Long-Distance Letterpress: Printing on the Provisional Press

Why you should take this class

Steve Garst developed and made hundreds of Provisional Press kits as an inexpensive and accessible tool for letterpress printing when shop access was a challenge for many. In his quest to make printing materials more accessible, he has mastered the use of non-traditional and easy-to-source toy, craft, and hardware store materials such as Lego, linoleum, and craft letters. The eye-catching results speak for themselves. This Long-Distance Letterpress workshop will have you pilfering from the Lego bin and hitting the local craft store for weird and wonderful printing materials of your own. 

What you’ll learn

In this online workshop, Steve will demonstrate how he prints with Lego, linoleum, and craft store finds on the Provisional Press and gridded base. Along the way, he’ll demonstrate techniques for adjusting the height of various materials for optimal printing. Join us for another information-packed, interactive Long-Distance Letterpress class as we learn about:

• The history and conception of the Provisional Press Project
• Using non-traditional printing matrices 
• Adjusting the height of unconventional materials for optimum printing
• Inks & clean up
• Provisional Press troubleshooting 

This class may be taken alone or in conjunction with Long-Distance Letterpress: Provisional Press Building.

Prerequisites

This workshop consists of a live demo with ample time for questions, no tools or advance preparation is needed. You’re welcome to join whether you have letterpress printing experience or not.

Who should take this class?

This workshop will be useful whether you own a Provisional Press, or you’re interested in learning how to print on any cylinder proofing press with unconventional, easy-to-source materials.

Will this class be recorded?

All of PiP’s classes are live and unrecorded — you’ll find it’s a lot more fun and interactive this way. They are closed captioned using Zoom’s Live Transcription feature.

Visit our FAQ page to learn more about PiP’s class policies.