switching from photopolymer to handset

blackbird press
on 2 Apr 07 (12:30)

i am pretty new to letterpress, and i started using photopolymer plates. i’d like to make the move to handset type, and i was wondering about a couple of things. how expensive is it to have a font made into lead type? also, what is a good resource to purchase type?

thanks for any help.

scudder
on 2 Apr 07 (15:42)

Throw two bucks in the mail and send it to: Quaker City Type Foundry, 2019 Horseshoe Pike, Honey Brook, PA 19344. Ask for a specimen book and price list. You’ll find Bill Riess’s prices very reasonable, and he’ll sell you a small font of type if that’s all you want. He can quote on larger orders as well.

Foolproof546
on 2 Apr 07 (16:33)

It also depends on what part of the country you are in.

There will be an annual great sale of used type in Zion, IL (north of Chicago along Lake Michigan) on Saturday, April 21 at the Platen Press Museum. Contact Paul Akin at (847) 731-1945 or e-mail him at [email protected]

There will be a big letterpress swap meet in Oklahoma City on Saturday morning, June 2. Contact Don Tucker at (405) 524-2010 or e-mail him at [email protected]

There will also be a huge letterpress fleamarket and auction at the Midwest and Great Northern Printers Fair at Mt. Pleasant, IA on Saturday September 22. Contact me at [email protected] for info about that.

There are also other resources around the country to check, but these are three “big ones” that I know about this year.

blackbird press
on 5 Apr 07 (10:57)

thanks! i live in detroit, michigan. so i just might swing out to zion, illinois for the sale. i’ll need other stuff, too, i think. like a composing stick, etc. fun!