New Website (BadDogLetterpress.com)

Please visit our new site at: http://baddogletterpress.com/.  This new WordPress site now replaces this blogspot real estate (which will soon enough be decommish'd).

Benjamin's In The House (Dec 2, 2011)

Woop woop - I had the distinct pleasure of designing and printing a simple baby announcement for Benjamin Alexander Bastron.

2-color invitation	return address on square flap envelope (font: Rockwell)

Something You Gotta See

Not sure this has anything at all to do (directly) with letterpress, but you need to watch this TED clip by Scott McCloud. It's 17 min long - which by today's standards may seem like an eternity. I propose however that it's a bargain you should make. This is related to a program called Comic Life that I'm in the process of using to document some important events coming up in the life of the Freemans.

A Night of Wayzgoose

Some great shots captured by photographer Molly Lee:

using Ryan's battle-tested eyes to check registration.

Ross, Ryan and Tad solve the mystery of the Counter/Incrementer and build a prototype linkage out of fish line - once again making the counter functional. GENIUS you guys.

who's this young apprentice - Ethan or Colin?

Info on Wayzgoose.

Wayzgoose 2011 + Press Runs

Thanks to those good friends who dropped by for Wayzgoose 2011 (Ryan Sorgnard, Jerry Boileau, Molly/Tad/Ethan/Colin, Steve Hansen and Ross Iggulden - engineer on the counter). Next year's Wayzgoose I promise will be more food/fun/beverages - and less tedious letterpress demonstration.

And now that I've successfully run about ten jobs on the press, I've accumulated a good collection of useful 'lessons learned'. It's like having a bunch of (blood, sweat & tears) notches in my letterpress belt. Here are some shots (poor quality photos though they are) of the results: 

this one will be thrown out and replaced/re-run (thanks to the careful eye of 'corrector' JoMarie Hansen)

First Impressions ...

Wow, it's been awhile. A big project at the beach house (something for another post maybe) got in the way of my letterpress hobby - ouch. But the time as finally arrived. Yesterday photopolymer plates from BoxCar Press arrived by FedEx, Cranes Lettra came in overnight and I had picked up more ink from Gans Ink (thank you Rita) in Portland. So, last night I marshalled all forces (Kathy and Renee were there for the virgin outing), worked out details of getting the tympan (drawsheet) on properly, placed guide pins (that was kind of messy the first time), inked the press with dark red, figured out how to position the (photopolymer) plate on the base .. did a test on the tympan sheet - and we were off.

The first run was to lay down the 'Bad Dog Letterpress' type in the banner of my 'services sheet'.  Oh, about that ... we've had a name change.  I'm not saying there won't be a Chinook Letterpress in the future ... but we're casting off as 'Bad Dog Letterpress' which has all kind of history and legend associated with it - and is probably the better name (thanks Molly and Joerg - I'm sure you're right).

and


and

like printing money.

Christmas in April

A couple boxes arrived in the mail this week from NA Graphics in Silverton, Colorado, purveyor of letterpress stuff. In it was California Wash (a mysterious concoction - that's a kinder/gentler solvent for things like my sensitive old ink rollers), my needed trucks for the rollers, two salvaged quoins and requisite quoin key, grippers and gripper feet (this is getting good isn't it), guide pins and a couple of STAR guides - which frankly I have no notion of how to use. Brushes for the motor are still 'in-transit' and there remain a couple other crucial, but backordered items. The process of 'gearing up' is slow indeed - this isn't stuff you go to Home Depot for. See photos below:
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base locked up inside the chase with quoins and wooden furniture

nylon trucks on ink roller

STAR Gauges