Logos Graphics

Introductory Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress Class
Saturday, July 18, 2009
10 am to 5 pm
Cost = $75
at Logos Graphics (map)

Heidelberg Windmill

We welcome you to join us for a one-day introductory Windmill class! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the set up and printing basics for the Heidelberg Windmill letterpress.

We’ll include tips and tricks for make ready, inking secrets, and printing onto a wide variety of papers (including envelopes!). Participants will have multiple opportunities to set up and run this fantastic letterpress. Class size is limited to 6 people.

To register, please send us an email. Payment may be sent online via Paypal or by mailing a check (made payable to Logos Graphics).

Thanks to everyone who came to last Saturday’s class on digital pre-press for letterpress! We had a fun time, and are shifting gears in our next class to delightfully simple, hands-on fun:

Paste Papers + Accordion Books

Introduction to Paste Papers + Simple Accordion Books
Saturday, June 20, 2009
10 am to 5 pm
Cost = $50 (includes materials fee)

Paste papers are a fast way to whip up non-representational work onto paper. In the morning, we’ll show you how to make simple paste papers using a range of acrylic pigments and paper colors.

In the afternoon, we’ll take the paste papers from the a.m. session and create simple accordion book structures for you to take home, further decorate and share!

To register for this class, email class@logosgraphics.net.

Here’s a great discovery: I found that using vinyl stencils is a super easy way to screen print multiple colors and split-fountain colors. Using just one screen, I eliminated the middle steps of shooting screens (coating the screen with photopolymer emulsion, outputting a film positive, shooting the screen and then rinsing out the stencil and allowing to dry).

Materials needed:

• Vinyl cutter + vinyl material (in any color)
• Transfer tape to transfer your design to the screen
• Screen printing frame, cleaned
• Screen printing press
• Squeegee
• Screen printing inks

Once you’ve cut your vinyl from a vector based art file (Illustrator or .eps file), simply weed the excess vinyl off (that isn’t part of your design), apply your vinyl stencil using transfer tape, add ink to your frame and begin screen printing! Here are some photos:

Vinyl stencil, pre-weeded

Picking up vinyl letters with transfer tape

Applying vinyl stencil to screen using transfer tape

Peeling back transfer tape

Adding ink and pulling the first print

Adding another stencil for second color printing

Interested in learning how to do this yourself? We teach classes here at Logos in screen printing and a wide range of printmaking processes (letterpress, intaglio, etc.). Simply email us and let us know if you’d like to try your own hand at it; based on interest, we may add another screen printing class this summer.

Pre-Press Class for Letterpress
Saturday, May 30, 2009
3-6 pm
Special low rate: $35

Come find out how to reduce your film and plate costs with our prepress/file preparation tips! In this class, find out the most cost-effective way to prepare your files for plate production, saving you both time and money. We’ll cover digital layout schemes, handling Photoshop images, type, and little-known tricks for creating letterpress-friendly designs.

This class is a great opportunity to check out our Heidelberg Windmill letterpress. Participants will be eligible for a 15% discount on their next film or plate order from Logos Graphics!

Thank you to everyone who came to our free second salon last Saturday, May 16! We enjoyed meeting you all and had fun screen printing too… many folks chose to use a split fountain with multiple colors, while others overprinted a second color over their initial design.

Here are some photos from our session:

Screen Printing Stations

Screen Print

Screen Print

Screen Print

Screen Print

Screen Print

Station + Drying Rack

The PCBA Book Arts and Printers’ Fair is this Saturday, May 9 at Fort Mason in San Francisco! This popular annual event is one of the best opportunities to meet and experience the work of Bay Area book artists, printers, calligraphers, typographers and printmakers. Fine books, broadsides, and a myriad of small paper goods and gifts will also be available for sale. This is a fabulous time to support our local arts community! 

This free and family-friendly event is hosted by the Pacific Center for the Book Arts. Come and enjoy free demonstrations, workshops and kid-friendly activities!

PCBA Book Arts and Printers’ Fair
Fort Mason, Building A
Saturday, May 9, 2009
9 am - 4 pm
FREE!

Our friend Gary pointed us toward this great Flash-based, interactive introduction to different print processes. It covers several print processes that we offer here at Logos: woodcut, etching (also known as intaglio), lithography (we do offset lithography today), and screen printing. For those wondering where letterpress fits in, note that letterpress is similar to woodcut printing in that they are both relief (raised) printing processes.

We encourage you to check to out this great online project for yourself, especially if you are considering taking any of our upcoming classes or salons.

Making plates for letterpress requires a series of controlled environments. Each step has its rules and rituals, a need for focus and attention, and an ongoing mantra that prohibits cat hair from making its way into the process.

There are many visual checkpoints along the way, decision making moments when either immediate correction can be made or backtracking to a previous step is necessary. This can mean a quick look in correct light or a spot check with the loupe on the vulnerable places; the lonely dot, the serif in a line of fine text or the crisp end of a .25 point rule that designers love so much.

My favorite visual check is a more comprehensive scan near the end of the process, right before the plate is set. This is an exquisite sight, lavishly lit and magnified under the loupe until a polymer terrain becomes visible. It reminds me of New Mexico, where red-rock mesas rise from the flat desert floor. (I have a vivid imagination.)

The polymer plateaus have just enough texture on their surface to hold ink, the verticals are at the correct angle, the base is void of unnecessary monomers. It is faintly luminescent, dental-plate pink geology, perfect unto its own laws of physics, ready for its ultra-violet rays, waiting to make a press person happy.
Unless cat hair has made its way into the process.

– Shirley Edwards

We are happy to announce our upcoming Summer 2009 event schedule at Logos Graphics. This summer we will jump into more letterpress and screen printing fun!

For the very first time, we are also hosting free Salons that are open to the public! Through our Salon series, experienced printers and novices alike can come and enjoy an introductory demo of a printmaking process in a relaxed atmosphere. We’ll have a chance to meet you and show you our workflow through different printing methods, and through your feedback be able to better tailor our summer classes.

Depending on the response to our Salons, we may schedule more summer classes. As always, we welcome your suggestions for class topics. If you would like to register or discuss a class idea, please email us!

Salon 01: Screen Printing Aprons

Saturday, April 25, 2009
3-6 pm
Free!

Our first Salon is a casual gathering two weeks before the PCBA Printer’s and Book Arts Fair. We will screen print onto 100% cotton canvas aprons for the fair, covering the basic process of setting up a screen printing press for textiles, inks and appropriate squeegee techniques.

The aprons will be available for sale at the fair on Saturday May 9, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at Fort Mason in San Francisco. More info on the fair is available at the PCBA website.

Salon 02: Screen Printing with Torn/Cut Paper Stencils

Saturday, May 16, 2009
3-6 pm
Free!

Our second Salon provides an excellent introduction to screen printing onto paper. We’ll have a live demonstration that includes tearing and cutting paper stencils, applying them to screens, using water-based inks and special squeegee techniques. This is a great option for those who favor quick, chance-based art forms.

Letterpress Recession Buster!

Saturday, May 30, 2009
3-6 pm
$35

Come find out how to reduce your film and plate costs with our prepress/file preparation tips! In this class, find out the most cost-effective way to prepare your files for plate production, saving you both time and money. We’ll cover digital layout schemes, handling Photoshop images, and little-known tricks for creating letterpress-friendly designs.

This class is a great opportunity to check out our Heidelberg Windmill letterpress. Participants will be eligible for a 15% discount on their next film or plate order from Logos Graphics!

Introduction to Paste Papers + Simple Accordion Books

Saturday, June 20, 2009
10 am to 5 pm
Cost = $50 (includes materials fee)

Paste papers are a fast way to whip up non-representational work onto paper. In the morning, we’ll show you how to make simple paste papers using a range of acrylic pigments and paper colors.

In the afternoon, we’ll take the paste papers from the a.m. session and create simple accordion book structures for you to take home, further decorate and share!

Introductory Heidelberg Windmill Letterpress Class

Saturday, July 18, 2009
10 am to 5 pm
Cost = $75

After some consideration, we’ve decided to create a one-day introductory Windmill class! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the set up and printing basics for the Heidelberg Windmill letterpress. We’ll include tips and tricks for make ready, inking secrets, and printing onto a wide variety of papers (including envelopes!). Participants will have multiple opportunities to set up and run this fantastic letterpress. Class size is limited to 6 people.

The Homestead

Please join us at The Homestead for a happy/social hour with members of the Pacific Center for the Book Arts! We’ll be there from 5:30-7:30 pm on Tuesday, April 21.

Come share a drink and learn more about PCBA, upcoming events and get to know others in the local book arts/ printmaking scene.

This event is free and open to all interested in book arts and printmaking. Ages 21+.

The Homestead (map)
2301 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-4663