Letterpress Notebook Workshop Dec. 16

Letterpress Notebooks Workshop, December 16, 12:30 to 3:30 pm

Whether you are new to letterpress or have some experience, come to this workshop and choose wood and metal type, as well as engravings and dingbats to print on the cover of compact notebooks (approx. 6″ x 8″). Each participant will learn about setting type as well as get experience with the old-school charm of the letterpress process, and each will be able to print eight notebook covers in one or more ink colors. Very timely for your holiday gift dilemmas!

• Print eight notebooks per person, $65. Limited to four people.

Sign up on Eventbrite

Events take place in the Print Shop at History Park, 635 Phelan Ave., San Jose, CA 95112. For any questions please email sjprintersguild@gmail.com.

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Letterpress Poster Workshop Nov. 18

Letterpress Wood Type Poster Workshop, November 18, 12 to 4 pm

Participants will select wood and metal type and ornaments, as well as vintage engravings, and create posters approx. 12″x 18″. You will learn to hand-ink the forms, arrange the elements for printing, and pull unique hand-printed posters.  We will be using two different vintage proof presses, a 90-year old Potter proof press, and a 50-year old Line-o-Scribe sign press. You can print your design with a second ink color if you wish for more impact, or overprint type and images. It’s up to your creativity to discover what is possible within the physical constraints of the type and cuts.

Please come prepared with a short quote or phrase to set. Shorter is better so you have more time to experiment with your layout, colors, etc.!

• Print ten posters per person, $80, limited to three people.

Sign up on Eventbrite

Events take place in the Print Shop at History Park, 635 Phelan Ave., San Jose, CA 95112. For any questions please email sjprintersguild@gmail.com.

“The dingbats will be of the printed variety”

Thanks to Anne Gelhaus and the San Jose Mercury News for shouting out the 2016 Bay Area Printers’ Faire & Wayzgoose, coming to History San Jose Saturday, April 9!

 

Read the full article here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-neighborhoods/ci_29700907/bay-area-printers-faire-welcomes-all-types

Type rocks at San Jose Mini Maker Faire

Type rocks at San Jose Mini Maker Faire
Over 3,000 visitors came to History Park on Sept. 6, 2015 for the San Jose Mini Maker Faire. The Printers’ Guild let visitors of all ages print, score, and die-cut “Type Rocks” pieces with silver ink on dark blue paper.

Coaster printing at Tiki & Typography

San Jose Printers Guild members helped guests to print coasters at Content Magazine’s CONTENT LAB “Tiki & Typography,” on September 17th at Blanco Square in downtown San Jose. Katie Carter, Katie Hoffman, Bernadette Milan, and Matt Kelsey introduced lots of interested people to letterpress printing on a tabletop press.

The CONTENT LAB series inspires, creates, and connects our creative community. “We believe that communities grow stronger as the people are connected with a common purpose and mission.”

The Itinerant Printer makes an impression at History Park

The Itinerant Printer, Chris Fritton, visited the Printers’ Guild at History Park August 28 and 29 as part of his year-long travels to letterpress print shops throughout the US. His journey is supported by an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, and he creates postcards and posters to send to his supporters as he goes from shop to shop.

At History Park he found some rare wood type that had not been identified, but after printing it and posting on Instagram one of his followers quickly identified it as Trafton Script, a 1930s design. He paired it with another rare typeface, Art Gothic, created in 1887, which the Printers’ Guild has in four sizes, to create a unique postcard that reflects the typographic resources from the print shop at History Park.

Visitors to the park were able to pull their own print of the card. Later in the day Chris gave a short talk about his journey and how it ties in to the history of tramp printers who travelled from city to city in past decades. He also discussed his artistic approach to using type, ornaments, and dingbats to create unique patterns and effects in his prints. During the reception that followed at the Pasetta House, visitors were able to look through a number of Chris’s cards and posters and learn more about his work and travels, and also browse through the museum exhibit “Slugs, Dingbats & Tramp Printers: Printing in the Santa Clara Valley.”

Meet & Greet with The Itinerant Printer, August 29

Come to History Park for a hands-on demonstration and meet and greet with The Itinerant Printer, Chris Fritton! Chris is coming to the letterpress print shop of the San Jose Printers’ Guild in History Park as part of his year-long journey throughout the lower 48 states, covering over 30,000 miles, and creating over 30,000 prints in over 100 letterpress print shops.

Print with Chris in the print shop from noon to 4:00PM, followed by a presentation at 5:00PM on the museum grounds covering the history and lore of tramp printing, and a reception following with light refreshments.

The event is FREE and OPEN TO ALL. Please RSVP to sjprintersguild@gmail.com so we can plan accordingly for refreshments.

Also, don’t miss seeing the exhibit Slugs, Dingbats & Tramp Printers: Printing in the Santa Clara Valley, in the Pasetta House at History Park. The exhibit will be open before and after the presentation.

Location: History San Jose, 635 Phelan Ave., San Jose, CA 95112

Find out more about The Itinerant Printer:
www.itinerantprinter.com
www.facebook.com/itinerantprinter
www.instagram.com/itinerantprinter
twitter: @itinerantprint

See us at the San Jose Mini Maker Faire Sept. 6, 2015

The Printers’ Guild will be participating in the San Jose Mini Maker Faire at History Park on Sept. 6, 2015, from 10 AM to 6 PM. Visitors can try their hands at letterpress printing and die-cutting on vintage presses with handset wood and metal type. For more information about the event see: http://makerfairesanjose.com/makers-2015/

And SAVE THE DATE for the 2016 S.F. Bay Area Printers’ Fair & Wayzgoose: April 9, 2016.

See us at Book Arts Jam Oct. 18th, and Save the Date for 2015 Printers’ Fair!

The San Jose Printers’ Guild will be exhibiting at the Book Arts Jam, October 18, 2014, 10am-4pm, Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, California. Admission & Parking are Free! The Guild will have a new collective letterpress-printed book available with your donation, plus you can handset type and imprint your name at the beginning of the book on one of our vintage presses.

AND save the date for our 2015 S.F. Bay Area Printers’ Fair & Wayzgoose on April 18, 2015! More info and exhibitor registration will be available by early 2015.

Printers’ Guild Monthly Meetings

The San Jose Printers’ Guild meets on the second Saturday of every month from 10 AM to noon. Meetings are usually held in the meeting room of the Pacific Hotel at History Park in San Jose, except in the case of special events at History Park such as April 12, 2014 (Spring Garden Market) and May 10, 2014 (Scoutarama). Visitors are welcome to our meetings, but please email sjprintersguild@gmail.com in advance to confirm location and time of meeting.