Press Here Letterpress Workshop

Home
United Kingdom
Coupar Angus
Press Here Letterpress Workshop

An operational traditional letterpress printing workshop using hand-set type, open free to visitors (ring 07908 023901 to check when open).

The workshop has a range of 20th century equipment from small hand presses to a large hand-fed power press, typecasting equipment, and an extensive range of minor pieces to illustrate everyday printer's tools and equipment. Visitors usually have an opportunity to set some type and take a print.

11/09/2025

Open for visitors 10-4 this Friday Saturday and Sunday as part of a mini Open Studios in Coupar Angus, and timed to match Door Open Days. You're all very welcome, come and see a collection of traditional letterpress equipment and even possibly try your hand. Accompanied children welcome. On-site parking, no charge.
Beech Hill House, PH13 9AZ
07908 023901

I've not been posting much for a while due to illness and an operation, but fortunately well enough to welcome visitors now.
I would have been part of DODs, but unfortunately had no success in making contact! Hopefully back on the official list next year.Update: pleased to say, all sorted, back on official list , not sure what went wrong.

18/11/2024

Great to have a busy printshop on Saturday for the Beginner's Day Course. The layout isn't ideal for multiple users, but everyone coped amicably and after a basic bit on hand-setting, went on to do more dramatic things according to taste. Many thanks to Ellee Bowden who assisted and made it possible as I wasn't 100% well. First time I've tried a class here but it's shown it works despite the space limitations.
A really enjoyable day with lots of creative interchange.

28/08/2024

Back for another Open Studios, an opportunity to welcome visitors and show many the historic and fascinating craft of letterpress, and for others to hear them reminisce and learn about their experiences in the old industry. Now being revived by a new generation using it for creative artistic printmaking. Accompanied children welcome.

11/07/2024

Brilliant engraver Beth Robertson (.grain.prints) has an exhibition starting this Saturday at the gallery in Dundee Botanical Gardens. Looking forward to seeing her work displayed - I've seen some already in the wild, and apart from her casual skill at incredible details, they're full of movement and mystery.
Open until 30th July.

09/06/2024

Just spotted a red squirrel 🐿️at our bird feeder. Must have strayed from its usual patch as we don't have the right trees for them, presumably come from across the main road. First time since we moved here in 2004. 😊

29/03/2024

Saturday 30th, 2-4, in the Advance Gallery near Boots on Perth High Street, come and print yourself a free personalised card to mark the opening of the new Perth Museum and its Unicorn exhibition.
Find out a bit about the 500 year old craft of letterpress printing, as Perth also becomes a UNESCO City of Art and Crafts.

23/03/2024

Getting ready for a workshop in Perth next Saturday afternoon as part of the celebrations round the opening of the new Perth Museum , as a representative of a local and heritage craft. Lots more going on through , so come along if you can.

Notice printed one-off from old wood letter and very old metal type. About 5ft high, so done as 4 sheets.

25/01/2024

no. 82 : Institute of Printing badge and technical magazines. Wars speed up technical innovation, and WWII didn't just result in scientific discoveries and inventions, it changed attitudes, and post-war industries including printing felt this and became much more open to new materials, processes, and practices. In the UK the industry research body PATRA, later PIRA, flourished, companies like Cornerstone turned their experience with precision engineering and lightweight alloys to applications in printing, and in Watford, courses in printing at degree level were established, beyond the long established practical ones in colleges. The need for "professionalism" was felt, and the institute was established to foster this. Many of these professionals were highly skilled specialists*, far removed from the old shop floor workers, and gradually the introduction of newer scientific practices and precision processes took away the need for the old intuitive and experience-based skills as machines and materials became more sophisticated and everything controlled to a fine degree.

*renowned for knowing more and more about less and less, and in printing, few with any practical experience. The skills range counting as professional included management, as well as the science and engineering.

21/01/2024

No. 81: Sidestick. These were usually used as quoins at the side of galleys. Effectively a long wooden wedge, two smaller wedges (quoins) would be used beside it. In this case, it has two metal wedges attached for convenience.
In the days of large-scale metal composition, the initial setting was usually assembled on long slip galleys wide enough for a single column, locked with a Sidestick for proofing before imposition after correction. These were "galley proofs", and easier to correct (or alter) than the later stage "page proofs". Correction was done by an assistant reading the copy out loud (complete with punctuation, like Victor Borge) to a 'reader' who was the expert, and who, I was once told, was expected to check for everything from typos to factual errors in the copy.

15/01/2024

No. 80: Deckle edged paper. From the top, two hand-made sheets with deckle edges, a commercial mould-made sheet with a deckle edge, and a 60s "deckle edge" fancy card.
Paper was originally made by hand in single sheets in a mould that resulted in a feathered edge where the pulp drained off. At the end of the 18th century, the Foundrinier invention of the papermaking machine that used a wire belt in place of the mould to produce a continuous web of paper both reduced the cost of paper, and thus printed matter, but also enabled the faster printing by rotary presses of the web rather than individual sheets, further reducing the price of printing. However, paper produced this way was cut to sheets for other presses, and thus had no deckle edges. Deckle edges became seen as a mark of prestige hand-made paper, hence the fake deckle on the fancy card, and the current practice of faking deckle edges with torn ones.

06/01/2024

Interesting printing objects No. 79: Combination Borders. These pieces are orphans, but as you can see, came originally from Enschede Typefoundry combination border sets. At the end of the 19th century such sets were very popular, with skilled labour costs low and competition to letterpress from fancy litho designs influencing fashion. The sets, often with dozens of component pieces, could create complex designs, often in tromp d'oeil style including 3D and shading effects. Sadly, few have survived, and as here it is usually only as individual pieces which happen to be useable on their own, despite the fact that large numbers of designs were cast by many different typefounders.

Address

Press Here, Beech Hill Road
Coupar Angus
PH139AZ

Telephone

+441828628001

Website

http://www.quartopress.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Press Here Letterpress Workshop posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Press Here Letterpress Workshop:

Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Coupar Angus?