Learning to Press Letters

Learning to Press Letters

February 15th, 2007 @ 12:57 pm by Mrs. Lemon
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I finally found the time in my schedule, and I’ve enrolled myself in a letterpress class at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA. While this doesn’t leave any time for me to press my own invites, I’ve been eager to get in a class for two years, and I’m sure I can manage to find something wedding-related to create in my class time. Or else I’ll just end up with tons of stationery for myself… oh shucks!

If you’re interested, the enrollment session for Spring just opened up yesterday, and they fill up quickly since there’s a limit of 10 students per class. Classes are offered for 2 1/2 hours every Monday & Wednesday in the mornings and evenings as well as twice on Saturday. While the 10-class series does cost $285, it’s a lot cheaper than most other options for classes here in Los Angeles.

Has anyone else taken a letterpress class? Pros/Cons?

Tags: invitations, los-angeles |

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5 Responses to “Learning to Press Letters”

Guest

Miss Plumeria

Wow, that’s so cool! We didn’t have letterpress classes per se in my undergrad (Art & Design at Cal Poly SLO), but there were several hand presses and dies available to check out from the department, and plenty of resources for those motivated enough to look into the process. We did, however, have to take a bookbinding workshop, and that was really cool. If I had more time I’d probably incorporate what I learned during that course into the wedding more, but as it is, I’ll be lucky if I can complete all the DIY stuff I have on my plate right now. It’s getting closer! Eek.

2/15/07 @ 1:48 pm (reply)

Guest

Miss Lime

i looked into this a few years ago (for non WR stuff at the time as i was not thinking wedding at that point in life). unforch, the class times don’t work with my schedule :(.

2/15/07 @ 2:04 pm (reply)

Guest

Aimee

I have taken several letterpress classes at the SF Center for the Book, and I love it! Once I no longer have to support a law student , I will be looking into buying a large press.

Pros–letterpress is an amazing process, and, to me at least, every single part was a lot of fun. Plus(obviously) it’s really great for multiples, like menus or programs or thank you cards or et cetera. AND you have the satisfaction of saying yes, I did make that myself. People are endlessly impressed.

Cons–if you are setting type, you will get FILTHY. Dusty and dirty and greasy. Wear old cloths and an apron. If you are using photopolymer plates, be very careful of your fingertips when handling them–I managed to slice my finger open through a thick rubber glove when I was trying to remove my plate from the press.

Good luck and have fun! Hooray for letterpress!

2/15/07 @ 3:46 pm (reply)

Guest

janie

Aimee - how long ago did you take classes at SF Center for the Book? I actually looked into it and was really interested in taking bc i love it so much and figured it’d be a great way to print my own invites since once you take their classes, you are allowed to use their facilities for a specified amt of time. Was it really helpful? How many classes did you take?

2/15/07 @ 4:41 pm (reply)

Guest

Aimee

I took the Photopolymer plate making class with Maia de Raat and Letterpress I with Mary Laird.

They don’t have the exact plate making class that I took, but this is very close:
http://www.sfcb.org/php/classes.php?id=t1-041807-prt

And here is the link to Letterpress I:
http://www.sfcb.org/php/classes.php?id=t1-030907-prt

To use their big presses, which is what you’d want to do your invites on, you need to take Letterpress I, II, and III. The rental costs for the press is $20 an hour, and you should expect at least one hour to set up and clean the press, if not a little longer. To use the plate making equipment (which is the best way to go for invites), you have to take one of their plate making classes and then you can rent that equipment for $20 an hour plus material cost.

I took my classes last August/September. It was a really really great experience and I plan to take many more classes as soon as I can afford it(I am so poor). If you live in the city, you may want to look into volunteering, since volunteers get a break on the cost of things. You should DEFINITELY take some classes; everyone is very friendly and helpful. Also, register early as classes fill up fast.

Another nice thing–I made my SO come with me when I was printing my cards for my platemaking class, and he had a really good time too. The extra set of hands proved invaluable as well, which may be a nice way to get your fiance involved.

If you have any more questions, feel free to email me! arte_divina@hotmail.com

2/15/07 @ 7:19 pm (reply)