When diecutting shapes, a metal jacket is used on the platen instead of oiled tympan paper. This protects the press from the sharp cutting edges of a die. To coax the jacket and its springy clips into place, sometimes we use a mighty “32 oz Rubber Mallet” to tap it into place. Tap, tap with the mallet’s wide surface area and the jacket is locked in and ready to start getting in position. Wielding this 32oz rubber mallet makes me feel like Thor.
We put together a stack of eye-popping set-up sheets with layers and layers of our neon Day-glo ink that had been run through the press several times. The glowing result became a light source of its own! This is the Bella Figura design Polka Stripe designed by Erin Jang. It is a design meant for Great Fun!
On Phil’s press was the most magical shade of blue that I couldn’t stop looking at. As the drum roller spun, the ink looked like blue velvet, so mesmerizing.
For the second year in a row, we are thrilled to share with you photographs of an incredible collaboration between the folks at the Writers in the Schools program (WITS) and the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, Washington. For the last two years, WITS has worked with terminally ill patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital to write poetry, out of which artists create beautiful letterpress broadsides. At Boxcar Press, we were privileged to be included yet again, and gladly offered up free photopolymer plates for the project. Below are photos of the process, as well as few shots of the incredibly inspiring poetry written by these kids and young adults.
The second annual portfolio includes 16 hand-set artist-made letterpress broadsides. WITS Writers-in-residence Sierra Nelson and Ann Teplich worked with patients at the Seattle Children’s Hospital to write the poems, then 16 artists from the Seattle area took the poems and translated them into works of art. The poems were printed as letterpress broadsides and included in a striking red portfolio.
At the end of the project, each patient received a portfolio, as well as ten copies of their poem to give to their family and friends. Some patients were given the opportunity to read their poem in front of a live audience.
So many people worked to make this project a success, including letterpress printers volunteering their time, and Mohawk Papers donating paper. It is truly inspiring to see letterpress used in such a positive way!
Do you have any “Doing Good” projects you’ve worked on that you want to share? Let us know! We’d love to hear about them!
Thanks to printer Tim for pointing out this other face of the fascinating press we work on. What a charming companion to look down and see!
Everyday at Boxcar Press we throw around these numbers on the phone, in emails and to each other. Some of us have even been known to mumble them in our sleep at night. What makes them so special above all others? See if you can guess what each one stands for.
94, 95, 145, 148, 152, 175: all of the plate types sold by Boxcar Press. The higher the number, the thicker the plate. 94 and 152 are available as both plastic backed and metal backed plates. If the number is followed by “SB”, it is a steel backed plate, not the number of stolen bases.
1:00: the time designated as the cut off or deadline for ordering same day rush service – 1:00pm EST to be exact.
6:00: the cut off time in the evening (again, Eastern standard time!) for creating a job ticket and submitting files for one day turnaround.
17 and 22: the largest plate size we can make in our platemakers that will fit on our Vandercook proofing press. If your files measure greater than 17″ x 22″, break them up and submit 2 files. You can always put them back together on your press to make letterpress love.
62 and 67: pricing per square inch for platemaking – $0.62/sq. inch for plates with the number 94 or 95 in their plate name; $0.67/sq. inch for plates with the number 145, 148, 152 and 175 in their plate name. And for some of you, ’67 may have meant the summer of love in San Francisco.
30: minimum charge for platemaking – $30 per job ticket. Also the cost of overnight air shipping via UPS in the US.
.35 and .25: the minimum guaranteed line thickness for our plates measured in points (pt). Lines should be .25pt for 94/95 plates and .35pt for anything larger. Remember, dotted lines are considered dots and not lines. Dots have their own special numbers and shouldn’t feel slighted at all.
1 and 1.25: preferred dot thickness for our plates, also measured in points. Proper dot thickness helps those individual, stand-alone-by-themselves dots to stand firm and tall and press boldly into your paper.
0.5: the number in inches we add to your platemaking dimensions for the height and width. This half inch is needed for the platemaking process.
.875 and .853: the thicknesses for the standard Boxcar base and the deep relief Boxcar base. And some really good bowling scores after 3 games.
.918: this is an easy one. This refers to type high, or the standard height of type. However, it also could refer to the Porsche 918 Spyder or the name of a letterpress club at the Lancaster Heritage Center Museum Print Shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (the 918 Club).
Now these numbers will have special significance for you too!
Here is a simple and classy way to let gold foil shine on a traditional wedding invitation. This is jewelry on paper!
Here is a particularly lovely version of Bella Figura‘s design Simple Frame printed in Watermelon and Pale Gray inks with matching envelope liner in the Simple Lace Pattern. Together these pieces are Simply Stunning!
Here stands a beautiful stack of foil edged cards, so brilliant and distinctive. Truly these are a treasure made to be shared as each piece is passed on to the lucky receiver.
At lunchtime, Stan brought in his handmade marimbas to hear them in the printshop cavern.
It was a wonderful impromptu concert!
Sounded great!