Sunday, September 27, 2015

Printing, process and proofing

I have had the best weekend! It was a passion of printing over in the shed studio as I got to explore the possibilities of letterpress.

Next year, 2016, is the 50th birthday of the Australian Print Council.  To celebrate there will be a juried exhibition called Regional Marks at the University of the Sunshine Coast Gallery from May- July. Only regional artists are eligible and it is looking to showcase printmaking in it all its wondrous glory.

Entries close in a little while and I had set myself a goal of trying to enter some letterpress printing into it - I thought it was a good opportunity to have a go and see if I can really do something with all the type and machinery I now have at my disposal.

This is simply a photo of the cardboard I used after I popped the paper on the type (I used a lot of light paper, hence the leak thru onto the cardboard) and I just loved the soft layering I had by the end of the weekend.


So many hours go into the set-up. It is a time-consuming and laborious process. All those things we take for granted using fonts on computers - the fact we can change the size, justify things L, R or centre, increase spacing etc etc- all with the tap of a key and a click of a mouse; have to be estimated and tested then done by hand. And often times, then done again.

Or at least that's how it is with me!

I had written a few words about living here on the mountain - and the fact that at different times there are clouds below us, clouds surrounding us, and clouds above us.  It is one of the features of our home I love the most; this close and enduring relationship with clouds.

So I scribbled myself some notes about the design. And then accidentally ripped it, and taped it back together.


I wrote three x 4-line 'poems' and went to a magical place on the inter web that will count how many of each letter you will need in order to print the words.  I went and sat with different sets of type I have to see if I could print the poems with the type I had, and found that I pretty much could, with the odd modification here or there. Lots of counting.

So I gathered some 48pt Placard type and set about 'writing' the poems in type, and found of course that the lines were waaaaaaaay too long for my chase and any of my presses.


Plan B. I turned the four line poem into a six line poem and lo and behold it fitted.


And then I realised I needed Plan C - in order to run the paper through the press the way I wanted to I needed to have the poems reading portrait in the chase not landscape. So the six line poem became a seven line poem.


I have just realised that this post could take three hours to write and just as long to read if I go through things literally blow by blow, so I shall jump ahead to proofing!

Locking the chase into the proofing press.



I love the notion of proofing and it is clear from these photos why one needs to do it.

Here I had forgotten to put a space in after a comma; and was a bit worried about the left hand side of the s not getting inked properly.


Here I had removed an 'i', which wasn't getting enough ink, to build it up and then popped it back in the wrong place...All very entertaining, and luckily the mistakes jump out at you.


Another instance of where I had to remove the n and the t and build them up so they were the right height. Which means unlocking everything, getting out the tweezers and lifting the individual pieces of type out, adjusting them, and then putting them back in place without knocking anything else over, and locking up again.


And then just to make the whole shebang an even better concrete learning process, I discovered what happens if you put the paper on the inked type the wrong side up - very very fluffy type!


I just realised this could sound like a disaster-prone weekend, not one which has left my on a huge high, so please know I am excited beyond words! These were the steps in the process, but my, the outcome was just so wonderful! I'll share that soon I promise.

20 comments:

  1. I for one am not at all surprised that working with 'words' makes you 'excited beyond words' Fiona. You know my background, so also know I would have been as engrossed as you. I love to see those proofing marks and shall be patient for the reveal of the finished piece! Another passion is born.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even as I wrote that I knew it was a bit mad Lesley, given I was raving like a loon with lots of words! Still...passion will do that will it not? I am really enjoying it that's for sure. Go well.

      Delete
  2. Oh yes, I get it. The discovery of learning x the love of the process...not set backs but steps forward. and eventually result.
    Do tell how you removed the fluff! You have left me hanging on a cliff! ;-)
    Sandy in the UK
    PS I think your card with the overlapping print gives a wonderful cloud-like reference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Sandy - I went back and looked at the clouds on the card - so perfect - so thank you for opening my eyes! Learning and discovering is such fun, especially when you can solve things not just hit brick walls. I just had to sip all the ink of the type to remove the fluff - nothing exciting, but I am glad it was the last page of the day not the first!

      Delete
  3. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the steps in the process so far and am eagerly waiting for the results

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you would totally get this Jac - labour-intensive but rewarding! The results are still drying in parts, but soon I can show them. Go well.

      Delete
  4. Wow, this process is so interesting! What appreciation it elicits for the skills of printers in the "olden days". I have never printed, but I was involved in graphic design in the days before computers...the time of cut and paste. I, too, am anxious to see the process and what it produces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dana - when I think that the newspapers were set this way every day I am in awe. It is great fun in a weird way, and most enjoyable - and I can see lots of experimenting about to begin! Go well.

      Delete
  5. I'm quite sure I would not have the patience or endurance for this, so I can cross letterpress off my "wishlist" of techniques to try. Nonetheless, I love the outcomes so I'm very grateful that you and others are prepared to put in the hard labour required. Good on you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Amanda - I have amazed myself with my patience and methodicalness (new word); it is a quiet, ponderous, step by step process, but great fun!

      Delete
  6. I can feel your letterpressed excitement from over here :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Susan - I imagine I was vibrating happiness all across the Range!

      Delete
  7. Wonderful, I have relived the precious times I spent with an uncle in London who was a printer with his own business. I LOVED watching him set up all the print and then seeing the results - it was magic.
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How wonderful that must have been! It is fascinating process, and to have observed experts doing it would have been fabulous. I am pottering and going slowly, but there is still magic within...go well.

      Delete
  8. This is really intriguing. My uncle (now long gone) was a professional printer and I remember being taken as a child to his print shop in Nuneaton. I remember the presses as being enormous and the trays (there must be a word for that) full of spare type and the smell of the ink. This is a fascinating insight into the his working life and that of his employees ... so painstaking and slow.
    ... and I love that ghost print on the cardboard with its hints of meaning.
    Lovely to find time to visit your blog again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So nice to know this revived these memories Margaret (Charlton!) - I would love to have known a printer and seen the real thing in action. My scale is much smaller, but yes, i do go around collecting trays of type! Go well.

      Delete
  9. my recent foray into letterpress makes me SO appreciate all your work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Tis a fine place to foray into isn't it Velma!?!?!

      Delete
  10. Gosh! how on earth did the old printers set a whole newspaper every night!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they graduated from hand-setting to the machines where you typed in the text and then it cast rows of lead type with the words all done - but still - pretty labour-intensive. Here I am thrilled after almost two days having managed 18 lines of type!

      Delete

I appreciate your thoughts and comments; thanks for taking the time.