Northbridge Central Tafe Letterpress class

A few ladies of letterpress ;-)

I was extremely fortunate to win a scholarship from The Ladies of Letterpress, to attend a 5 week letterpress course at  Central Tafe, Northbridge Perth Western Australia, through their Slice short creative course programme.

Every Wednesday evening for 5 weeks, I was lucky enough to indulge in a few hours of creative typesetting the 'old school' way. Handling vintage Hamilton wood type some as big as 20cm with the most beautiful patina, locking them up, coating them in oil based inks and feeding them into a flat bed letterpress proofing press printer, felt like an extravagant indulgence.

Being able to work with moveable type that I wouldn't otherwise have access to, and using proofing presses that I haven't worked with in the past was a real treat.

Having an expert teacher like Bradley (36+ years industry experience) was also invaluable.  There were so many little tips and hints that Bradley openly and encouragingly shared. Some basic practices that my own training (being self taught) had skipped over, such as using the type rule to measure the correct length of furniture, how the height of all type is uniformed and in measurable units that match up with furniture heights and widths so that a neat lock up is achievable.  Even the 'quick' method to finding the centre of the paper or print.

Of course, the added bonus was to mix with a group of other letterpress enthusiasts who shared a love of woodtype, lock up, oily inks and greasy machines.

The collection of vintage presses included Hamilton wood type, 2 hot foil presses, 3 proofing presses, 2 hand presses including a beautiful (and massive) Improved highly ornamented Columbian press, as well as several other authentic letterpress tools of the trade - and then some!

sigh...

Please indulge me as I 'show off' the fruits of my labour, and join me in drooling over the amazing images very close to my heart. (course details at the end of the post)

The presses

Hamilton wood type cabinets in Perth Australia

Oh wood type!

Letterpress tools

  

My fun prints

A little bit of Australia :-)

Bradley in his studio

COURSE DETAILS:
slice.central.wa.edu.au

Letterpress: Introduction to Artisan Printing

Experience a traditional and beautiful art form

This process is centuries old and produces a tactile impression into paper.

Letterpress has a 500 year old history and was commonly used until the mid 20th century. Central Institute of Technology has an excellent facility with traditional printing presses, equipment and one of the largest collections of typefaces in Western Australia. Small groups will be guided through the Letterpress process which involves composing and locking movable type into the bed of a press, inking it and pressing paper against it to form an impression. You will be able to experiment and create unique artistic prints.

Cost: $345

Runs: 5 Wednesdays, 5.30 - 8pm

Where: 12 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge

Next Course Starts: 30 July

Enrolments Open: 17 June

Topics covered in the course includes:

• How to select and compose a variety of styles and sizes of Letterpress typefaces.
• Learn how to lock up, position and prepare a Letterpress form ready for printing.
• Make ready and print from a Letterpress form using a range of Letterpress Proofing Presses.
• Design, create and print your own Letterpress product using a selection of printing inks. Mix and match inks to create your own colour choice.
• How to select and compose a variety of styles and sizes of Letterpress typefaces.
• Learn how to lock up, position and prepare a Letterpress forme ready for printing.
• Make ready and print from a Letterpress forme using a range of Letterpress Proofing Presses.
• Design, create and print your own Letterpress product using a selection of printing inks. Mix and match inks to create your own colour choices.