints. The image-text balance needs to be worked out efficiently for this spread. There are several details to be taken care of as there are different levels of information. In addition to that, I had to develop a structure in a way that all process spreads could be treated that same way and it should also fall into sync with the visual look of the other spreads.

INKING TOOLKIT

The inking process

• • • • • • •

Once the artwork has been composed and the imposition is done, the next step is that of inking. For this we need to first prepare the ink and then meticulously apply it, either to the plate or to the roller, depending upon the kind of press and print run.

Brayer Inks Inking plate Palette knife Tissue Solvent Scrap paper

A HELPFUL EXTRA STEP A texture like this will be formed. Further repeat steps 4 & 5 over it.

While rolling out the ink, wriggle the roller in both directions to attain better consistency in the ink

PREPARING THE INK Why should we remove the layer of dried skin of the ink?

INKING BROAD PLATES

As a tin of ink gets old and comes in contact with air, it forms a a layer of dried skin on the top, which thickens with time. It is important to get rid of this layer completely before you scoop out the required ink or it may cause blemishes in the final prints.

Using the palette knife, remove the layer of dried skin and then scoop out some amount of fresh ink onto the knife.

Apply on inking plate Apply the ink in the forms of dabs on the inking plate

INKING LONG PLATES

It is better to start with less ink than end up with excess Be sure to cover the corners of the block Be careful not to get ink on the furnitures and the areas around the main block

Roll out the ink Pull the ink downwards and roll it out in one direction, using a brayer.

Use scrap cloth or tissue along to get rid of the excess ink

Roll in another direction Be sure you lift the brayer before you roll the ink in another direction, in order to attain even concsistency.

INKING TOOLKIT • • • • • • •

The inking process Once the artwork has been composed and the imposition is done, the next step is that of inking. For this we need to first prepare the ink and then meticulously apply it, either to the plate or to the roller, depending upon the kind of press and print run.

Brayer Inks Inking plate Palette knife Tissue Solvent Scrap paper

the inking process

A HELPFUL EXTRA STEP A texture like this will be formed. Further repeat steps 4 & 5 over it.

While rolling out the ink, wriggle the roller in both directions to attain better consistency in the ink

GETTING THE INK READY

INKING BROAD PLATES

Using the palette knife, remove the layer of dried skin as it may cause blemishes in the prints

Next, scoop out some amount of fresh ink onto the knife. Roll the knife to avoid the ink from dripping.

Apply dabs of ink in a row on the inking plate by pressing the palette knife onto it.

Begin inking a plate by gently rolling the ink on it in one direction.

While inking broad plates, it is important to lift the brayer and ink in the opposite direction as well, in order to make sure all corners and edges are inked.

INKING LONG PLATES ESSENTIAL TIPS • It is better to start with less ink than end up with excess • Be sure to cover the corners of the block

• Be careful not to get ink on the furnitures and the areas around the main block

Use the brayer to roll out the ink, starting in one direction. Roll out only some of the ink at a time from the amount on the inking plate.

It is important to lift the brayer before rolling in the ohter direction. Roll out in two directions till you get a good consistency

While inking long, ink a part of the artwork until the brayer is covered with the impression from it.

Then, reink the brayer before inking the remaining part of the artwork.

• Use scrap cloth or tissue along to get rid of the excess ink

00 • Printing

How to judge the amount of ink?

Tools checklist

Ink • Inking plate • Brayer • Palette knife

00 • The inking process

The inking process

Inking the plate

Getting the the ink ink ready Getting ready

Using the palette knife, remove the layer of dried skin as it may cause blemishes in the prints.

Use the brayer to roll out the ink, starting in one direction. Roll out only some of the ink at a time from the amount on the inking plate.

Next, scoop out some amount of fresh ink and roll the knife to avoid the ink from dripping.

Apply dabs of ink in a row on the inking plate by pressing the palette knife onto it.

It is important to lift the brayer before rolling in the ohter direction. Roll out in two directions till you get a good consistency

Begin inking a plate by gently rolling the ink on it in one direction. Try your best to ink the plate in one go.

While inking broad plates, sometimes you need to lift the brayer and ink in the opposite direction as well, in order to make sure all corners and edges are inked.

Then, re-ink the brayer before inking the remaining part of the artwork.

Inking long plates

While inking long artworks, ink a part of it until the brayer is covered with the impression from it.

Transformation 19

Exploring cover and section openers When I looked at home reference manuals in the bookstore, I realised that the covers say a lot more than just the title of the book. The cover needs to communicate that it is a stepby-step guide and will help the reader through the process. Like any other cover, it also needs to be attractive enough to stand out on the shelf along with its competitors. Bright covers, with strong imagery and bold type is what attracted me towards them while I was browsing through bookshelves of reference manuals After exploring some covers, the idea that I wanted to go ahead with was using large characters of type on the cover and following the same through the section openers. I aimed to print the letters using woodtype on letterpress and scanning and creating an effective image. However, in the process I was not able to create the desired effect. I wanted the deboss created due to the pressure to be visible on the cover. This was not being achieved to perfection. I moved on to trying several other covers using textures, images of various letterpress materials and type.

PL I PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS

A beginner’s manual

PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS A beginner’s manual Fici blatess iminctate nis magnis di iderferumqui officium quia debitae pores derit estia num reptae volorpos rectem doluptas ab ipsa ime susa nonsed qui di cus sumquossit dolorro vidempo reptataqui quae quia venimus, conse nulparum quia nobitatur, ipiet velloriam quiasperum fugia coriore scitat ducia prem quatur modi qui dolupitem etur sandelenis dita arum nam, ipictemped quisto volut odignim agnihicit volore deliam apis re sant Ignatem sunt inveles ecatibusapis sam, sequam, sequae. Nam solorit vid est, niate rem inis etur asperum quias ventias imporem poresse ducitat restect urepra is nonemquatur si net ad quia verum ea qui demque la volo minim non eatur ania qui inum ide derferit quae at dolest, inctent doluptatiori ut voluptatem estet por rerum aut officillor aut adio. Dantiuritis con re ommoluptat quo blant, quam, sita apistrum re eum excerrum resti simped ut que vid quam il ipsa dolorum elit fugit optisquatur mo inctur alibus aciam sim volestrum quas in non provid mo inci ulluptam fugia quunt iduciatibea di ipsunt

PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS A beginner’s manual

Cover ideas and their corresponding section openers.

20 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

INTRODUCTION

Letterpress printing The technique Kinds of presses Presses used In this book Tools & materials Variables for a good print

PRINTING WITH

PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS

LETTER

PRESS

A beginner’s manual Fici blatess iminctate nis magnis di iderferumqui officium quia debitae pores derit estia num reptae volorpos rectem doluptas ab ipsa ime susa nonsed qui di cus sumquossit dolorro vidempo reptataqui quae quia venimus, conse nulparum quia nobitatur, ipiet velloriam quiasperum fugia coriore scitat ducia prem quatur modi qui dolupitem etur sandelenis dita arum nam, ipictemped quisto volut odignim agnihicit volore deliam apis re sant Ignatem sunt inveles ecatibusapis sam, sequam, sequae. Nam solorit vid est, niate rem inis etur asperum quias ventias imporem poresse ducitat restect urepra is nonemquatur si net ad quia verum ea qui demque la volo minim non eatur ania qui inum ide derferit quae at dolest, inctent doluptatiori ut voluptatem estet por rerum aut officillor aut adio. Dantiuritis con re ommoluptat quo blant, quam, sita apistrum re eum excerrum resti simped ut que vid quam il ipsa dolorum elit fugit optisquatur mo inctur alibus aciam sim volestrum quas in non provid mo inci ulluptam fugia quunt iduciatibea di ipsunt

PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS

A beginner’s manaul

A beginner’s manual

Vidhushri Ladha

Printing with Letterpress

Letterpress printing is an old printing technique which has been revived and has regained importance in the recent years. This manual is a sourcebook for beginners and printers wanting to explore this technique. Using clear explanations of technical terms, this manual describes presses, tools, inks, processes and type. Also discussed is how to plan and print a project with some examples of projects like posters, book covers and invites. This up-to-date manual is ideal for students and letterpress enthusiasts.

printing with

PRINTING WITH

a complete guide for beginners A guide for beginners

VIDHUSHRI LADHA

Vidhushri Ladha

Exploring some more covers using typography and photographs.

printing Printing with Letterpress Letterpress printing is an old printing technique which has been revived and has regained importance in the recent years. This manual is a sourcebook for beginners and printers wanting to explore this technique. Using clear explanations of technical terms, this manual describes presses, tools, inks, processes and type. Also discussed is how to plan and print a project with some examples of projects like posters, book covers and invites. This up-to-date manual is ideal for students and letterpress enthusiasts.

PRINTING WITH

Letterpress printing 02 The technique 04 Kinds of presses 06 Presses used In this book 08 Tools & materials 10 Variables for a good print 12

a complete guide for beginners

VIDHUSHRI LADHA

This cover along with the section opener to the right was what led to the final design. This was submitted for the end of term assesment. The final design includes some changes with typography and colour application.

Transformation 21

design and making The blad I submitted a blad for this project. This consisted of a process spread, tools spread, information spread, along with the cover, section openers, title page and contents page. This provided the design structure for the rest of the book. Developing a visual structure While working on the design I was constantly thinking about what would be the visual element that I would use to bring this book together. Would it be the colour palette, some graphic element or something else? While I was doing the photography for this book I came across this particular woodtype in the collection of the department at the University of Reading, that I used to compose and print words for the section openers. Taking the idea forward I used the same type for the cover and the contents page as well. This type shall be used constantly throughout the book and imparts a strong visual connect. Colour correction When I started placing the photographs into the layout, I realised that the colour of the ink used affects the look of the page to a great extent. I decided to use red ink for all the process images. I had to make sure that the red used is constant throughout the book. Hence some amount of colour correction was required in order to make sure the ink colour appeared the same in all photographs. Also the scans of the prints that like the one used for the contents page needed to be of the same red.

Developing a colour palette for the sections, to be used as the header and the footer.

Some papers looked at included Amber graphic, Munken polar, Munken print white and Perfect image.

Colour palette Bars of colour are used in the header and the footer to help in navigation through the various sections and also impart a different colour to each section. These were chosen in relation with each other and the content of the section. For example, for the section which involves inking and printing, because I was using red ink for the photographs I chose a shade of violet to add contrast to the look on the page. Paper The photographs were the most important element in this book. While looking at paper samples, I wanted to chose one that prints the text clearly but also has a colour and texture that highlights the images the best. Also, the way the red was printing on the paper was important as it was the primary colour used in the book.

22窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Comparing the intensity of the red colour and look of the images on different papers.

Examples of how prints from a particular woodtype led to the development of a visual style in the book.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;23

Section-wise colour coded headers for better navigation

38 · Printing

The inking process

The treatment for heading and introduction text on every spread

Tools checklist

A tools checklist for every process inking plate • ink • brayer • palette knife

Getting the ink ready

Step number

Using the palette knife, remove the layer of dried skin as it may cause blemishes in the prints.

Use the brayer to roll out the ink, starting in one direction. Roll out only some of the ink at a time from the amount on the inking plate.

Next, scoop out some amount of fresh ink and roll the knife to avoid the ink from dripping.

It is important to lift the brayer before rolling in the other direction. Roll out in two directions to get an even consistency.

Section colour for the footer

The process spread This is the layout for a typical process spread. The page has been composed in a way that it can be applied to other similar spreads in the book. Elements like the heading, introduction text, tools checklist, the treatment of the step numbers and some overlap of images shall remain constant for the other processes as well. Important tips are pulled out into boxes wherever essential in the narrative of the book.

24 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Apply dabs of ink in a row on the inking plate by pressing the palette knife onto it.

190mm

The inking process Âˇ 39

How to judge the amount of ink?

Brayer with excess ink

Though practice will help you make observations on how to judge the quantity of ink, the two factors that help make this decision â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1. Texture of ink on the brayers Excess amount of ink creates an uneven texture whereas less ink leaves a smooth texture. 2. Sound produced while rolling the ink.

Brayer with less ink

Margins Top: 18mm Bottom: 12mm Outside: 16mm Inside: 12mm

Tips are pulled out into boxes

Inking the plate

240mm

Begin inking a plate by gently rolling the ink on it in one direction. Try your best to ink the plate in one go.

Inking long artworks

While inking broad plates, lift the brayer and ink in the opposite direction as well, in order to make sure all corners and edges are inked.

While inking long artworks, ink a part of it until the brayer is covered with the impression from it.

Then, re-ink the brayer before inking the remaining part of the artwork.

Overlap of photographs is a style which is to be applied throught where required.

It is important to lift the brayer before rolling in the ohter direction. Roll out in two directions till you get a good consistency.

Template at 70 percent scale.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;25

Section-wise colour coded headers for better navigation

28 ﾂｷ Composing

Typesetting tools Treatment of the title and the introduction text remains the same throughout the book.

Setting metal type is a process that demands precision. Type is set or arranged in a composing stick. One has to be familiar with the various tools used for setting and the layout of the typecase, in order to be efficient in this process.

point size

face

body

type height

counter feet nick

metal type leading Strips of metal in varying thicknesses and lengths used as spacing between lines of text.

Using cut-outs of photographs

spacing material These are small pieces of metal added while setting type to create space between words, to add white space to the end of a line or to tighten up a line of text.

Em quad

2 En quads

3-tothe-em spaces

4-to5-tothe-em the-em spaces spaces

You will also need Dropping the initial uppercase

composing stick A handheld tool that is used for setting metal type. It should be held in this way, with the thumb holding the type against the side for stability.

Section colour for the footer

The tools spread Though this spread is one of its kind, several elements used here give an idea of the visual structure of the book. The use of cut-outs and large photographs help depict the surroundings of letterpress printing better. Moreover decisions regarding type, treatment of sub-headings, the use of colour and the dropping of the first uppercase, all form the style guide for the book.

26窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

galley A metal tray that is used for temporarily storing set type. tweezers Handy for changing out letters while setting type form string Used to tie up type after it is set and before it is locked up on the press.

Typesetting tools Âˇ 29

Some images are allowed to bleed where required

The typecase

frequently used letters The most frequently used letters are grouped around the center of the lower case arrangement

patterns to memorise Four patterns, when memorised, help to locate many other letters

spaces Where spaces are side by side they are arranged with the smaller of the two spaces to the left

uppercase guideposts Knowing the first, middle and the last letters in each row is very helpful for the uppercase letters

Treatment of text when it is overlapping on image

The typecase is a wooden tray divided into compartments that keep type organised. Each case consists of one font of a typeface, meaning one size and style of a particular typeface. Although they come in variety of layouts, the California Job Case is one of the most common. This is designed to hold a full font of type. A twothirds case is about 22 inches wide and intended for small amounts of type. A split case or news case has one case for the uppercase type and the other for the lowercase.

Template at 70 percent scale.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;27

22 ﾂｷ Introduction

Variables for a good print Apart from the press used, there are three main factors that affect the quality of a letterpress print. Exploring and adjusting these results in prints of different qualities.

pressure

ink

paper

The amount of pressure makes all the difference in a letterpress print. The beauty of letterpress prints is enhanced due to the indented effect that pressure creates.

Ink is another variable that along with pressure affects the quality of a letterpress print. Here, two factors are important, the quality and the quantity of ink used.

The amount of ink and pressure required differs with the type of paper. The thickness and the texture of a paper determines the kind of print produced on it.

Understanding the variables through examples Ink and pressure together affect the characteristics of printed type and images. The stroke width, contours, details, colour, texture of type, all depend upon the balance between the ink and pressure. If even one of them is not in the right quantity, the effect on the print is clearly visible. A look at the examples on the opposite page will you help understand these variables better and in turn help you in making decisions while printing.

Transfer the ink to the paper, with a kiss When you are able to get just the right amount of pressure and ink on the paper, the print is as if tranferred with a kiss. This can be achieved by practice.When the quantity of ink and pressure is adjusted correctly, you receive a print where the type is clear, details are not lost and the inking is even throughout. The beauty of a print depends on the balance that a printer strikes between the pressure and ink, on a particular paper.

Example of appropriate ink and pressure

Information spread This spread is an example of one which gives information on topics related to letterpress before you get on to reading about the various processes. Like the other two kinds of spreads, the treatment of the title and the introduction text along with the header and the footer, remain constant. However, large quantity of information is composed in these spreads.

28窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Variables Âˇ 23 Examples of overink and too much pressure

When ink or pressure is in excess, the strokes of the letters become thicker, counters become smaller and the overall texture of the print is uneven.

With too much pressure or ink the details in the image are getting lost. Notice the tree on the right side, it has marged into the background.

Examples of underink and less pressure Use of ellipses to highlight

When the ink or pressure is less than required, the print is pale and the details of letters get lost, especially the thin strokes.

In the case of images, details get more lost when the ink is more rather than less. However the print is not very clear and the contrast is very low hence the beauty of the image is compromised.

Examples of prints on two different papers

on textured thick paper The texture of the paper affects how the final print looks. In this case the texture is interfering with the smoothness of the print and making it look more scattered.

on glossy smooth paper Uncotaed paper soaks the ink well, whearas in the case of coated glossy paper, the ink sits on and does not sink in, hence fine details are lost.

Template at 70 percent scale.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;29

MAKE AN IMPRESSION Perhaps you just received a card with a unique indented surface and fell in love with it, or you bought some woodtype at the flea market. May be you got your hands on a handpress. Whatever be the reason, you just want to learn more about the letterpress printing technique. Letterpress printing is an old printing technique which has been revived and has regained importance in the recent years. This manual is a sourcebook for beginners and printers wanting to explore this technique. Using clear explanations of technical terms, this manual describes presses, tools, inks, processes and type. Also discussed is how to plan and print a project with some examples of projects like posters, book covers and invites. This up-to-date manual is ideal for students and letterpress enthusiasts. Let’s start printing with letterpress! ‘A manual that will make you fall in love with letterpress and face no fear of experimenting.’ – Letterpress society

£ 16.99

www.bloomsbury.com

Layout of the cover The final cover makes use of texture made from rolling letterpress ink on paper, as the background. The letters from the same woodtype are used in reversed. I chose to use Bloomsbury as the publishers for this book as I came across some similar letterpress manuals by them. The typography on the cover is kept simple and centred.

30 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

PRINTING WITH LETTERPRESS

PRINTING WITH

A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

Vidhushri Ladha

Design and making 31

PRINTING WITH

LETTER PRESS A complete guide for beginners

Vidhushri Ladha

The title page

Introduction

Composing

History 8

Type terminologies 26

The technique 12

Typesetting tools 28

Kinds of presses 14

Setting type by hand 30

Choosing a press 16

Imposition 34

Inks and paper 18 Variables for a good print 22

Printing

Post-print

The inking process 38

Drying prints 52

Regulating pressure & ink 42

Cleaning up 54

Proofing 44

Press troubleshooting 60

Working with platen press 48

Storage 62

Projects

Further information

Planning to printing 66

Glossary of terms 90

Custom book covers 70

Resources 94

Event posters 74

Acknowledgements 96

Invites 80

Index 98

Stationary 84

Contents page using the same woodtype and highlithing the colour for each section.

32 Home reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Maintenance 58

Working with cylinder press 46

These are examples of the section openers. The idea is to form the name of the section through photographs of the letterpress printing process itself.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;33

Print Specification Trim size: 190mm W x 240mm H Number of pages: 120 Binding: Section sewn, softcover, paperback Cover stock : Perfect image 250gsm Pages stock: Perfect image 120gsm Printing: 4-colour litho

34窶ォome reference manual / Printing with letterpress

Conclusion This project had several aspects of learning attached to it. From the point where I got exposed to reference manuals, observed the market and chose a topic to the evolution of the design, each stage had its own challenges. When I chose to work with Letterpress printing, I was a bit sceptical as many people in the department had knowledge about it, it was a topic close to our profession and hence an added responsibility to be correct in what I put together. Moreover, the topic is vast, there are several books on it, and hence to decide on the content structure was a challenge. This book was aimed at a particular audience and I had to design keeping the audience and the market in mind. This was different from the other projects that I had worked on during this year. While designing I had to constantly remind myself of the usability of the book and the fact that it needed to be sold off the shelves to a particular audience. Typography was a very integral part of this project. Since I used a combination of two typefaces, a serif and a sans serif, the choice and the usage needed several stages of explora-

tion. Hierarchy is very important to instructional text and hence I discovered several ways of highlighting information and helping the reader flow through the text in the required direction. The fact that I was not only designing this book but also writing the content and doing the photography myself, made this design process intensive and challenging. I experienced what being an art-director feels like. Editing was something that took up a lot of time during this project. To be able to fit text where required and say the required things in short captions needed both practice and attention. A strong visual structure needed to be set up for the book in a way that every spread looked different and yet a part of the same book. I developed definite guidelines for the treatment and placement of headings, images, body text and captions. Overall, when I look back at the evolution of the design, I believe this project strengthened my understanding of integrating text and image, communicating instructions and most importantly being the author along with the designer.

Design and makingâ&#x20AC;&#x192;35