Welcome to Sunny Gorton - Wooden Letterpress process

 I finally gained access to the letterpress room again. It's only open on Fridays which is frustrating as I would love to spend more time there. It was booked up with L4 students during January but I now have access during February. Due to the limited time it is good to have a plan of what you want to achieve during your time slot.

I wanted to create the graffiti on Mount Road, Gorton, which I used to see on a regular basis. It was near my Gran's flat, in the Belle Vue area of Gorton. The large white painted letters were painted on the railway bridge into Gorton. The painted words were there for years. often refreshed and never defaced. The irony of the words made me smile, even as a child.

My plan was to use large wooden letterpress letters to create a bold, crude poster using the phrase. I either wanted this as a stand alone artwork or maybe just signage for the title of my project. I found the wooden letters are quite limited in the print workshop. There are a few options but they often don't have the full alphabet. This means you have to be very lucky to get your poster out of one typeface.

The wooden type was invented much later than the hot metal type, although it looks more archaic than the metal type. Wooden letters were created to print posters. A way of communication with the people in a bold and loud way. I like the idea of this, political poster, important information pass around. If you did not have access to the printed book, you still had access to viewing the printed poster.

I chose to use the font Grot or Grotesque. This has a bold and newspaper headline feel to it. Getting the letters at the right height took time (building each letter up with layers of newsprint!). I also spent time getting the spacing (kerning) between letters looking correct. This is done by eye, trial and error with a proof printed at each stage. It took 10 proofs to get the letters printing correctly in the right place.

I then decided to experiment with different papers. I was using newsprint for the proofing. It very thin and smooth which is great for practicing but it yellows quickly and can be quite see through. I moved on to card. I chose yellow card which gave it a 'Hacienda' night club vibe (famous Manchester nightclub which had an industrial warehouse feel, with black and yellow stripped areas). The black and yellow often used on Manchester memorabilia is actually based on the icon of Manchester - the worked bee. This has been used since 1842;

'In 1842, the early city fathers had to decide on a coat of arms that would tell the world who we were. It was a Victorian branding exercise. They included a globe with seven bees to show how we worked and traded across the seven seas. The Manchester bee was born of industry'.

I continued to print on other papers including sugar paper (it was too small and not a great texture) and white cartridge. I liked the long thin pieces of paper so I cut the paper down. It reminded me of the location signage on the front of the old fashioned buses. I experimented with ink too, using a yellow ink to create a drop shadow under the black print. I love the way you have to work with what is available in the print room on that day. It allows for happy accidents and unplanned developments.

Wooden letterpress printing on yellow card

Wooden letters in a galley, on the proofing press

Final prints of the yellow drop shadow under the black print

What happens when it goes wrong! I put the paper

in the wrong way around so the yellow text is upside down.

Yellow print before the black text is printed on top.

Practice proofs on newsprint - 10 versions needed to get it accurate.

Initial prints - some letters needed building up with pieces of paper.

Some needed replacing or moving with added spaces.