
Printing with Love: The Art of Letterpress Printing - hownottowrite
http://craftsmanship.net/the-art-of-letterpress-printing/
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theoh
This article writes the basic step of type creation, punchcutting, out of the
story. It's crucial and exacting, while many other letterpress process are
mechanical and unskilled. A lot of letterpress fans seem to fetishize
processes and outcomes that are actually not that special.

See [http://www.dandad.org/en/kumar-and-lost-art-
punchcutting/](http://www.dandad.org/en/kumar-and-lost-art-punchcutting/)

Edit: here's a better video:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eExllUeGtvc](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eExllUeGtvc)

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jonah
It also only makes passing reference to more modern photopolymer plates as
well as the Linotype[1] method of setting type. My grandfather started is
career in the newspaper business and they were still using a linotype back
then.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine)

~~~
theoh
There's a recent socumentary on the linotype machine.
[http://www.linotypefilm.com/](http://www.linotypefilm.com/)

The mechanical binary coding of matrices used to return them to their hoppers
via the distribution mechanism is intriguing.

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zeveb
> Once the paper has been completely coded for type casting, it looks like a
> roll of Morris code, or a Western Union telegram from someone who couldn’t
> stop talking.

Morris code? _Morris_ code‽ I'm pretty sure that he means _Morse_ code!

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jonah
A friend and a cousin both own letterpresses. They - like most small printers
- create digital files and have photopolymer plates created to print from.
Easier, safer and less toxic than casting lead or other more traditional
methods.

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noir_lord
The video - [https://vimeo.com/98092121](https://vimeo.com/98092121) at the
bottom of the page is a sublime watch, damn I love old machinery when I was
really young I worked in a printing factory that had stuff like that (some of
the machines had mounts where the axles from a steam engine used to be
attached...).

Just incredible ingenuity.

