General letterpress questions

Lydia,

I am also a newbie. Yes, letterpress is something anyone can do. To save you time in learning, perhaps you should consider taking some basic letterpress classes. It’ll help you understand the terms used. There are some classes listed in the Classifieds section of Briar Press.

Finally, Briar Press is *the* place for newbie to learn and ask questions, as there are lots of helpful experts here.

Thanks for the feedback! It’s nice to know that anyone can do it!

Depending on what area of the country you are in, if you can possibly manage to get to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa (in SE Iowa) this Thursdat, Friday and/or Saturday, you can come and see and experience letterpress printing first-hand and ask as many questions as you can generate.

Printers’ Hall (a 3,000 sq. ft. operational letterpress museum) will be open fron 8:00 a.m. well into the evening on both Thursday and Friday and all of our equipment will be available to play with and learn about. There is no charge for any of this. On Saturday morning there will be a huge printer’s fair with various people selling type, presses and generally about everything letterpress. There will also be an auction on Saturday afternoon. A modest $5 entry fee will be charged on Saturday.

Printers’ Hall is located in McMillan Park, on the Old Threshers Grounds, in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

The best way is to see if you can find any books on hand setting type etc. Letterpress is easy to learn if you take you time and ask questions.
Also, good to ebay and purchase some used fonts and a composing stick and spacing material and play with setting type.

For about $150 or less you could get some items and start playing with it and you will have questions that people can answer.

Where are you located?
There is a printers fair in mt. pleasant IA on the 17th-18th
I am sure you could pick up loads of information, and maybe even a small press, and supplies.
-Luke

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LETTERPRESS IS ALWAYS A NOUN!!!
1 results for: letterpress
letterpress | noun
Main Entry: letterpress !le-tur-+pres
Pronunciation: \ ˈle-tər-ˌpres \
Function: noun
Date: circa 1765
Results

the process of printing from an inked raised surface especially when the paper is impressed directly upon the surface

I am located in Belgrade, MT. There are a few small press shops here but I haven’t found anyone who gives lessons. I do have a book on letterpress that I am reading and trying to learn from. Hopefully I can buy a tabletop press soon and start getting some hands on experience.
Thanks all for everything!

Good luck, and have FUN!!