A change is as good as a rest they say, so when the opportunity to do a day of letterpress came up at Ink Spot Press, I thought this extended screen break would do me good. And I thought right!
Typesetting, using predominantly only a Mac for over a decade, can turn you into somewhat of an automaton. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. With the help of InDesign (and once-upon-a-time, QuarkXpress) I've been able to track, kern, lead and adjust type size at the drop of a keystroke. It's a modern privilege which has afforded me quickly and easily to hone my skills.
Having not touched letterpress since art school, I thought I'd forgotten everything involved. But from a heady combination of real ink smells and expert tutoring from lovely letterpress geek Sarah Bryant, the memories soon came back. If you've never had a go – and get the chance to – taking the time to compose metal type by hand and then seeing your work embossed with ink on to paper is BRILLIANT!
