So just an update…here are the main things we need to get the Letterpress Area up and running:
- Finish running conduit along ceiling directly above the press. @Typerover and I have most of the conduit in place already (Thanks Glenn!).
- Pull wire through conduit from above the press to above the hallway near the door to ERP.
- Install the 220V outlets for the letterpress and the paper shear.
- Purchase ink rollers for the letterpress - maybe about $275 ($75 has already been pledged).
- Install ID card authorization for power to the letterpress and cutter (could be a single reader).
- Purchase ink, washup solvent, and a few other basic supplies to get started on the press – around $200.
Once we’ve knocked out this checklist, we’ll be ready to gear up to teach classes on letterpress printing, which is becoming something of a lost art. In reality, we are planning on teaching the gamut of Book Arts, from presswork to bookbinding to papermaking. But we can’t really get off the ground without a bit of help. If you can help with some help finishing our electrical work or perhaps with a donation to help pay for rollers and supplies, we’d be able to get started right away!
Some people may not realize that we can leverage much of the rest of the makerspace to complete projects in Book Arts. Did you know that a CNC works great to make a printing plate, and it can also do embossing (3D raised image in the paper) and debossing (same thing, but in instead of out)? Did you know that the exposure equipment in screen printing can be used to exposed a flexographic plate for the letterpress? Did you know you could make your own authentic WANTED poster from scratch?
Personally, I can’t wait until we are finished. I’ve wanted to make my own hardbound book from scratch. Make the paper from recycled pulp. Make plates for the illustrations. CNC carve some images for embossing a design in a leather cover. Print each page, assemble the signatures, clamp and stitch, and trim the contents. Finally, bind it into the custom embossed leather cover. How do you find a project that screams MAKER more than this?
TLDR: we’re close to having Book Arts open for business, but need your help!