Letterpress Alive in U.K.!

 Equipment and Suppliers 
Exhibitions,
Open Studios, etc		Organisations
and Societies
Courses,
Workshops, etc.		Presses offering
letterpress service
 Help/Info      View some active machines;      Other links 

Letterpress is still alive in the United Kingdom. There are still commercial printers using letterpress, especially for labels and numbered forms, etc. There are still some universities and colleges with letterpress equipment for student use. There are still private and fine presses producing books by letterpress. There are still many small 'hobby' printers with letterpress equipment, and interest in letterpress is slowly reviving as people realise the pleasure that can be derived from the physical placement of type and its subsequent impression onto paper.....

The purpose of this site is to provide some information about letterpress activity in the United Kingdom. There has already been an awakening in North America, with several Centers for the Book as well as many Book Arts courses in colleges and universities, but this is less advanced in the U.K. and mainland Europe. Sadly, also, the number of suppliers of type is dwindling, as the typefounders retire and few people come forward to replace them, but as you will see below, new type is still available.

This website is supported by the Oxford Guild of Printers. The list does not try to be definitive, and also is deliberately small-scale for ease of loading and viewing, and so is only a limited selection of what is available in the United Kingdom. Please send any comments, corrections, suggestions for inclusion, etc to alembicpress@googlemail.com

Letterpress equipment and supplies in the U.K.

PressesPaper, inks, etcType and typesettingRollersBlocks and platesBookbindingMonotype Linotype, Ludlow, etcPrinters' Removals Note that eg The British Printing Society's Small Printer, and Mike Phillips' The Printer (e-mail the editor at theprinter4918@hotmail.com) carry advertisements, and classified ads for letterpress. The Briar Press has a sales and wants section which often includes UK items. In addition, there are suppliers of letterpress sundries such as NA Graphics (e-mail for a catalogue), American Printing Equipment & Supply Co, in U.S. and Drucken & Lernen in Germany (e-mail for a list), and there are type foundries in U.S., Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, India, etc. who will send to U.K. customers. On-line auction sites such as e-bay also sometimes feature U.K. sales of used equipment, etc.

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Organisations and Societies in U.K. with an emphasis on letterpress

There are other U.K. organisations and societies with an interest in letterpress shown under the general Links

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Courses and Workshops on letterpress in U.K.

Letterpress Exhibitions, Open Days, Book Fairs in U.K. in 2013

In addition, some museums have regular or occasional demonstrations of letterpress equipment, for example:

Some active Letterpress Printers in U.K.

Please note that these links are just to a few of the Presses whose web sites show pictures of their equipment. Many of the list of Presses that offer a commercial printing service also show their machinery. Many other active Private Presses can be found from the UK Private Presses site.

Letterpress Printers offering a commercial service

This list is still being compiled. Suggestions for additional entries known to readers are welcome. Note also that many Private Presses may undertake commissions.

Some U.K. sources of help and/or information

or try the archive of letterpress discussion, as the group has U.K. members. Or even mail your query to LETPRESS@UNB.CA after joining the group. Join by sending the message SUBSCRIBE LETPRESS xxx (where xxx is your name) to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA

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Links to some other letterpress related sites

This list is only a very small selection of what is available, and for example Briar Press, Ton Cremer, and Dave Tribby all have a much fuller list of links.

Written by David Bolton and last updated 17 April 2013