Have bike (& printing press) will travel!

Nick Hand, designer and letterpress printer at the Department of Small Works in Bristol, is embarking on another of his epic cycle rides... 

As Printweek reports...

Cycling printer Nick Hand will return to the road for a new tour of the UK on his custom-built letterpress bicycle. Armed with an Adana 8x5 letterpress affixed to his custom-frame bike, Hand will make three cycling tours to visit public libraries throughout the UK.

At each library, Hand will print bespoke bookmarks that celebrate each library, and famous figures who used them.

Now 67, he is an experienced hand at touring the Adana press, having pedalled his press-bike hybrid all the way to printing progenitor Gutenburg’s birthplace in Mainz, Germany in 2014; from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2017; and most recently around festivals throughout the UK in 2022...

You can read the full Printweek article HERE.

https://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 08.07.2024

Country by Will Burns

This is a beautiful letterpress print, which is a combination of a lino-cut and wood type of a poem by Will Burns. The Lino-cut is by Jeb Loy Nichols. Originally from Texas, Jeb Loy Nichols moved to a quiet spot in mid Wales via New York and a twenty year stint in London. Jeb now takes commissions to produce lino-cuts and also has an online shop selling prints.

The size is 1000x350mm - which exactly half the B1 sheet size (700x1000mm) cut lengthways, which is a lovely format.

Printed letterpress in three colours on a FAG Swiss proof 40, a letterpress proofing press. The poster is printed on our Colorset (100% Recycled) Natural 160gsm and it looks just beautiful.

Printing is by Jeb Loy Nichols and The Letterpress Collective in Bristol. The Letterpress Collective started a few years ago after the last letterpress printer in Bristol quietly closed it's doors. They now have a  Heidelberg Windmill Platen, a Stephenson Blake proofing press, various Adana's together with a collection wood and lead type. Put this all together with a lovely workspace and experienced compositors and printers and you have a thriving environment for creativity - and education, as they run courses as well!

 

Do have a look at their site:

www.theletterpresscollective.org
The Letterpress Collective, Studio 31 Centrespace, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol BS1 1EA

You can buy these beautiful prints here: https://www.jebloynichols.co.uk/shop/country-2018

https://www.jebloynichols.co.uk/

www.theletterpresscollective.org

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.10.2018 

The Print Show 2018

Last week I visited the Print Show at the NEC in Birmingham. It was an interesting show and there were dozens of companies from ink manufacturers to software, finishing equipment, digital and press suppliers ...and even one or two paper companies too!

One particularly interesting section was "Traditional Print Masterclass" are, where I caught up with my friends from the St Bride Foundation - Mick Clayton below operating a handpress.

...and Nick Hand from the Letterpress Collective in Bristol together with his Printing Bike, which I've written about on this blog before. I'd never actually seen the bike and it really is a beast.

https://www.theprintshow.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.09.2018

Hiut Denim Co.

The Hiut Denim Company is based in Cardigan in Wales. Established in 2012 by David and Clare Hieatt, they only make jeans, that's it and it's going pretty well, having recently been in the news that Meghan Markle has been sporting a pair!

 

This is a poster printed on our wonderfully lightweight Offenbach Bible 60gsm. The size of the poster is 700x450mm and as you can see, the image of the pair of jeans looks amazing.

Below image shows the superb reproduction of the image.

Click on images to enlarge

The poster is printed offset litho on our Offenbach Bible 60gsm ...and it looks and feels absolutely gorgeous - it flops and folds in a delightful way when handling the poster as I hope you can see on the image below.

Art direction and design is by Nick Hand, based in Bristol at The Department of Small Works

Printing is by Park Lane Press who are based in Corsham, Wiltshire. They print offset litho but Park Lane Press print using a 'waterless' process that eliminates the water or dampening system used in conventional printing. The specialist plates allow the printed dot to be held more securely preventing any unwanted movement of ink and minimising dot gain to create a sharper image in ultra fine definition and this project is a perfect example. They are one of the very few printers who champion the use of this waterless process.

Thanks to Chris Pattemore for sending me copies and his kind note.

Click on images to enlarge

https://hiutdenim.co.uk/
http://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/
https://parklanepress.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.07.2018

Land's End to John O’Groats on a printing bike!

Nick Hand is a graphic designer based in the west of England and has appeared on this blog previously with his work for Howies and the Do Lectures. More recently he's turned his hand to being a letterpress printer and established an open access letterpress project in Bristol called The Letterpress Collective in 2013.

In 2014, Nick commissioned his workshop neighbour, bicycle maker Robin Mather to build a printing bike capable of carrying an Adana 8x5 printing press, together with inks, paper and type. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Nick travelled from Bristol to Mainz, which is where Johannes Gutenberg invented printing with moveable type in 1440. Along the way he collaborated with artists, writers and poets, printing along the way.

The printing bike has now hit the road again!

Following yet another successful Kickstarter campaign, earlier this month, Nick set off from Land’s End winding his way up the spine of Britain to John O’Groats seeking out the makers in towns known for making one particular thing. He plans to visit towns such as St Ives, Yeovil, Cheddar, Walsall, Stoke-on-Trent, Northampton, Nottingham, Halifax, Harris and Dufftown. In celebration of each craft and town, he will print a set of cards on the Adana 8×5 press mounted on the back of the bicycle.

My best wishes to Nick and I hope the weather is fair, both for both cycling and printing. According to his twitter feed @nickhand Nick is in Wolverhampton today.

You can read more about the adventure here: http://theletterpresscollective.org/blog

www.theletterpresscollective.org
http://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 31.05.2017

Caught by the River Teifi

Click on images to enlarge

Caught by the River Teifi is this wonderful poster, printed letterpress.
It was designed for a little festival in Cardigan run by fforest, a camp and events company in West Wales and Caught by the River, who organise music based events at lots of festivals and run a lovely website around music, countryside, writing and poetry.

The size is 1000x350mm - which exactly half the B1 sheet size (700x1000mm) cut lengthways. The illustration is by Bristol-based illustrator Jon McNought with words by Ben Myers.

Printed letterpress in three colours and here is the description by Nick Hand: " It was printed on a FAG Swiss proof 40, a letterpress proofing press. Ink hand mixed (until it looked right). The background image is printed in two hits and then the darker image around the boat a third colour and the lettering all printed from wood type printed in two further passes. The illustration printed from zinc blocks."

You can see the colour overprinting colour in the above image. The poster is printed on our Colorset (100% Recycled) Natural 120gsm and it looks just beautiful.

Design and print is by Nick Hand at The Letterpress Collective in Bristol.

 

This Letterpress Collective started a couple of years ago after the last letterpress printer in Bristol quietly closed it's doors. They now have a  Heidelberg Windmill Platen, a Stephenson Blake proofing press, various Adana's together with a collection wood and lead type. Put this all together with a lovely workspace and experienced compositors and printers and you have a thriving environment for creativity - and education, as they run courses as well!

 

Do have a look at their site:

www.theletterpresscollective.org
The Letterpress Collective, Studio 31 Centrespace, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol BS1 1EA

You can buy these beautiful posters here: http://theletterpresscollective.org/shop

 

www.theletterpresscollective.org
http://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 10.09.2015 

Printing Bike Project

This is a really interesting project I just had to tell you about.

Nick Hand is a graphic designer based in the west of England and has appeared on this blog previously with his work for Howies and the Do Lectures. More recently he's turned his hand to being a letterpress printer and established an open access letterpress project called The Letterpress Collective, which I wrote about earlier in the year:
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-letterpress-collective.html

His latest project is a Printing Bike!

Adana 8x5

Through being neighbours at Centrespace workshops in Bristol, Nick and bicycle maker Robin Mather hatched an audacious plan to build a printing bike capable of carrying an Adana 8x5 printing press, together with inks, paper and type. When the bike has been completed, Nick will ride it through the south of England, France and Germany to Mainz, which is where Johannes Gutenberg invented printing with moveable type in 1440. Along the way he will be collaborating with artists, writers and poets, who will describe the journey in illustration and word ...and of course, Nick will also be printing and sending back some print - mainly potscards, I imagine.

The project has been fully funded through Kickstarter and you can see the campaign, together with the excellent film (by Emma Lazenby)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1298088718/the-printing-bike-project

The bike is being built right now and Nick will be setting off in September. Good luck and safe printcycling!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1298088718/the-printing-bike-project
www.theletterpresscollective.org
http://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/
Robin Mather: http://apracticalguide.wordpress.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.08.2014

The Letterpress Collective

I've just been emailed with a pic of a lovely job printed on our board, which I want to share with you. It's been printed two colour letterpress on our Kemikal Cotton White 1500mics (...yes that's right, it one and a half millimetres thick!)  

 

It's a wedding invitation and it's been printed letterpress at Bristol's newest (and only) letterpress print workshop called 'The Letterpress Collective'

 

This new workshop started last year after the last letterpress printer in Bristol quietly closed it's doors, without anyone really noticing. Well someone noticed! ...as a small group of enthusiasts collected machinery, including a Heidelberg Windmill Platen, a Stephenson Blake proofing press, various Adana's together with a collection wood and lead type. Put this all together with a lovely workspace and experienced compositors and printers and you have a thriving environment for creativity - and education, as they run courses as well!

 

Do have a look at their site:
www.theletterpresscollective.org
The Letterpress Collective, Studio 31 Centrespace, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol BS1 1EA

This invitation is designed by Tony Cresswell (...who's wedding it is!) and produced by Nick Hand, who is one of the founding members and keen letterpress printer.

www.theletterpresscollective.org
http://www.departmentofsmallworks.co.uk/

...and if you're interested to see a sample of the Kemikal, Cotton White 1500mic, just drop me a line and ask for a sample.

Posted by Justin Hobson 13.03.2014