FLOOR MODEL PLATEN : technical letterpress
Hand feeding and removing the paper from a motorized floor-model platen is a dance between your hands focused on timing.
Please go to “WORKSHOPS” in top navigation and click on “Technical Letterpress Workshops” for the whole store about our technical letterpress workshops.
THIS C & P TECHNICAL WORKSHOP introduces you to letterpress printing on a typical floor-model platen press. If you are a serious hobbyist or are interested in starting a letterpress business where speed and versatility are required, this workshop is an important learning experience. It's especially good for those who have access to a similar press or who are considering acquiring one.
Appreciated for their speed, relative simplicity, and reduced floor space, these machines often formed the backbone of the 19th-century print shop, as well as being a fixture in contemporary letterpress shops of all sizes. It is commonly known as a "jobbing press" because it operates quickly and can be set up for multiple operations (printing, scoring, perfing, and die-cutting), all on the same press.
For 1 to 4 people, age 16 or better
Starting at $160 for the 1st person. For 2 people, $140 each. For 3 people, $120 each. For 4 people, $25 each. Money will be refunded at the end of the workshop.
4 working hours
All materials supplied
No prerequisites
Completing this workshop gives you access to C & P Press Rental
Current workshop calendar, or email us to request a date.
Wear comfortable shoes and work clothing. Dress for the weather: we are not air-conditioned, and in winter much of the heat rises to the top of our 20-foot ceiling. Bring questions, your camera and a notebook to record your process.
Meet the press
YOU WILL BE PRINTING on a motorized C&P platen press set to print at about 680 impressions per hour. Many people can fairly easily work at 900 - 1000 an hour, but we tend to opt for taking it easy with as little waste as possible. Whether motorized or treadle operated, this style of platen press is powerful : your complete concentration without distraction is required while your machine is in motion. We don’t start conversations while involved in the actual printing and never use headphones.
While we print the bulk of our work at Lead Graffiti on our Vandercooks, we rely on our floor-model platen for quickly printing detail areas, like credit lines on the backs of greeting cards, return addresses on envelopes, and handling small, thick coaster stock. As versatile as it is quick, we also need the C & P for scoring note cards & invitations and die-cutting ganged-up business cards.
Typical projects
THE VERSATILITY OF THESE PRESSES makes them quite popular with designers and print hobbyists. Their speed also makes fulfilling even large quantities fairly easy. Typical jobs for a floor model platen include:
stationery ensembles & business cards,
party & wedding invitations & other announcements,
greeting cards & note cards,
handbills & small broadsides
calendars
bookmarks, bookplates, certificates & keepsakes
paper bags & envelopes
small, limited-edition books
labels & coasters
Workshop topics covered
START YOUR WORKSHOP with a tour of the studio and examine some pieces of work up close to familiarize yourself with techniques and options. As you engage this press you will cover:
studio, press & paper cutter safety
mechanics of the C & P, inking, press makeready & packing the platen
lock-up techniques with furniture & quoins
working with handset wood & metal type vs. photopolymer plates,
use of various types of gauge pins
hand feeding and removing the stock
printing, registration, image evaluation, & directions for improvement
using scoring matrix for folds
preparing artwork for a photopolymer plate
press clean up & maintenance
resources for paper, printing supplies & equipment, and online discussion groups and promotional blogs
marketing opportunities for letterpress work
This is a stillife of various cards, small broadsides and coasters printed on our tabletop or floor model platens.
Four projects printed on our Chandler & Price 10 x 15
⬆ A set of round coasters to celebrate July 4's "revolution" designed specifically because you cannot accurately register a round shape. Each of the 200 coasters were randomly positioned and printed twice in each color. Edition : 300
⬆ This is a 32-page book of poetry related to Robin Hood we printed for the International Association of Robin Hood Studies' annual conference. The book was produced in a hard cover (shown here) and a soft cover. Edition : 50 (hard cover), 90 (soft cover).
⬆ This was a 'goody' bag for the American Printing History Association's national conference printed directly from wood and metal type. It was an interesting project because of the varying thicknesses in different areas of the bag and the makeready that required. Edition : 125.
⬆ This was a 4" x 6" type specimen card printed as a postcard on a nicely textured card stock. The color was added by hand to a nice floral dingbat. A nice piece to mail to friends to tell them about your new interest in letterpress. Edition : 200.