Operation Letterpress ~

I recently had the pleasure of a studio tour from Fred Bivins of Vinecroft Studios. I begged him for a tour after discovering that he does a little printmaking with letterpress. Little did I know, Mr. Bivins was hiding away three presses and drawers and drawers full of type! One of the presses, a 1911 Chandler & Price, was being used as a towel rack in his studio kitchen. Before that, the press was used at Beute Print Shop in Grand Rapids (more history here).

Well, today it is sitting on a trailer and headed down to my parents’ farm in Indiana! I haven’t the slightest clue how to get it running again, but my husband seems pretty excited for the project (he’s already been taking notes and watching press videos!). I cannot say to what extent we will use this press for Syd Design printing, but I do know there will be some time and oily hands involved before any ink is rolled out. Our goal is mainly to get it running (hopefully before it’s 100th birthday next year) and to use it on very special projects.

We would gratefully accept any info/resources that you well-oiled C&P printers may have to share.

Thank you, Fred Bivins, for opening up your studio to my curiosity and sharing your knowledge of printmaking. I look forward to working with Vinecroft more during the GR Art Festival and ArtPrize.

If you want to see what this press is capable of with some tender care, check out this great, quick video from Armato Design & Press. And, for some oh-so-beautiful letterpress, designed right here in West Michigan, check out Give Studio! Anne Pageau is a rockstar when it comes to letterpress design.

We’ll keep the updates coming as the operation continues.