Letterpress

                                                        Understand Print-Based 

Media Production

Techniques & Technology 

MECHANICAL

Letterpress

Johannes Gutenberg invented the normal form of printing text ; Letterpress printing, in the mid-15th century. Until the 19th century came, it had remained in wide use for books and other uses, that was until the second half of the 20th century.
It remained the primary way to print and distribute data until the twentieth century, offset printing was developed which supplanted its role in printing books and newspapers. Only recently, has letterpress printing seen a revival in an artisanal form.

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg was credited with the invention of the modern movable type printing from an individually cast, eco-friendly reusable letters are set together in a form (frame or chase).
As well as this, he has invented the wooden printing press, which is based on the extant wine press, the type surface was inked with some leather covered ink balls and paper laid carefully upon it by hand, then slid underneath a padded surface and pressure applied from above by a large threaded screw.

Letterpress printing uses raised, inked, reversed images pressed against paper to create a properly oriented picture or page of text. 

The raised image can then be re-inked and used again, repeatedly, to make multiple copies of the same picture or page of text. 

While commercial printers favor other printing processes because of their flexibility and low costs, letterpress printers still thrive in some niche printing markets such as formal event invitations

The technique of letterpress printing contains; relief printing which uses printing press.
(E.g. a worker composes and locks movable type into the bed of a press, and inks it, then presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type.)

Within practice, letterpress also has other forms of relief printing with printing presses, such as;
- wood engravings
- photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates)
- linoleum blocks
These can be used alongside metal type in a single operation, as well as stereotypes and electrotypes of type and blocks. With certain letterpress units it's possible to join movable type with slugs cast using hot metal typesetting.
Later, the metal presses use a knuckle and level arrangement instead of the screw, however the principle was the same. The ink rollers made of composition made inking faster and paved the way for further automation.

Industrialization

Industrial mechanisation, the inking was carried out by rollers that passed over the face of the type, when they moved out of the way onto an ink plate to pick-up a fresh film of ink for the next sheet.
In the meantime, a sheet of paper slid against a hinged platen, which then rapidly pressed onto the type and swung back again as the sheet was removed and the next sheet inserted. The fresh sheet of paper then replaced the printed paper, the now freshly-inked rollers ran over the type again.
Fully automated 20th-Century presses, such as;
- the Kluge
- "Original" Heidelberg Platen (the "Windmill")
Incorporated pneumatic sheet feed and delivery.

Presses that were used for high-speed work; Rotary. The form that slides under a drum which each sheet of paper gets wrapped around for the impression, is the oscillating press. When sliding back under the inking rollers while the paper was removed and a new sheet inserted. 

A  papier-mâché a mixture called a flong was used to make a mould of entire form of type, then dried and bent, and a curved metal plate cast against it, this is a newspaper press. Then the plates were clipped to rotating drum and printed against a continuous reel of paper at an enormously high speed that requires for overnight newspaper production.

This invention helped aid, at the high demand for knowledge during this time period.

Rise of "craft" letterpress and revival

A small amount of high-quality art and hobby letterpress printing remains.

Fine letterpress work is crisper than offset litho because of its impression into the paper, which gives greater visual definition to the type and artwork. 

These days many of these small letterpress shops survive by printing fine editions of; books or by printing upscale invitations and stationery. Often using presses that require the press operator to feed paper one sheet at a time by hand.

They're just as likely to use new printing methods as old, for example; 

- by printing photopolymer plates 

(Used in modern rotary letterpress) 

The publishing has recently undergone a couple of revivals in the USA, Canada and the UK, which is under the general banner of the "Small Press Movement". 

Letterpress was renewed interest, by being fueled by Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, this began by using pictures of letterpress invitations in the 1990s.

It became appealing towards brides from the beauty and texture, who then began wanting letterpress invitations instead of the engraved, thermographed or offset-printed invitations. During the same period, presses were being discarded by commercial print shops, and became affordable as well as available to artisans throughout the country. 
Popular presses; 
- Vandercook cylinder proof presses 
- Chandler & Price platen presses
A particular affection for the Arab press, in the UK was built by Josiah Wabe in Halifax.

The emergence was helped by the movement, which happened through a few number of organizations that teach letterpress;

- Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book and Paper Arts
- Art Center College of Design
- Armory Center for the Arts both in Pasadena, Calif
- New York's Center for Book Arts
- Studio on the Square
- The Arm NYC
- The Wells College Book Arts Center in Aurora, New York
- The San Francisco Center for the Book

- Bookworks
- Seattle's School of Visual Concepts
- Olympia's The Evergreen State College
- Black Rock Press
- North Carolina State University
- Washington D.C's Corcoran College of Art and Design
- Penland School of Crafts
- The Minnesota Center for Book Arts
- The International Printing Museum in Carson, CA
- Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA
- Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA
- The Bowehouse Press at VCU in Richmond, VA

Letterpress printers have affordable copper, magnesium and photopolymer plate-makers and milled aluminum bases that have allowed this to produce type and images derived from digital artwork, fonts and scans.
In the 21st Century "digital letterpress" encouraged economical plates rise, it allowed a small number of firms to flourish commercially and enabling a larger number of boutique and hobby printers to avoid the limitations and complications of acquiring and composing metal type.
Meanwhile there has been a renaissance in small-scale type foundries to produce new metal type of Monotype equipment, Thompson casters and the original American Type Founders machines.The type contacted the paper, to transfer the ink but not leave an impression. However, the letterpress have a goal which is to give an impression to be evident, to distinctly know its letterpress.

Process

Consists of several stages:

 - composition

 - imposition

 - lock-up

 -printing

Difference is, it can happen in a small shop in a single room, whereas in larger printing plants, such as; Urban Newspapers and Magazines, each of these might form a distinct department with its own room or even floor.

Composition

Composition/typesetting, is a stage where pieces of moveable type are put together to form the desired text. The person incharge of this is called a "Compositor".

Imposition

Broadly, imposition/imposing is the process which ties assemblages of type are converted into a "form" (know as "forme") ready to use the press.

The person incharge of all this is called a "Stoneman" - do their work on a large, flat imposition stone.

Printing

This depends on the type of press used, as well as any of its associated technologies (which vary time-to-time).

Two people generally are required to operate Hand presses;

- one to ink the type

- the other to work the press

Then later mechanized jobbing presses require a single operator to feed and remove the paper, as the inking and pressing is done automatically.

Finishing touch is added by taking the completed sheets to dry and for finishing, depending on the variety of printed matter being produced. 

Eg; 

 - Newspapers is taken to a folding machine

 - Sheets for books are sent for bookbinding

Variants on the letterpress

The ultra-violet inks has helped keep the rotary letterpress alive, in the areas of like self-adhesive labels.

Also is a still large amount of flexographic printing, a similar process, this uses rubber plates to print upon a curved or awkward surfaces. A lesser amount of relief printing from huge wooden letters for lower-quality poster work.

Craftsmanship

This requires a high degree of craftsmanship, but in the right hands, letterpress excels to a fine typography. It's use is by many small presses that produce fine (handmade) limited-edition books and high-end ephemera, such as; Greeting Cards, Broadsides. 

Setting the type by hand has become less common with this invention of the photopolymer plate.

Creating Artwork

Letterpress is similar to conventional printing with all these exceptions:

•   Ink Color: Files are created using spot colors, not CMYK or RGB. A spot color is specified for each color to use. Typically one or two colors are used.

•   Paper Color: Dark ink on a light paper gives the best image. Inks are translucent and the paper color shows through. For light colors on dark paper, printers use foil stamping or engraving instead of letterpress. To build up color density, letterpress pieces can be run through the press two times using the same color.

•   Screens: Grayscale images can be used if made with a coarse screen (85 line or less). A second color should be used instead of screening a color in most cases.

•   Thickness: Art must be above ¼ point and with no hairlines.

•   Fonts: Type must be five points or larger for best results. For reversed type the point size should be 12 point or larger, as smaller type with its thin stroke can fill in, or plug. An outline stroke is often applied to allow for ink gain.

•   Solids: Letterpress solids print differently than conventionally printed lithographic solids. While letterpress does lay down a thick film of ink, the process tends to show the texture of the sheet. Also, solid areas do not give the appearance of depth that fine type and thin lines do. Solid areas can also cause the paper to ripple, especially on thinner sheets.

•   Registration: Letterpress does register well, however, it does not have the capabilities of modern offset printing. Trapping and key lines do not work well in letterpress printing. A blank area should be incorporated between colors. Black and very dark colors may be overprinted over lighter colors.

•   Depth: The type depth is dependent on the paper. Typically, letterpress papers are thick and soft so the type creates a deep impression. When making fold-over items, the printer typically backs off the pressure to avoid embossing the backside of the piece.

•   Image and File Prep: Letterpress excels at line copy and type, so vector images work well. Crop marks should be shown as a register color. Images need to bleed (extend past the trim line).

•   Die cut, Emboss and Scores: These effects work well with most Letterpress paper. Images to emboss or die cut are called out in a different color layer (typically magenta). Scores are typically indicated with a cyan line. Any intricate shapes or patterns should be reviewed with the printer. For thick cover stocks many printers use a "kiss cut" (partially through the stock) rather than a score.

•   Envelopes: It is best to print on the flap of a ready-made envelope. Other areas of the ready-made envelopes can be printed, but bruising can occur on the other side of the envelope.

Current initiatives

Dozens of colleges and universities around the US, have actually begun or reactivating programs teaching letterpress printing in fully equipped facilities.  In many of these cases, letterpress shops are affiliated with the college's library or art department, in others they may be independent, or student-run operations or extracurricular activities sponsored perhaps by the college.

The renaissance of this has created a crop of hobby press shops that are owner-operated and driven by a love of the craft. Also several larger printers have even added an environmental component to the venerable art, by only using wind-generated electricity, this drives the presses and plant equipment. However only a few small boutique letterpress shops is using solar power.

In the England, UK. London located, St Bride Library has a large collection of letterpress information in its collection of 50,000 books, all the classic works on;

- printing technique 

- visual style

- typography

- graphic design

- calligraphy

and more...

One of the worlds foremost collections is located off of Fleet Street in the centre of London's old printing and publishing district. They have; regular talks, conferences, exhibitions and even demostrations take place.

The St Bride Institute run short courses in letterpress with offering these facilities as part of their Graphic Design Degree Courses;

- Edinburgh College of Art

- Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design 

- The Arts University Bournemouth

- Plymouth University

- University for the Creative Arts Farnham 

- London College of Communication

The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin has one of the largest collections of wood type and wood cuts, inside one of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company's factory buildings. Also has presses and vintage prints. 
The museum holds many workshops and conferences throughout the year and regularly welcomes groups of students from Universities across the USA.

2011 John Bonadies and Jeff Adams created a virtual letterpress that runs on an iPad (and later the Mac) and replicates each step of the letterpress process. 

It's named LetterMpress its funded from a Kickstarter campaign enabling the developers to collect and digitize wood type from around the world. 
The app's press is modeled after a Vandercook SP-15 (considered to be a top-of-the-line proof press in its time, and coveted by artists and designers today).