The world of letterpress printing is not one that I can say I've really delved into. My printing expertise is more in fabric than in paper, and any other knowledge I have stretches to RGB, CMYK and "oh shit, I need to get this printed by 3pm". I vaguely know how to identify a design that's been letterpress printed because there's a certain tactile quality to the end product, but I knew it was a far more detailed and technical process so I investigated a little further.
Recently there has been a revival of letterpress printing that has seen odd studios and hobby shops open up in cities around the world. At Central Saint Martins College, for instance, they are now running short courses in the technique. The movement (much like the return of
Gocco) has been sparked purely by a love of the handmade; and if there's one city that knows how to do handmade, it's Tokyo.
I'd heard of a letterpress studio in Ookayama, just near my Japanese school in Jiyugaoka. Apparently it was almost brand new, run by young designers *and* they also provide workshops so you can gain a bit of insider knowledge. Great! What I found when I got there was the beautiful little print studio of
PLY.
Ply occupy this bright little studio space, where they design and print fine handmade books, artist's works and other ephemera.
Types sitting in their type cases.
Two printing machines. At the top is an automatic feed platen, which inks the design automatically, much in the same way as a rotary screenprinter. Below is a simple tabletop platen in the Ply studio where yep, you guessed it - you do it all by hand.
Circles, squares and triangles.
Examples of finished products, Ply flyer and greeting cards. And don't they look great? The flyer has been press-printed (blue) with the white areas then screen-printed over the top later.
Like I said, one of the best parts of visiting this studio was discovering that they run various workshops and activities, including "Letterpress For Beginners" - hello! Hopefully my inability to follow complex instructions in Japanese won't set me back too much, because I'll definitely be going back to get my print on soon. Information on Ply activities can be found
here (Japanese only).
All images are from Ply's website.
E.
