Letterpress Printing Workshop Offered At CMU

May 3 Lead is Alive! will allow participants to slow down and become more involved with the text

It’s easy to get published today—just post something on the blog on the Web.

Things were considerably harder even just 50 years ago. That’s when many publishers still used the age-old technology of moveable type and letter press, a process developed in the 16th century by Johannes Gutenberg that requires each letter to be set in place before pressing a page.

Paul Dyck appreciates the advances in technology that people enjoy today, but the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) English professor still thinks there’s something to be said for the ancient ways of publishing materials.

“We can learn a lot about the composition and appearance of the page by learning the process of letterpress printing,” he says. “It slows you down and makes you think about what you are doing, and it involves you in a tactile way with the text.”

People who want to learn more about letterpress printing, and do some printing in that old way, can do so at Lead is Alive!, a May 3 letterpress workshop at CMU.

The day-long workshop, which runs from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, will be led by Peter Bartl and Jane Merks of pb+j press, a B.C. company that prints fine-art books, visual poetry and other artistic pieces using moveable type and letterpress printing.

Bartl, a master printer who apprenticed as a typesetter and later studied at the Basel College of Design, Switzerland, taught visual communication design at the University of Alberta until 2000. Merks, an illustrator and bookbinder, has taught graphic design in universities throughout Canada and the U.S.

During the workshop the two will cover basic hand typesetting with lead type, locking up the chase, inking up the press and, of course, printing. Participants will work in pairs to produce a short run of cards or coasters that will then be distributed among the class.

Cost of the workshop is $75. Registration is limited to 12 participants. Coffee and tea will be provided; participants should bring their own lunch.

Click here for more information, or to register.

Posted April 9, 2008.