We can slap some text into Photoshop, apply layer styles and churn out some quick LetterPress lookin’ crap, but the process that goes into creating the real thing is much, MUCH more time consuming. RISD students Phil Cao and Kebei Li show the intricate process behind the typesetting task of making one section of one poem using this old school printing press technique.
LetterPress Process
Callil Capuozzo has turned his love of making beautiful objects into an online video series, allowing others to share in the process of making. His latest, made with Kebei Li and Philippe Cao , is a beautifully shot and edited video about the intricate process of letterpress printing that will appeal to all current and aspiring type nerds.
The piece being printed is from a poem called ‘Work’ by Kahlil Gibran. You can read the full poem here. This is the section that was printed.
Then a ploughman said, “Speak to us of Work.”
And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission…
