Rob LoMascolo Featured on Fortnight Journal

Letterpress artist Rob LoMascolo of Upstate New York talks about the traditional craft of letterpress printing in a recent collaborative effort known as Fortnight. Fortnight is an online multi-media and documentary project that’s been put together by a group of 20-somethings to recognize different disciplines that honor the past while defining the path of the future.

LoMascolo is one of Fortnight’s fourteen contributors, and he talks about the traditional craft of printing that has exploded again in the digital age.  He is featured with his Challenge Proof Press in this instructional video as he provides a lesson in Letterpress 101.

Fortnight Journal traveled to the Finger Lakes in New York to interview and film Rob in his studio.  We are pleased that not only is Rob showcased for his printing prowess but he’s a neighbor of ours and prints right down the highway from Syracuse.

To find out more about this project, visit fortnightjournal.com/about.

Essential Q&A – Rebecca Miller

It’s been a while since we’ve done an Essential Q&A on the Boxcar blog, so we’re bringing it back! Today we’ve got some questions for Rebecca Miller, prepress extraordinaire — read on to find out more about her!

Boxcar Press Rebecca Miller

Job title: Pre-Press

Describe what you do at Boxcar Press in 10 words: Prepare press-friendly layouts and illuminate design, technical, and printing solutions.

My super power is: Making people feel at ease.

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (pronounced “SOO”)

My favorite printing equipment: Heidelbergs!

What three places do you want out-of-towners to visit in Central New York?
1. Boxcar Press of course!
2. The Oncenter Arena to catch a Syracuse Crunch game
3. Fillmore Glen in Moravia, NY

Music that inspires me: MIDI music from old video games

The greenest thing I do: Recycle old clothes into nifty pillows and throws

Besides letterpress, I am passionate about: Typography, illustration, and hockey!

PM 368 U swatch

My favorite Pantone: 368: A green you can count on.

Most memorable meal: Bear jerky and deep fried smelt. Delicious!

What book do you think everyone should read? The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

What’s on your nightstand right now? The Prince by Machiavelli, ink pens, and a digital clock in 24-hour time.

Something about the Boxcar Press crew our customers don’t know: How extraordinary and cheerful we are… even under pressure or the weather. Such gifted talent in this group!

 

Central New York Couple’s Letterpress Excursion

Letterpress love is in the air! Or at least that’s the case of this soon-to-be-hitched Central New York couple, Douglas Trojan and Erin Reynolds. The pair printed custom letterpress invitations for their upcoming Big Day, and the experience has brought them closer by means of laughs, inks, and whole lot of printing fun!

The couple caught up with us first with a nifty visit last month to get the full tour of Boxcar Press (as well as to get a few pointers on their project). Armed with good advice, Douglas and Erin purchased their custom made plates and the rest is history.

Check out their printing adventure from start to finish here and get a sneak peak at the finished invitation!

Special guests

We had the honor of receiving some special guests recently. Bill Goldston, director of the renowned Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) and Andrew Saluti, curator of Pressing Print, a wonderful show of ULAE pieces at SUArt Galleries/ Shaffer Art Bldg. For decades, Bill has been inviting artists to come to his shop to explore the medium of printmaking using etching, silkscreen, letterpress, digital, anything to make the artists’ vision come true. He has worked with artists such as Jasper Johns, Jane Hammond, Carroll Dunham and Kiki Smith performing technical feats that my eyes have seen the amazing results of at the show currently in town. Highly recommend seeing it in person if you can! For show info. For info on ULAE.
From left in photo: Cathy, Bill, Andrew, Harold
visitors at boxcar press

Local AIGA Branch Tours Boxcar Press

Boxcar Press started off February with a tour group from the local branch of the AIGA. These tours are a great opportunity for us to not only show what our company has to offer, but also helps us encourage and inspire people to pursue designing for letterpress projects. The group size consisted of about seven graphic designers. They showed great interest in the process from design to platemaking all the way to finishing.  Everyone enjoyed watching the printers at their windmills and rubbing their fingertips over the impression in the paper.  As letterpress continues to grow in popularity, we find graphic designers who visit are more knowledgeable about the craft than just a couple of years ago. A big thanks to these designers for stopping in!

Sisterly Surprise Makes For a Wonderful Boxcar Visit

Right before the holidays, Boxcar enjoyed a visit from designer, printer, letterpress instructor, and sister: Amy Redmond. 

Amy’s sister, Carrie, called and arranged the tour as a surprise.  She kept Amy guessing until a short time before they got to our studios.

It was more of a meeting of minds and souls than a tour, as we spent a couple of hours with Amy and Carrie.  We traded stories, shared tips and tricks printer to printer, and discovered how Amy got to where she is now, a Seattle-based freelance graphic designer and instructor of an introductory letterpress printing class at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle.

We are thankful to Amy for being a mentor to many students of letterpress and for giving us a fun day at Boxcar!