Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $400
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Masks are no longer required for workshops, though anyone is welcome to wear one if they wish.

This hybrid workshop consists of a three-hour live Zoom session about preparing files for multi-color letterpress printing, followed by two days of in-person, hands-on press time to produce a small edition of your own greeting/holiday card. Students must have experience both in letterpress printing and digital design software –please see the prerequisites in bold, below.

In the Zoom session, students will look at examples of multi-color letterpress printing and the color approaches used for each piece. Students will learn about different color systems (Pantone spot color vs CMYK), registration, knock out and overprint, and trap.

In between the Zoom session and the printing weekend, students will set up their own multi-color, 5x7" greeting card image and have their own polymer plates made (not included in the class fee).

During the two days of printing students will learn how to use the Pantone book to mix ink colors; each student will print one mixed Pantone color along with 2-3 other premixed ink colors. The class will discuss each person's project as a group, learning from the different requirements and approaches for each. Each student will print their own multi-color card design and leave with a set of cards and envelopes.
 

>> Prerequisite: Cylinder Core 1-4 AND Digital Design for Letterpress (Polymer Core 1) or equivalent digital design experience. Students must be comfortable and competent working in the design software of their choice. The instructor may be using different software than students so they must know their software, not just follow along. Students will ideally have experience preparing files and ordering their own polymer plates. <<

Materials to Bring: Students will need to get their own polymer plates made. Plate costs are not included in the workshop fee.

Date & Time: This is a hybrid workshop.

Pre-class Zoom session: Thursday, November 7 :: 6-9pm

In Person workshop dates: Saturday & Sunday, November 23 & 24, 2024 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Location: 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

NOTE: Please read over the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class. Registration will close approximately three days prior to the start date of the workshop to allow the instructor time to prep materials for class. We recommend you not wait to register, as workshops that don't meet our minimum enrollment will be canceled, sometimes as much as a week in advance.
 

About the Instructor | Li Jiang (she/her)

Li Jiang is a Berkeley-based letterpress printer, graphic designer, bookbinder and print maker. After receiving a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design she found her way to letterpress printing and continues to gain as much arcane knowledge as possible about the craft from Bay Area printing masters. She regularly prints with a variety of presses such as platen presses, various proof presses, and 19th Century iron hand-presses. Li also leads iron hand-press demonstrations at various Bay Area institutions.

In addition to working with individual clients in the past 15 years, Li also prints for many of the Bay Area Bibliophilic and printing organizations such as the Book Club of California, the Colophon Club, the Roxburghe Club, American Printing Historic Association (Nor Cal Chapter), Moxon Chappel, and volunteers at the SF Center for the Book. She was also one of the mentors in the inaugural year of the SFCB Book Arts Mentorship Award program in 2024. Li is currently working on a book of 36 prints using analogue-generated images printed from polymer plates.