Category Archives: hot metal

The Ludlow Project – Saving Hot Metal Typecasting History

We’ve received an appeal from our friends at the  International Printing Museum to help spread the word about  The Ludlow Project, an effort to augment their collection of Ludlow matrices to be as complete as possible. They have brought the campaign to Kickstarter, where there have been a significant number of successful letterpress-themed projects. You […]

Typecasting at The Whittington Press

I recently had the great pleasure to return to Whittington again to exhibit at the  Whittington Press Open Day 2011 and was delighted to watch – through the fug of fumes from the  Monotype casters – brand new type being cast by Neil Winter (ex-Libanus Press). Since John Randle bought his first  Monotype caster and […]

Bill’s Linotype

I couldn’t resist posting this beautifully shot and rather enchanting movie, by J. Shimon & J. Lindemann, that explores a craftsmans’ relationship with the machinery of his trade. Although this film features Bill Malley (1938-2004) and his Linotype machine, I have met a great many craftsman who, like Bill, developed a great affinity for their […]

Stern metal type from the Rimmer Type Foundry

Following the release last July of the typeface Stern, designed by Jim Rimmer, a great deal of willpower had to be summonsed to prevent me from placing an order for the metal version of the typeface. Unfairly placed just above an image of a shimmering newly cast fount of Stern, the ‘Order’ button on The […]

Out of sorts?

Apologies for the recent hiatus of posting to this blog but most of my energy has been expended out in the workshop, of late. Our range of letterpress Christmas cards are proving to be very popular and a reprint of some designs is underway. We are also engaged in some bespoke letterpress projects and the […]

Hot-Metal at the Crescent Card Company

Just over a week ago I attended a Hot-Metal open day at the Crescent Card Company (Tiptree), where Len Friend and Dave Boden provided a hands-on Ludlow typecasting workshop. I came away having learnt a great deal about the process and proudly clutching the prize of a freshly cast ‘slug’ of type. I also managed […]