I printed a half issue of my zine a few weeks ago (a mini one sheet 11×17 fold-out), but have been neglecting this blog. It took me many more hours to print than anticipated because I had to redistribute the type in order to get the necessary letters four times. I had way less Bodoni (or a similar yet to be identified typeface) 18pt than I thought. I wrote out a story called Marathon, Ontario about getting stuck in said town this last summer, and incorporated some of my favorite lyrics from a song by the band From The Depths. I finished this off in great haste in order to hand some out at Expozine in Montreal, and didn’t end up getting in there until almost 4am. Then, on the way back I got a flat tire on the 401 just an hour and half from Guelph, and ended up having to drive slowly on the back roads on my spare, and finally got home at 5am. Maybe writing about the concept of marathons in our lives angered the universe or something…

This was my first time trying to get a very light impression with the press, so that it didn’t mess up the photocopied text on the backside of the page. I was very pleased with the results, as in days of old the mark of a good letterpress printer was that there was no impression left, but I was a bit disappointed as the prints I’ve made with deep impressions definitely garnered more “ooohhs” and “ahhhs” from friends.

I’ve finished my first two mini-printing projects: an invitation to a potluck at the print shop and a flyer for a house party we had this weekend. It was great to set type again and I think the prints turned out well considering it was my first try. The shop is in dire need of organizing and some more leading and spacing, but besides that the press runs great. Anyone in Guelph or nearby come out to see it in action this Tuesday at 7pm, 49 Alice St.

In order to get the press out of the driveway and into the shop, I had to go at the key holding the flywheel assembly in place with a blow torch. I also tried using penetrating oil but that had negligible effects. I thought it might require a special tool, but after five or ten minutes with the propane torch I just pulled and pulled on it with a hammer and it popped right out.

Then, after gathering the neighborhood punks and layabouts, we carefully removed the flywheel and the shaft/axle that it was attached to and rolled it across the street on pipes. All in all a pretty smooth operation, and now the press is sitting comfortably in its new home.

Saturday we got up at 6am and drove just over five hours to Breckenridge, Michigan to pick up the press from the Saginaw Valley Shopper, where it had sat unused for perhaps 25 years. Ed, the man in his mid 60s who sold it to me, used to set type after school when he was a kid. His brother also showed up to wish the press goodbye. It took a little sweat to get it out of his shop and up into our trailer, but we were on our way back to Guelph by about 3 o’clock, and unloaded the press into our driveway by about 10pm. All in all, nothing major went wrong (which surprised the hell out of me) and now I just have to get that flywheel assembly off before I can roll it into the shop across the street…

With much help from friends, the shop has finished being painted. I chose a seasonally appropriate Squash for the walls and a complementary Wooden Swing for the trim. It now feels like the room itself can’t wait for the press to arrive.

Here is the shop across the street from my house that the printing press will be living in. It was built in the 1930s and housed a shoe store and a bicycle shop before me. I’ve begun painting today and hope to get things set up before Saturday when we move the press in.