Skylab Letterpress Internship: Week 1

Day 1:
The first day was GREAT! The day was spent getting oriented to a typical day at the shop. My first task was to sort through and organize a box of lead. This helped me get a hang of a few sizes that are used when blocking in type. I watched and helped a little as Bob developed a photo polymer plate which is the main source of how the jobs are printed at Skylab. The client will send their design which is turned into film that will be used for the plate development. I answered a phone call, and ended up meeting the client later that day. After the plate was developed, Bob explained and showed me how to set up the press for a job. I helped him when I could and we printed some business cards. It was noted on several occasions during the week that I am a quick learn and not afraid to figure out how to do something. I believe that restoring PSU's letter press helped tremendously with my confidence and comfort when it comes to getting my hands on the presses. Overall the first day was a success, I greatly enjoy how open Bob is to teaching me as much as he can as well as allow me to experiment and figure out tasks with some independence.

Day 2:
The second day was, again, successful. He let me loose with an oil can and oil gun to peer around the presses for all of the hidden dots that are to be oiled. There are red, yellow, and green points; the color determines how often they need to be oiled. The more I looked around, the more I found. Bob said that still to this day he discovers new ones! After oiling everything up, we prepped one of the presses to print green on a run of business cards. There is definitely a method of getting the ink on all of the rollers, but as all of the printing processes, every printer has their own way of getting from point A to point B. Bob has encouraged me to watch how he does things but do the tasks as they make sense to me. After getting the rollers inked, I was to get the plate attached to the chase and level out the guides so that when it prints, all of the marks are spot on. It is amazing how much preparation it takes to get the job printing but I am enjoying the process. Running the press is pretty much like driving an old car with all of the levers. We packaged up a completed order, started to prep a die-cut only to find the die was wrong, and started a card job. At the end of the day, I was becoming more comfortable with the presses.

Day 3:
The third day, yet again, was so much fun. I started off by inking up the press by myself, once I got the okay, I moved on to prepping the press the rest of the way. When I was clipping a guide back onto the press, I managed to get my thumb wedged and stuck between to metal parts. Through a small bought of panic, I pulled it out... Then, I got to the point where the polymer plate was attached to the chase and ended up ruining it when trimming up the side and the knife slipped across a few words. An embarrassing but educational moment. I ended up putting the next plate on while Bob developed a new plate. He had a few clients come in and I finished the job by myself! It's crazy that I was comfortable enough to do so. Bob told me that it was around week two when he was able to print by himself, I was on day 2 1/2! During the morning he expressed that in the afternoons I can work on a personal project so that he can get office work accomplished. With that, I started looking through type and lining up what I wanted to print. He also told me that I could doodle with a knife on film and make it into a plate. Having a few minutes of free drawing was really nice; however, I did not feel it was plate worthy.

Day 4:

The fourth day was pretty easy going, I made boxes and packaged up masters. I set up and locked in my very first bits of actual type on a letter press, no problems. I just have a phrase and a few images that are arranged into a face. Nothing too elaborate as I am just getting a feel for locking in the type, pressure, inking, etc. While locking in the type, I was cutting a thick piece of lead and managed to get the fatty part of my hand pinched between the two handles and got a blood blister. Other than the few minor injuries and one slightly significant mistake, I'd say I am doing okay! I definitely lose track of time while I am there.

Overall, I feel like I have learned SO much in just four days. I cannot wait to see where I am at, at the end of summer. It is a wonderful feeling to be excited for the day to start. A huge thank you to Bob for having me this summer and being a great teacher.

Here is a peek into the shop...