I printed on a tabletop platen press for the first time! I made a huge mess and it took me twice as long to clean up as it did to pull the press, but boy was it fun! I have so much to learn. I’m taking a full week-long class in February at the Center for the Book which will help with many of my questions.
I have read the following books to get me started:
General Printing by Cleeton, Pitkin, and Cornwell
Letterpress Now by Jessica White
Letterpress Printing, A Manual for Modern Fine Press Printers by Paul Maravelas
Platen Press Operation by George Mills
From this first experiment in using a tabletop platen press, I learned that the use of the ink itself is going to be a critical skill to learn just like making and using paste is in bookbinding. I enjoyed using the 100 year old gauge pins and trying to follow the instructions from the box to figure out how to put them together.
Starting from square one here. Tons to learn. Can’t wait to find a teacher or two.
Of Paper and Ink 