Saturday, 31 May 2025

Adana press printing

There’s something wonderfully meditative and deliberate about printing on an Adana. These compact, hand-operated machines, once common in home and small-scale print shops, are perfect for creating beautifully tactile greeting cards.

The process is slow and considered, and that’s exactly the point. Each card begins with hand-setting metal type, followed by carefully inking the press and placing each sheet through by hand. 
Adding ink to the ink disk.
Chase and type placed in its bed and inked up.

The results? Crisp, debossed lettering and subtle textures you can feel.

Unlike digital prints, no two cards are ever quite the same. That small imperfection? That’s character. That’s a part of the charm of a handmade item. In our fast paced world printmaking reminds us of the value of taking time, and the beauty of making something by hand.

And the magic at the end, seeing the layers of ink used coming to light. Cleaning the ink disk. 


Friday, 9 May 2025

A New Box Set of Books

 I first heard about the British Printing Society when I took part in, Making Friends With Your Adana Press, a course at CFPR, UWE Bristol. If you’re interested in printmaking, including letterpress, it could very well be the place for you. The BPS has a membership throughout the UK (and internationally) with a great diversity of skills and knowledge, and a willingness to share it.

That’s how I came to receive this book boxset. The idea for a boxset was considered on a zoom meeting in 2023 . . . fourteen members got creative (and two or three of them got the project on an organised footing) and now we all have a fabulous collection of mini books.

mysterious parcel arrives . . .
ooh
wow!
time to make a coffee & take some time to enjoy
snug in their lovely blue box










Calling All Book Artists: Join a New Creative Group

Do you make books, by hand, using a press, or by imagination? Whether you’re a printmaker layering ink on paper, a writer binding words betw...