A generous supporter has donated a treasure trove of letterpress equipment to the workshop. Presses, metal type and two sought-after tabletop Adana Presses have been lent to us by Isaac Clarke. The presses need a little love and a bit of funding to get them refurbished, but the possibilities are exciting.
Among the letterpress goodies that Isaac has lent to the workshop: lots of chases to hold the type in place, four composing sticks, plenty of quoins, and a plethora of metal type, including Perpetua, Spartan and Gill Sans. Some classic fonts there. The Adana Presses are especially neat: they fit on the tabletop, and are elegantly engineering to hold the type and the paper, re-ink the rollers and print with perfect pressure all in one smooth motion.
Letterpress has undergone a resurgence in recent years, but there aren’t that many places to try it out. People appreciate the unique quality of the print that you get: the dense, vibrant quality of the ink, and the tactile feel of the impression that the metal type makes on soft paper. It’s satisfying to learn how to assemble sentences letter by letter, a skill considered obsolete but starting to be appreciated again. Hopefully with our collective resources, skills and efforts here at Leeds Print Workshop, we can restore this letterpress equipment back to its former glory. Watch out for updates.
  