I am a huge fan of letterpress printing. Typographic elements take on a 3 dimensional life of their own. Soft impressions on soft paper.
I am totally in love with Madcat Press and their incredible design and print work.
I'm embarrassed to say that I've never been in the presence of a letter press machine and are pretty perplexed by the process, but are eager to get the opportunity. Get my hands dirty. See a pro at work whose results are textural, graphic, beautiful and done with care. Some of the best results are unexpected outcomes which just reinforces how mechanical craft over digital has so many virtues. The limited colour palette, the shallow impressions, misregistration; it all comes together in a treasure you can hold and feel and covet. My new goal is to understand the print process better from a mechanical, craft perspective. As a graphic designer, I've visited printers and been guided on tours which show their warehouses of industrial machines, whirring and clicking but haven't really understood the evolution.
My father, a communications professor, has written books on the process of communication. I remember as a child (too sick to go to school but surprisingly well enough to sit in on his classes...) listening to him teach about Gutenberg and the printing press. How this single invention truly revolutionized our society and brought ideas and academics to the masses. Fast-forward 20 years and now I make a living based on printing and bringing ideas to the masses through type and graphics arranged to communicate an idea. But I work in a very digital bubble. I design, have ideas, talk to printers about how to make those ideas come to fruition and then voila! The product is delivered to my doorstep, usually as predicted, sometimes not. But my design could be so much better if I understood the insides, the guts, the amazing potential and possibilities that can be produced with the right knowledge of the craft.
Now to find the time. Sigh.
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