TECHNICAL LETTERPRESS workshops : explained

Checking the impression depth and inking quality through an 8x loupe

Lead Graffiti TECHNICAL letterpress workshops :

These workshops focus on the workings and maintenance of the presses to be qualified enough to rent the use of the press from Lead Graffiti.

HOW YOU’LL SCHEDULE A WORKSHOP.

Scheduling workshops and hoping someone wants to take it is a pain in the ass. SO LEAD GRAFFITI HAS DECIDED TO PUT THE BALL IN YOUR COURT.

You can propose up to 3 days and times (4 hours for each workshop) for any technical letterpress workshop. That means
Vandercook,
iron hand press,
floor model platen, or
elemental letterpress type composition.

We may bounce the days and times back & forth before settling. Generally speaking, we don’t care what the days of the week or hours are as long as it falls between 9:00am and 8:00pm. Also, you can encourage us to focus on a particular type of project—posters, wedding invitations, calendars, greeting cards, etc.

You can click on “calendar” in the top navigation to see our schedule for days you must avoid when suggesting a day or time.

Please email us, and let’s get the discussion started.

MONEY FOR ALL LETTERPRESS WORKSHOPS.

You have to pay the total amount to register for a workshop which is $160 per person. For each person who takes the same workshop, we will reduce the price by $5 per hour per person.
1 person x 4 hours @ $40 per hour = $160.
2 people @ $35 per hour.
3 people @ $30 per hour.
4 people @ $25 per hour.

Encourage a friend to join you. If 4 want to take the workshop, you’ll have to pay $640. We intend to refund any money due to you at the end of the workshop, so if all 4 do the workshop, we’ll refund $240. The workshop length will be the same, no matter the number of participants.

Most workshops will have an introduction hour, showing the lay of the studio, examples of work we’ve done on the press(es) involved in the workshop, and probably a few additional pieces to get things started. We will push you to be a good letterpress printer, not an OK one.

After completing a workshop, you can rent studio space and equipment for your projects if you like.

TECHNICAL LETTERPRESS WORKSHOP NO. 1 :
VANDERCOOK cylinder presses

Remember you have to register for the whole, single-person fee.
Presses — Vandercook SP15, 14 x 18, hand-cranked, and a Vandercook Universal III, 18 x 24, power. We’ll work on both.
Potential projects — 2-color broadside or a wedding invitation.

While paper for both presses is hand-fed, the SP15 is hand-cranked, and the Universal III is a push-button automatic with 3 modes. In this workshop, you'll work with both as you learn shop safety, printing tips, press adjustments, plate options, soft vs. hard packing for the right impression, maintenance, and resources.

TECHNICAL LETTERPRESS WORKSHOP NO. 2 :
FLOOR MODEL PLATENS

Press — Chandler & Price 10 x 15.

Not for the faint of heart, This press is easily the most dangerous and requires total concentration from you during use. Your hands-on experience covers shop safety, printing tips, troubleshooting, maintenance, and resources.

THIS POPULAR FLOOR-MODEL PLATEN PRESS is the go-to workhorse for large and small letterpress shops. You'll appreciate that you can quickly print, score, die cut, and perforate, all in the space of 20 square feet.

TECHNICAL LETTERPRESS WORKSHOP NO. 3 :
IRON HAND PRESSES

Presses — R. Hoe Washington #5, 25 x 38, and a Harrild & Sons Albion Super Royal, 21 x 29. We’ll probably work on one or the other during the workshop (the person initiating the workshop can choose which press).

Made of cast iron instead of wood like Ben Franklin's "common press", these hand-pulled presses are relatively simple to operate for straightforward jobs printed on dampened papers. Get your hands on both Lead Graffiti presses as you cover shop safety, press adjustments, paper handling, inking, resources, and more. This is truly old school. It is surprising how many kids love printing on these during our H.N. Werkman workshop.

TECHNICAL LETTERPRESS WORKSHOP NO. 4 :
LETTERPRESS TYPE COMPOSITION

PRACTICE THE BASICS of hand-setting wood and metal type before locking it in position and readying it to print on our tabletop presses.

Covers shop safety, traditional type composition, printing prep, press maintenance, clean-up, and resources.

A COUPLE OTHER NOTES : 1) We believe we can do 2 workshops on the same day as long as there are 2 hours between them. 2) We both have all 4 Covid vaccinations but may tend to wear masks if we can’t stay reasonably well separated. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. The studio doesn’t have air-conditioning.

LETTERPRESS LIVE

In addition to the above workshops, we are also initiating “LETTERPRESS LIVE” for people interested in letterpress. This allows up to 2 people to come to Lead Graffiti studio while we are printing various projects, which we will try to schedule with at least a couple of days’ notice. To see available sessions, click here.

Press rental

Following sucessful completion of the appropriate workshop, you can rent Lead Graffiti’s presses for your own personal work.

Click here for press or studio space rental details. Click here for the workshop calendar or contact us to request a date for you or your group.