Tag Archives: Coffee With Series

Glass of Vino With AJ Masthay

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[Installment 5]

Next up in our Letterpress Friend chat series is AJ Masthay. We are bowled over by the mesmerizing details in his concert poster series and his bright + bold color combinations. AJ is a Connecticut-based printer who always makes us wonder “What is he up to this time?!” We sat down for a quick minute to see what’s on his Vandercook (and beyond!) via Masthay Studios.

AJ-Masthay-letterpress

Boxcar Press: So good to catch up with you! We’ve all got the printing bug and we’re just curious about when you got “bitten”!

AJ: That happened back in my sophomore year of art school when I was first introduced to old-school stone lithography. Literally drawing on pieces of limestone, using leather rollers and gum arabic to reproduce beautiful full tonal drawings. It felt like the world of magic and alchemy to me, I was hooked.

Boxcar Press: Tell us about a press you remember fondly (or not so fondly) or one you have now that you prefer to use.

AJ: That’s my first Vandercook Universal I for sure. I found it through the help of one of my college professors, Jim Lee, a few years after I graduated. I was hoping to get an etching press as I figured that was the most versatile. Jim mentioned he knew of a Vandercook in a guy’s garage he was looking to sell. The only problem was it was completely disassembled and in pieces. 

$500 later…. it was mine and I spent the next couple of months studying the presses at my former art school to figure out how to reassemble the Uni I in my basement. That’s the press that started my entire art career but I wound up trading it for my current “go to” press which is a Universal III. The hand cranking on thousands of print passes became a bit much. The larger format and motorized aspect of the Uni III just made it way more realistic for my shop. I’m also in the process of possibly adding a large Vandercook 32-28 to my shop which is very, very exciting.

Boxcar Press: What is something people might not know about you?

AJ: People that follow me might know this already but I have a deep fascination with bones and osteology and have been collecting skulls since I was a little kid. I now have a pretty extensive collection at the studio with well over 200 skulls of various species.

Boxcar Press: What is your printing superpower? Every printer has one….

AJ: This one is easy, my printing superpower is my coworker Kait Lennon (@longlegslennon on IG) who handles almost all of the printing in my shop these days. There is no way I could crank out the amount of work I do for clients without having someone else working the press and there’s no one I trust more with my work than Kait.

Boxcar Press: Anything you want to give us a sneak peak about or a current project you have in the works? Maybe one project that you are always going to get to but it just never seems to get done? (We all have one!)

AJ: I’m currently working on a series of new art prints that I’m calling my “Pet Projects” that I plan on releasing at my November 12th open studio event. Summers tend to be very very busy for us with client work (summer tours, festivals, etc.) Once we got through all that this year I thought it would be nice to take some time to work on a few pieces that I’ve been meaning to do but always seem to get pushed off.

LOL […] I have many many projects that seem to just never get done. Hopefully, I can check a few off with this upcoming show though.

Boxcar Press: Last quick question &  just for fun(!) – Do you like to listen to podcasts or music in your shop while you create?

AJ:  Both really, depends on my mood and what’s going on that day. I find music, usually very loud music, helps me get in the creative zone when coming up with overall concepts or working out compositions/layout. Podcasts seem better when I’m diving into detail work and fleshing out/completing drawings. Neither is written in stone though.

That was a delightful time, AJ.  We’re grateful for the friendly chat! Visit his website link to delve more into the hue-filled world of masthaystudios.com.

Bourbon With Paul Moxon

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[ Installment 3 ]

Our Letterpress Friend chat today is with Paul Moxon. He is synonymous with Vandercook presses.  He is the resource behind the website vandercookpress.info, author of Vandercook Presses: Maintenance, History and Resources, and a printer of letterpress books and broadsides under his press name Fameorshame Press.

There is always much to learn from a conversation with Paul, who lives in Mobile, Alabama. 

Boxcar Press: Why Vandercooks and proofing presses?  What is the appeal and draw for you?

Paul: A forlorn SP15 in the corner of a printmaking studio was the first press to which I had access. The ratio of its footprint to the printing area was appealing. Experiment and production were satisfying and different than paste-up. In time, I found joy in teaching maintenance and making repairs. Sharing this knowledge with other printers has surprisingly become my life’s work.

Boxcar Press: Is there one defining moment that you can recall or point to that was the start of your printing career or business

Paul:  Learning phototypesetting and paste-up as work-study in college.

Boxcar Press: Tell us about mentors or printers that you admire or set you on a particular path? 

Paul:  There have been so many. During college, Jocelyn Dohm (founder of the Sherwood Press) always welcomed me at her charming little job shop and endured my novice enthusiasm. Librarians Jim Holly and Elspeth Pope introduced me to fine press books. At Alabama, Glenn House, then retired, piqued an interest in maintenance. Fritz Klinke let me explore the Vandercook archives. Ian Leonard Robertson (Slow Loris Press) and I shared similar work experiences. His old school presswork and design was crisp and effortless. Most of his equipment is now in my shop, and I feel his jovial presence every day.

Boxcar Press:  If you weren’t a printer or in the printing industry, what else might have been your career path?

Paul : A machinist

Boxcar Press:  That is not surprising. You have referred to yourself as an independent educator.  

What would you tell a brand new letterpress printer today?

Paul:  Visit many shops, libraries, and museums. Attend wayzgooses, talk with everyone. Print on every kind of press you can big and small. Print every kind of form; lead, wood, copper, magnesium, and polymer. Strive for best practice. Read everything, especially old technical manuals and catalogs. Don’t be discouraged by the high prices of presses. Save-up, be patient, you become discerning over time. or grumpy old naysayers. Mistakes will make you an expert.

Boxcar Press:  Tell us about a press you remember fondly (or not so fondly) or one you have now that you prefer to use?

Paul:  I’ve printed on other makes of proof presses, jobbers, tabletops, hand presses, and even a windmill. Each had something to teach me. (Someday I want to print on a Heidelberg cylinder and a Little Giant.) I love my Vandercook No. 4. It’s great for production and teaching maintenance. I’ve printed on, tuned up, or inspected thirty Vandercook models, including some rare ones—nearly a thousand in all. But there are still a few I haven’t worked with, such as the 30-26 four-color press. Hopefully, post-COVID.

Boxcar Press:  You have mentioned that you are fascinated by the vintage equipment and tools.  Tell us about one of the best or most used or most admired printing tools you can think of?

Paul:  Hard to choose: my loupe, paper thickness measure, and Align-mate are essential. But I love the elk-bone folder/plate lifter I made at Penland twenty years ago when I met Jim Croft.

Boxcar Press:  What is something people might not know about you that would surprise them?

Paul:  I can’t type, just hunt-and-peck. But I can handset type like a motherfucker.

Boxcar Press: What is your printing superpower?

Paul:  Being able to diagnose presswork and mechanical issues.

Boxcar Press:  Anything you want to reveal about a current project you are working on – even a hint or clue?

Paul:   Right now I’m into printing postcards. My last one is about the USPS and Trump enabler Louis DeJoy.

Boxcar Press:  What is that one project that you are always going to get to but it just never seems to get done?

Paul:  A book of three poems by a deceased, local author. I commissioned lino-cuts from Lauren Faulkenberry (Firebrand Press) a few years ago, but I fear that they may be drying out.

Boxcar Press:  Last question – Do you listen to podcasts or music in your shop while you create? 

Paul:  Music is essential. Big Joanie, Dinner Party, the Hu, and Idles and are in heavy rotation. The rest of the time I’m streaming KEXP.

That was an enjoyable time, Paul.  Thank you for the friendly chat and we’ll plan another.  Paul is also involved with the American Printing History Association, that encourages the study of the history of printing and related arts and crafts.  Visit his links to vandercookpress and fameorshamepress.

Coffee with Jim Moran of Hamilton Wood Type

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[ Installment 1 ]

Welcome to Coffee with a Letterpress Friend.  We are “sitting down” with many varied friends every few weeks for a cozy, relaxing chat. Certainly, we will ask questions about printing-related topics but things could go off in unexpected directions.  This week during Letterpress Week, we’ll gather with a few folks, so go grab your beverage of choice and let’s start.  

Today’s friend is Jim Moran of Hamilton Wood Type (HWT) in Two Rivers Wisconsin.  Many of us are envious of his job at the Museum surrounded by the history and all those wood type specimens.

Jim Moran - Coffee With-WEB

Boxcar Press: Hi Jim, Is there one defining moment that you can recall or point to that was the start of your printing career?

Jim: I was 10 years old and goofing around in my grandfather’s print shop. I had seen both he and my Dad setting type, so I had an idea how it worked. I opened a drawer of 18pt. Cheltenham and tried to spell my name. Where the hell was the letter J? I checked other drawers until I found one marked in pencil to designate their place. Once I set my name, I put it on a little Challenge proof press and inked it up. The black ink was always ready for proofing with a brayer hung on the end. The paper had an enamel finish for clarity. I inked up and pulled a proof! There was my name, magically! That’s all it took.

Boxcar Press:  We can relate to that feeling. Is there a similar moment for your involvement with HWT?

Jim: I was working for a Green Bay printer 12 years ago and not liking it much. Sales in NOT rewarding, in my mind. I had been volunteering at Hamilton with my brother Bill, often thinking about how much I enjoyed working with type. I met a woman who was dating my cousin and we were talking about doing the things you really want to, in a general way. She said, “I think you have to ask yourself what you want and how much of your time you actually spend working toward doing those things.” She was not speaking to me specifically but I decided right then, that I would work toward getting a job at the museum. I applied for the job 6 weeks later.

Boxcar Press:  Your Aha! moment. You are well suited to HWT. Tell us about mentors or printers that you admire or set you on a particular path?

Jim: I owe so much to my Dad. He was a VERY good printer and an even better artist. He worked me pretty hard, in that he expected my best and was extremely thorough in his approach to what I learned. That meant printing, repairing, composing, estimating, managing, laughing, reading and studying. Always learning. I worked with him for the better part of 29 years. My Mom’s lessons were much more subtle: patience, kindness, reading and keeping a sense of humor. 

Boxcar Press:  The people who guide us are always significant. So can be the equipment. Tell us about a press you remember fondly (or not so fondly) or one you have now that you prefer to use?

Jim:  I have an 8 x 12 Chandler and Price that I was taught to run in 1969. I use it whenever I can.

Boxcar Press:   What is that one project that you are always going to get to, that you really want to do but it just never seems to get done?

Jim:  Printing a four-color billboard.

Thanks, Jim for the little chat.  We appreciate this time of getting to know you and will have plenty more questions to ask at future times when the coffee is perked and we can sit again.  

We encourage you to visit the Hamilton Wood Type website and catch a Hamilton Hang on Fridays with Zoom.  Click on the link to the “Awayzgoose” and make plans to be in virtual attendance in November.  This year’s event is in partnership with the American Printing History Association and is packed with speakers and tours galore.