What's so great about letterpress printing?

Letterpress printing is a special kind of printing process that has been around for centuries and continues to be popular today. It involves using raised letters to create an imprint on a piece of paper. This kind of printing can create beautiful and unique designs that are perfect for special occasions. Letterpress printing is a slow and meticulous process, but the results can be stunning. The key to successful letterpress printing is the quality of the artwork. The artwork must be clean and precise in order for the letterpress printing to be successful. The artwork also needs to be designed in a way that allows for the pressure of the letterpress to be applied evenly. The artwork needs to be printed onto a metal plate, and then the plate is inked and pressed onto the paper. One of the great advantages of letterpress printing is that it allows for more creativity in design. Letterpress printing can produce intricate and detailed designs that just can’t be achieved with digital printing. It also allows for more texture to be added to the design. This can be done by adding extra layers of ink or by adding various types of paper to the design. Letterpress printing is a great way to add a unique and special touch to any special event. Whether it’s a wedding invitation, a business card, or a poster, letterpress printing can create a beautiful and memorable piece of art. It is no surprise that letterpress printing is still popular after centuries of use.

Pecha Kucha Vol. 18: SPM is in the Line-Up.

Come see Laura present on California printing history and the Shakespeare Press Museum in 400 seconds, only at Pecha Kucha Night, San Luis Obispo.

It'll knock your socks off.

Guaranteed.

Friday November 9, 2012

Oddfellows Hall, 520 Dana St., San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401

Conversations start at 7:30pm

Presentations start at (20:20) 8:20pm

$5 donation at the door

Refreshments will be available for purchase

http://pechakucha-sanluisobispo.blogspot.com/

805.801.6922

Print Like It's 1897.

Print Like It's 1897., originally uploaded by shakespeare press.

A LOST DOG poster for Ace

The end of movable type in China

Assorted Chinese lead type (Photo: Cheryl Yau)

Fascinating article on the end of movable type in China.

Fortnightly Newsletter & Fall Quarter Fun!

This year we've added a new student curator named Lauren to the mix and with her we now have more open hours! 

Fall quarter open hours are:

Mon 11am-12pm (with Chaz)
Wed 4pm-8pm (with Shawna and Laura)
Fri 10am-12pm (with Lauren)


Check in for more potential open hours as we train new curators and add some now and then for special projects!


We have a lot of goals for this year, but one of the main ones is to help increase the level of awareness about Shakespeare Press Museum. To help with this we held our first meeting and had everyone who attended print some fun 2-color pieces to take home. Every meeting this year will include a physical take-away and a mini-lesson of some sort to help those of you who are interested in letterpress actually learn about how to do it :)


Another thing we're doing is sending out a "fornightly" (every 2 weeks) email newsletter to let everyone know about recent projects, anything new in the world of letterpress or the museum, and give you a few links to check out. At least for now, I've decided to have this blog serve as the newsletter and I will email out the link every couple weeks with the promised updates, and everyone can follow the blog for other updates on a more regular basis if they'd like.


SO: here are a couple of letterpress links!
The first is a seldom-updated blog called Beast Pieces that has some extreme examples of amazing letterpress work. The second is a smaller press started by an independent designer that updates regularly and serves as a nice example of a smaller scale independent letterpress studio. The last is more of a resource and less of a fun link: if you ever have a question related to letterpress check out BriarPress for a whole community of help and amazing resources.


Beast Pieces: http://www.beastpieces.com/
Dolce Press: http://www.dolcepress.com/
Briar Press: http://briarpress.org/


and finally, here are some pictures from the first meeting of the quarter and of a few projects that students have worked on recently:

Los Angeles Printer's Fair

Headed down to the 3rd annual L.A. Printer's Fair, hosted at/by the magnificent International Printing Museum!