Sunday, April 1, 2018

A day of letterpress

©2018 Barry Smith - Roller marks and growls for adding ink to the plate
Last year Fiona and I decided that 2018 would be the year that we would work together on our letterpress; and in a sense officially promote our press Deckled Edge Press. We have our own art practices; but Deckled Edge Press will be where we will work together more.

We had a commission to do 30 long slimish posters using largish wood type. So yesterday was the day.

We used one of our Advance galley presses as the paper was going to be too long to fit any of our other letter presses

©2018 Barry Smith - Type locked in chase and chase locked into the galley
After locking up the wooden type we taped off the spaces etc as these at times can transfer old ink or oil. Inking up was a bit of fun as we needed to use two different size ink rollers to get good coverage on the two different size of type.
©2018 Barry Smith - Fiona using the small roller to ensure the smaller type (about 60mm) had a good ink coverage
Wood type always has quite a bit of character from the catches and dents it accumulates through use - not as hard as the lead type.

©2018 Barry Smith - You can see the dents and scratches on the wood type
We marked up the press so that we could consistently register the sheets.

©2018 Barry Smith - Fiona holding the paper up ready for me to line it up with our registration marks
Each print needed to be treated as a unique print so some careful handling and cooperation went into the rolling.
©2018 Barry Smith - Two sets of hands keep the paper and packing steady
©2018 Barry Smith - Two passes with roller
But don't you just love it when you reveal the work and see the beauty of the printed word.

©2018 Barry Smith - Love the print being lifted off - Imagine Equality
If you check out Fiona's blog I'm sure she will share more about the process and outcomes.

6 comments:

  1. lovely, this, and you working together is also fine.

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  2. love seeing the process, can almost smell the ink!

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  3. So cool to see what each of you chose to highlight in this collaborative effort! I’m looking forward to seeing future projects for sure.

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  4. love this thought .... imagine equality. Great project for you and F.

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  5. Hi R, V, MC, LA and SB - thanks for checking out the post and leaving a comment. R - simple words but powerful. V - we are fortunate to have each other to bounce art ideas off and to work calmly on tasks such as this. MC - and given the size of the wood type there was a lot of ink. LA - interesting observation!!! SB - yes an important message and as you say fits comfortably with us. Peace. B

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Comments are welcomed - it is good to connect with fellow travellers.