Printing | The Print Project

The Print Project at Small Town Ink

Posted on April 15th, 2013 by Admin

Exhibitions, Posters, Printing, Process, Wood Type, workshops

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PUSHING TRADITIONAL PRINT IN A NEW DIRECTION

Specialised, heart-warming and unique, traditional print is making a resurgence amongst young designers who have hit saturation point with the computer. Taking design back to its roots SMALL TOWN INK is hosting a traditional print day at the University of Leeds on Wednesday 24th April.

Promoted to introduce and educate young designers in traditional printing methods, this free event will include the chance to use letterpress equipment supplied by The Print Project and Richard Lawrence, who will both be giving workshops throughout the day, mixed in with talks on traditional printing methods. The day will also include a print exhibition showcasing work from a variety of local print makers, as well as a print fair to browse and pick up some fantastic pieces of work. Local workshops and studios will also be attending, providing information on what resources are available in the local area if you want to experience print for yourself.

Promoter of the event Vicky White says, “It is worrying that many educational establishments are beginning to cut down on traditional printing methods in favour of digital techniques, especially with an increasing interest in more personal hand crafted design. Young designers are desperately searching for answers as to how the distinctive and unique elements of traditional print come about and what resources are available to them in their local area. The SMALL TOWN INK print day hopes to help answer these questions, whilst celebrating and introducing more designers to the incredible world of print”.

For more details and information contact Vicky White at SMALL TOWN INK.

Email: victoriawhite.design@gmail.com

For regular updates follow us on twitter and instagram: @smalltown_ink and see our website: www.smalltownink.co.uk

SMALL TOWN INK Traditional Print Day

Venue: University of Leeds, The School of Design, Grass Studio

Date: Wednesday 24th April 2013. 10.30am – 5pm

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Leeds Print Festival 2013

Posted on November 20th, 2012 by Admin

Exhibitions, Paper, Printing, Process, Typography

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BE AFRAID…

It’s back! After the success of the first in 2012, Leeds Print Festival returns with a stack of inky tricks up its sleeves for all to enjoy from Friday the 18th of January to Sunday the 27th of January 2013 at Leeds Gallery.

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The Print Project meet The Accidental Hoarder

Posted on August 1st, 2012 by Admin

Letterpress, Printing, Process

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The Print Project were recently interviewed by The Accidental Hoarder. Have a read over here. Thanks Sarah!

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The Print Project in HowDo?! Magazine

Posted on July 23rd, 2012 by Admin

Letterpress, Posters, Printing, self-publishing

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If you live in and around Bradford you’ve probably seen the June/July issue of HowDo?! Magazine, a cultural magazine ‘by the people of Bradford for the people of Bradford’. It’s really started to pick up momentum now and people really seem to be digging it. Well, we (The Print Project) put together the artworks for this issue and also were also interviewed for our sins. Alonsgide that throughout the issue you can also see lots of ‘letterpress noise’ culled from all the make ready, near misses and fails for some of the work we do.

As is the way with this site — updates can be quite sporadic depending on what time we have to make it happen and battling with ridiculous technology doesn’t help. So for those that don’t live in Bradford here’s a digital copy you can read online (just click on the EXPAND button above). Eventually we’ll stick up some actual pictures of the magazine. And we’ve got ‘Welcome Home Sexy’ prints (as featured in the magazine)that will be available to buy shortly.

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Shop Update

Posted on July 23rd, 2012 by Admin

Letterpress, Postcards, Posters, Printing, Proof Press, Recycled, Shop, Wood Type

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Wanna get your hands on our new stuff? Then head on over to the updated shop.

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Big Presses, Big Prints.

Posted on June 14th, 2012 by Admin

Letterpress, Old print shop, Printing, Proof Press

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Some people go nuts for motorbikes, trains, cars, plants, tractors etc. Others go nuts for Big Presses, Big Prints!

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A bit of fun on a Saturday afternoon

Posted on May 22nd, 2012 by Sarah

Adana, carrying printing presses up four flights of stairs, DIY, Gill Sans Bold Condensed, Platen, Printing, self-publishing, Univers, workshops

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We don’t often run workshops, but when we do it’s great to see what people do when they run unfettered with the type. At our most recent workshop at the world famous 1 in 12 club, participants used our collection of 48 point type to print cards with slogans of their own choosing.

Besides the cards, there was a bit of unrestrained off-message creativity in effect. One participant used children’s colouring books, splodges of ink, and torn-up newspaper to create layers of colour and type upon type. It was great to see.

We are of course overjoyed to welcome a new member to the collective. We believe his having four paws will be a tremendous asset when it comes to typesetting and printing.

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1 in 12 letterpress workshops

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by Sarah

1in12 Club, carrying printing presses up four flights of stairs, Letterpress, Platen, Printing, workshops

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Last Saturday we did the first of our long-promised workshops, at the world-famous 1 in 12 club in Bradford. The idea was to introduce the interested into the bizarre and wonderful, and exhilaratingly speedy, world of letterpress. The day began in the cellar, with some exciting Arab action. (Participants weren’t able to run the Arab, but were able to watch it work as Nick printed the first colour for the cards they were later to print.)

Then it was up four flights of stairs to the library for some typesetting. Lovely, lovely typesetting. Participants had thought beforehand about what text to set, and had the choice of four typefaces to use in their cards.

Each had a compositing stick, a galley (a galley is a steel tray much like a baking tray, but you wouldn’t want to eat your dinner off it) and furniture and quoins for their forme.

Then it was time to ‘lock up’ and put the chases in the Adana.

Everybody seemed really chuffed with the end results.

Please keep your eyes open for more information on future workshops.

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Garage Grumbles: Music

Posted on March 12th, 2012 by Admin

Adana, Garage Grumbles, Letterpress, Music, Platen, Printing, The Cunningham Amendment

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Letterpress involves long hours alone. Every part of this ancient craft is unique. And it’s only the compositor who can sort the problems that crop. There are no help- lines, software or replacement parts. However, once the problems have been sorted, a lot of the work can be repetitive. Like lone yachtsmen and desert hermits it is work that has an effect on the psyche. It’s easy to get lost in day-dreams. I rely a lot on music for company. I discovered years ago the magic and the complexity of opera. I can sometimes plan an act of an opera to coincide with a particular printing task.

Extended repetitive movements continue to cause damage to a variety of my bodily joints. Music helps in the physical breaks. At particular points in the opera I can begin vigorously conducting along to a heartily sung aria. As far as I know no one sees me doing this and share it with you under conditions of confidentiality.

But the music is not always classical. Taste and mood change with the work. I always say that if you don’t like rock n’ roll then you haven’t got a soul. My sound system dates from yesteryear and I occasionally visit charity shops where it’s possible to pick up cassettes for 10p a go. Once when printing I was pondering over a storyline about a church whose tea urn had been laced with something special. In my head I had the vicar chasing the lady on flower rota; the choir adopting the lotus position; and then, on a cassette playing rock from the 50’s, I heard “Happy Organ” by Dave Baby Cortez (try it on youtube!). Wow. I was immediately into Miss Timpson doing an imaginative striptease down the church aisle.

Life can be pretty exciting in the garage.

—The Good Doctor
The R. Supward Press Spring 2012

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Garage Grumbles: The Lost Episode

Posted on March 7th, 2012 by Admin

Garage Grumbles, Printing, Process, The Cunningham Amendment

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After many months of searching the information super highway, we finally found this ‘lost’ episode of Garage Grumbles by The Good Doctor…just in time for spring.

“Bits of me are suffering from the months of prolonged exposure to the cold. It’s the body’s peripheral, dangly-bits that go first: Chilblains, nose tip, ears. Worse was the little finger of my right hand which stiffened and the topmost joint swelled up painfully. The little finger is essentially redundant when composing type. It’s the thumb and first three fingers that do the work. Hence I have a pinkie that hurts at the slightest sign of a cool breeze. Years back some wag sent me a knitted willy-warmer. I dug it out last week and used it has a pinkie-glove. Alas, it was too big. So I’ve taken to strapping my finger up with masking-tape. Me and my body have had some good times — bad times too — and it’s a trifle disconcerting to watch bits of it drop off.”

—The Good Doctor
The R. Supward Press Winter 2011

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