October 28, 2008 – 9:28 pm
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 to evade any surprise splashes of molten lead!
A Ludlow setting stick resting on a case of matrices.
- Hand-setting the matrices into the stick.
For the uninitiated, the Ludlow is a typecasting machine that produces type in the form of a slug (an entire line on one type body) as opposed to the Monotype system where each character is cast on a separate body. The brass matrices are assembled and justified by hand in the special setting stick, before being locked into place on top of the casting unit. A starting lever sets the mechanism in motion, the mould moves to the casting position and molten type metal is pumped into the mould and the slug is cast. It is not uncommon at this moment for a squirt of molten lead to be ejected vertically from the casting unit, in the direction of the operator, if the stick has not been correctly inserted!
- The melting pot reaches 600 degrees Fahrenheit!
- The completed line of matrices in the setting stick (note that the letters are spaced slightly).
The underside of the stick, showing the recesses in the matrices.
- The newly cast Ludlow slug, ready for ‘dressing’ (trimming away the rough edges).
Assuming no duplicate slugs are required, the stick can now be removed from the machine and the matrices can be distributed back into case by hand. After printing, the slug can be remelted into fresh type metal and reused. In common with hand setting of type, the method produces no waste and is a perfect example of recycling long before the term became ubiquitous.
- The finished slug, ready for printing!
- Dave Boden (holding a Ludlow setting stick) and Len Friend (printing on ‘Heidi’ – his Heidelberg Platen) at the Crescent Card Company in Tiptree. Note the racks of angled Ludlow matrix cases in the background.
By Justin Knopp
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Posted in hot metal, letterpress, ludlow, typecasting
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Tagged crescent card company, dave boden, hot metal, len friend, letterpress, ludlow, matrices, printing, tiptree, typecasting
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October 24, 2008 – 1:03 pm
Whilst continuing to work on the Wharfedale, and covered in a great deal of grease, I recalled a print that I made to commemorate my acquisition of this fine press in May 2004. It was created using the technique of ‘hot printing’ developed by the Dutch artist, typographer, printer and hero of mine; H.N. Werkman.
It was printed on my manual Farley proofing press, directly from an assortment of wooden letters, ornaments and printers’ rules, in an edition of 45 (of which I only have one copy left) onto Zerkall cotton paper. Creating this print was a great deal of fun and required creative use of spacing material and every single angle quad space that I could lay my hands on!
October 13, 2008 – 7:30 pm
During the past weekend, tentative attempts were made to bring the largest printing press in our collection back into production for book and poster work. Our Wharfedale cylinder press was manufactured in 1888 by W. Dawson & Sons in Otley, West Yorkshire, and whilst it is one of the smaller machines of its type, it still weighs well in excess of two tonnes!
I have been kindly (and ably) assisted by Len Friend of the Crescent Card Company (Tiptree) and Julius Stafford-Baker of The Happy Dragons’ Press (Toppesfield) who both have wealth of experience in the printing trade and have operated Wharfedale’s and similar cylinder presses commercially.
I acquired this rare press from David Esslemont’s Solmentes Press – then located in Newtown, mid-Wales – back in May 2004 and until recently the press had to be placed in storage. David produced many fine books on this press, before he relocated to America in the Summer of 2004. Now that we we have been able to install the press in our workshop, work has started to bring it back to life and it is hoped that we will be able to complete a first print run before the end of this year.
The above photograph shows David Esslemont bidding a fond farewell to his Wharfedale press, in May 2004.
An engraving of an early type Wharfedale press that is very similar to our press, with the exception of the spoked flywheel.
More information about The Wharfedale Printing Press and how it helped to revolutionise the printing industry, back in the mid-19th century, can be found on the Otley Museum website and on the excellent British Letterpress site.
September 20, 2008 – 9:39 pm
We are pleased to introduce a new range of floral design letterpress greeting cards, in four colour options. These cards are now available for viewing, and purchase, via our website. Please click here for more details.
September 10, 2008 – 12:00 pm
Hot on the heels of the I Love Typography feature on Typoretum, we were pleased that Janine Vangool liked our letterpress work enough to provide us with a feature on her UPPERCASE Journal. The original content can be viewed here.
September 9, 2008 – 8:00 pm
We’re delighted to have got a mention on John Boardley’s excellent I Love Typography website and hope to contribute an article to this site, on the subject of the renaissance of letterpress in the UK, in the near future. The original piece can be read here (scroll down the page a bit).
September 9, 2008 – 9:02 am
To commemorate the launch of Typoretum, we have hand-set and letterpress printed an edition of 350 flyers. Most of these have been sent to friends, sympathisers and fellow typographers & letterpress printmakers but we have a handful left.
If you would like to receive one of these flyers, all you need to do is identify our ‘house’ typeface (sample below) and contact us with your answer, making sure that you supply your name and postal address. Good luck!
September 9, 2008 – 8:07 am
We’ve just had a lovely feature on the US-based website papercrave.com. Click here to find out what they had to say about our letterpress greeting cards.
Paper Crave is run by a self-confessed “paper and paper accessories obsessed freelance graphic designer and web developer” in Massachusetts and features articles on paper-related design and crafts.
September 3, 2008 – 2:28 pm
We are pleased to announce that a new range of five woodletter cards are now available for viewing, and purchase, via our website. Please click here for more details.
These designs involved printing the ‘feet’ (base) of the antique wooden type, as a textural background, before turning the letters over and printing the face of the type in a second colour.
August 25, 2008 – 11:48 pm
After fourteen years of active letterpress printing and two years of dedicated planning, Typoretum has been successfully launched.
Since launching Typoretum on the 14th August 2008, we have been busy designing and printing new letterpress card designs, some of which are now available for purchase online via our website at http://www.typoretum.co.uk
