06 August 2010

Press-side design



I’m still chained to my press today, cranking out Parenthesis covers. Hand-cranking 1200 sheets of paper through a Vandercook, watching the same inked form flash by over and over, gives you time to think about things. If there are problems with the job which are beyond your control to repair, it makes for a long and depressing run, knowing that what you are making falls short of your intentions. But if the work is sound and the press is running well, there is joy and fresh discovery to be found in each sheet through the press.

Although I had originally intended to print the body text in black, the decision to run the text in a separate pass from the ornaments (which required massive amounts of ink) opened up the opportunity to introduce a third colour. I’ve selected Warm Grey no. 4. This flexibility, this ability to alter a design to suit what occurs on the press, is one of the reasons that I like printing the things I design personally. This is not to say that you shouldn't plan a job carefully, only that you should be attentive and responsive to opportunities and challenges as they present themselves.

ANDREW STEEVES ¶ PRINTER & PUBLISHER

4 comments:

Larry said...

Beautiful work Andrew. I hear what you're saying about press runs - I recently had a 'long and depressing' one, and I always wonder, what's different today?

crystal oicle said...

it's beautiful!!!

johnnyleroux said...

Wow Andrew! That image of the curled fresh sheet is amazingly rich. The chevron/dot sections are uncanningly like Norman McLaren's "Le Merle" animated short from the NFB in 1958. Remind me to show it to you next time you pass through the Memorial Hall neighbourhood.

Unknown said...

الريد الغه العربيه