The Hamilton Type Museum

Day 2, 3, 4 – 28th, 29th & 30th September

As I mentioned at the end of last week, my first project while at the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum was to set a poster to be hung in the Print Room to remind students and workshops of the rules for printing in the space.

Letterpress printing is a multifaceted process with many parts, along side the type used to create the prints (that is kept in chest high units of wide drawers around the outer walls of the Print Room) you also need furniture (varying sized wood blocks that are below printing height) to space out the type and leading (quite literally strips of lead in varying widths) that create space between each line of type. The Museum is blessed with an abundance of all of these important (and often overlooked) other components of the trade, coming from a printing background with little access to furniture or ever a type ruler (that can be used to measure type and furniture to allow you to match them up for a close fit) it has really been a learning experience setting such a large body of type.

The print took 3 days straight to design, set, proof, print and diss (meaning to disassemble and pack away the type and any furniture etc used). I’m very happy with it, not only will it be hung on the walls of the museum but it will also be sold along side all of their other amazing prints!

Below is a making of video for the print, I’d hoped to film a lot more however the strip lighting surrounding my print space was on the fritz, causing a filmic effect akin to watching a man stare at little blocks of wood in a disco, so a juddery stop frame animation it is then (Note to self : Buy a remote shutter release for camera).