Six Week Letterpress Lessons
This course is designed to give an introduction and overview to printing letterpress. You are encouraged to bring a project idea to class that you would like to execute in our six week course.
Weeks one and two We will go over letterpress history and basics and spend time seeing and touching samples of letterpress prints. At these classes, we’d love to see your inspiration, if you have a project in mind, and share your progress in coming up with a design. You will get our feedback and expert advice in designing for letterpress.
Week three You will bring a finished design. We will teach you how to translate your design into a letterpress printing plate! We will order plates and help you select papers, ordering them for you on this week so they arrive in time to work on your project.
Weeks four through six You will independently print your project (or print with our samples plates). Your teacher will be on-site to help you troubleshoot and perfect the print. After printing, you will learn about different finishing options and cutting.
Scheduling The first 2024 Letterpress Cohort will take place on Monday nights and starts Monday, April 28th. The course will run once weekly until finishing on Tuesday, June 2nd (the only exception being that the last class in May will be on Tuesday, May 27th). You are welcome to miss up to 1 class of the cohort, but if you have more than one conflict, we suggest you wait for another cohort later in the year.
Included in the cost of the course:
Small cohort instruction with a letterpress expert on the Press Shop team.
Use of sample plates and paper we keep on-site.
Autonomous time to use the letterpress and truly learn how to use the machine.
Assistance with digitizing artwork for letterpress, ordering supplies and exploring finishing techniques.
Not Included If you are working on a specific personal project over the course of your lessons, we will help you choose the correct paper and materials to complete your vision. Press Shop will facilitate ordering these materials for you, and the wholesale cost will be passed onto you (paper, envelopes, stamps, etc). The course is designed to offer enough time to print 50-100 pieces of a one-color project. If you have extra quantities or colors, we will inform you of the added cost to spend extra time on press beyond your one-hour lesson.