I just bought a portable letterpress by a company I ran into for a temp job last weekend, and I’m now eagerly twiddling my thumbs while waiting for it to arrive in the mail. The press itself is $90, but I bought the set which includes a beautiful packing mat (with a sturdy, clear grid for lining up), inking base and brayer, and a die-cutting block and tools (along with some useless bits and pieces) for $150, and I’m thinking of hacking and repackaging it to resell to fellow artists/cartoonists. I had the opportunity to play with the display, and both Matt & I were impressed at the quality for such a simple looking machine.
I don’t think it would be practical for printing whole comics, but it would be SPECTACULAR for covers if the one I just bought proves to work the way I want it to. Not to mention cards, flyers, small prints, etc.
The joy of letterpress? My feet feel lighter just thinking about it. I’ve been dragging them through the mud the last few months because of the insanity of Census work (which IS paying me $20.25 an hour, so I’m not complaining here) and saving to move (either Sunset Park or Park Slope … I prefer Sunset Park because of the Latino community, which I feel extraordinarily more at home around <3 ), and just the IDEA of having my own little letterpress machine has my fingers itching to do art. My drafting table has been gathering dust. My tools rust.
But only for now. As Matt pointed out to me several nights ago, in the middle of something of a mental breakdown (I think I concerned my roommate with my bloody scream of high holy murder), moving to New York hit the “reset” button for me, and I can’t expect everything to pick up right where I left off in Austin.
So I’m being patient, and in the meantime, fueling my love of print by experimenting with printing presses. <3
Oh, btw. Would anybody be interested in a printing press like this? My idea is to buy them wholesale, repackage for optimum quality (better brayer!), and sell at a reasonable discount. I’m also looking into DIY printing plates since they make them now, though Box Car Press can make them at a decent price from a digital file as well.
So many ideas! I want to keep the joy of printing alive and not see it washed away in this digital era. Hopefully little things like this can inspire the do-it-yourselfer and the love and appreciation for such a tactile art.
