Viewing entries in
The Craft of Letterpress

Printing a Poem on the Handpress

March 6, 2016

One of our chief passions here at the Press is traditional letterpress printing — using some of the techniques, equipment, and materials that have been used since Johannes Gutenberg and his team first developed moveable type and printing presses in Europe around 1450.

We enjoy being a part of that long historical lineage, learning the skills and passing along the wonder of the printed word. Our latest project, a little chapbook of poems called “Reverie,” has given us the opportunity to produce a book entirely on the circa-1915 iron handpress, affectionally named “Ben” (for Ben Franklin, of course).

Here is a series of photos that will walk you through the printing of one sheet of one poem for this one book. By the time we finish the edition, we will have enacted this same process about 1,260 times. Good thing we love what we do!

All best to all,

St Brigid Press

"Ben," our circa-1915 iron handpress.

This is the poem we're printing today...

...locked up securely on the bed of the press.

Next we hang the paper-to-be-printed on the tympan.

Folding the frisket over the tympan...

...which protects & holds-in-place the paper to be printed.

Next, we charge the roller with ink...

...and carefully roll it over the type to ink the letters.

Then, we fold the tympan & frisket (with the paper sandwiched between) over the press bed...

...and roll the bed under the platen (heavy iron piece with "waffle weave").

Now we pull the bar, transferring downward pressure so the paper finally meets the inked type underneath.

We roll the press bed out again, and begin to lift up the tympan & frisket.

Opening the frisket cover to find...

...a poem has been printed! Hooray!!

1 Comment

A Letterpress Lexicon, Part 2

February 9, 2016

Hi, Friends of St Brigid Press!

Here is the second installment in our occasional blog series about the words and phrases that identify printing's particular tools and processes ~ A Letterpress Lexicon. Enjoy!

(If you missed Part 1, you can find it HERE.)

Today's 3 words are

TYPECASE, TYPESETTING, and COMPOSING STICK

TYPECASE: A typecase is a wooden tray, divided up into numerous small compartments, in which the letters, numbers, and punctuation of a font of type are organized and stored.

Empty typecase

Full typecase

Typecase diagram

TYPESETTING: This refers to the action of composing words from the individual pieces of type. A printer reaches into their typecase, picks up the desired letter, and literally "sets" it in place beside the last letter placed.

Typesetting, letter-by-letter

Typeset poem

COMPOSING STICK: This is the tool that holds the pieces of type that are being set (or, "composed"). Usually made of brass or steel, the composing stick is held in the non-dominant hand while the typesetter lines up each desired letter. The stick is adjustable, according to how long the line of type needs to be.

Composing sticks

Holding a composing stick while setting type

And here's a little video to put these three words together!

Thanks so much for joining us on this journey into the World of Letterpress!

If you haven't already, take a second to sign up below for our occasional newsletter, which features posts like this one, as well as updates on our printing projects here at St Brigid Press.

1 Comment

7 Comments

A Letterpress Lexicon, Part 1

January 17, 2016

Hi, dear Friends of St Brigid Press,

As many of you know, I love language. And one of the things that has been exceedingly enjoyable about learning the craft of traditional printing is learning its associated lexicon ~ the words and phrases that identify printing's particular tools and processes.

In this occasional blog series, "A Letterpress Lexicon," I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's three words are

CHASE, FURNITURE, and QUOIN

CHASE: A chase is an iron or steel rectangular frame into which the type to be printed is placed. After the type is secured, the chase is lifted into the bed of the printing press, the type is inked, and an impression is made upon paper.

FURNITURE: Wooden or metal furniture is used to surround the block of type within the chase, taking up any extra space between type and chase edge. Wooden furniture, such as we use here at St Brigid Press, is traditionally made from kiln-dried hardwoods, and comes in standard sizes to fit the job.

QUOIN: A quoin is an adjustable metal wedge used to tighten and "lock" the type and furniture in the chase. Although there are a variety of styles, all quoins operate with the basic principle of applying pressure to secure the form, allowing the chase to be safely lifted into the printing press.