Getting Started: Setting Up Shop
If you’re setting up your shop for the first time, or looking into purchasing your own press, you’re going to want to listen to our season one episode: Getting Started: Setting Up Shop where we share what things we can’t live without in our own shops.
In the meantime, we’ve got the basics listed for you here (as well as some tips, tricks and recommendations)!
The Bare Necessities
For the bare necessities when setting up shop, you’ve probably already got a press - or at least have begun the search! Depending on the condition your press arrives to you in, you should have or you’ll need:
Chase
Rollers & trucks
Roller gauge
Oil
You’ll need to ensure that your rollers and trucks are in good condition (no flat spots, are fairly even, no divots etc.). Do they sit at type high? Great! Time to make sure your chase can be securely locked into your press.
Now you’re *almost* ready to roll! I’m sure you have been excited to pull your first prints and are itching to get printing. Before you do, you’re going to need a few different supplies, depending on what type of printing you plan to do.
What will you print?
Most of us who are stationers tend to lean on Photopolymer plates, as they are completely custom and provide us with almost unlimited design options - and our custom design clients usually rely on that. You’ll need a base to go along with your plates to get things type high, of course.
If you’re interested in using lead or wood type, there are a couple of additional items you’ll need. The type itself needs to be set in lines and the lines need to be surrounded by furniture to help hold it in place in the chase. To lock it all up, you’ll need a couple of quoins as well. Now that your form is locked up in the chase… It’s time to get inky!
Ink
You can always start small with one or two base ink colors. As long as the only color you purchase isn’t transparent white, you can get started printing! (Start with black or check out a starter kit from our friends at Southern Ink!) You’ll be happy to have a palette, ink knives and a brayer on hand as well. Once you’re ready to dive into mixing specific colors, you’re going to need to invest in a pantone formula guide and a super precise scale.
HOT TIP: One of my favorite things to have on hand is popsicle sticks! I use the wider ones to get ink out of the cans, so I don’t have to clean my ink knife a bunch of times.
Makeready
You’d think that several paragraphs later, we’d be printing… but, alas, letterpress requires a lot of bits and pieces! To get your form registered and ready to print, you’re going to need a variety of makeready supplies. Gauge pins, tympan, pressboard and sheets of paper for packing (we like to have newspaper weight as well as some heavier weight sheets on hand). Finally: the paper you plan to print on.
ANOTHER HOT TIP: Jillian and I both absolutely can not live without painter’s tape. We use it for registering our plates, extra packing in specific spots where we need it and so, soooo much more.
Now, it’s finally time to get printing!
If you want to know the specifics - what type of scale to get, where to find quoins, keys and furniture (for printing, not your house, haha!) - and every single supply we stock in our shops, then you’re in luck! We have created the [Letterpress Supply Guide]. It includes links to vendors in a dozen categories, and it even has our exact supply shopping list included. We’ve done the research & collected the information so you don’t have to! Plus, buying the guid and using any affiliate links directly supports the podcast. It’s a win-win!
Have printing questions, or want a friend to celebrate a successful print run? Send us a DM on Instagram - we can’t wait to hear all about it!
