IN STUDIO with Evanston Print & Paper Shop

Recently, I spent a wonderful hour with Eileen of the newly opened Evanston Print & Paper Shop. Eileen and partners Mardy and Vanessa have created a very beautiful working letterpress shop that executes custom work but also serves as the classroom for programs in bookbinding and letterpress.

On November 17, you can join their "Make Your Own Holiday Card" class for $80 and hand crank those presses yourself! Although the shop has introduced a polymer platemaker to create custom plates from any digital design (just provide an Illustrator file), Eileen concedes that there is something about handsetting lines of type that really captures what letterpress is all about. You can rent presses here as well, and produce your own creations!

In the past hundred years, letterpress moved from being a mass production technique to a specialty high-end boutique business that attracts artists and those who love handmade craft. In the old days the debossed "punch" of the letters would have indicated a novice printer, now it's the signature of most letterpress product. Thank you to the very talented staff at EPP! Check them out for yourself at the The Evanston Print & Paper Shop.