They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well . . . how about a movie? This short documentary will tell you more about what artisans like myself - and Firefly Press, featured in this documentary - do than anything that I can write.
Ok, I don't cast my own type. I buy it from the same foundry that supplies Colonial Williamsburg and the Smithsonian Institution back when they had a Hall of Printing. I prefer Foundry type to Line cast or Monotype. The metal is harder, although I do own Monotype sorts.
Just to cover even more bases of what Letterpress is about these days, I thought I might include myself in this next video. This shows the running of what is called a Blind Deboss, a custom set of stationery I produced earlier this year (2011). The video was shot using the Kluge at Mama's Sauce, Orlando for the blind deboss, and finishes with my doing the actual printing using my presses at G. Johanson, Printer (Deltona/Orange City).
The voices you hear in the background are random conversation from the interns and other folks working at Mama's Sauce. The music at the end is Beirut, and is not a sound track. I had it on the I-Dock at my shop, competing with the air conditioner and the dehumidifier!
-g.
