Cylinder Core Certificate Program

The handfed cylinder proof press, also known as the Vandercook press, has a special place in both print history and in teaching book arts. Immediate and accessible, yet nuanced and specific, it is the press that introduced many of us to letterpress. The four class Cylinder Core Certificate Program allows students to move quickly through the press basics while also addressing relief printing in general. Students who finish the four core classes are qualified to rent press time as well as move on to more advanced classes and techniques. Click here to learn more about the Core Certification Program and find out how you receive a discount.

Cylinder Core 1 :: Experience Letterpress!

Dig in to the tradition and history of letterpress printing and get your hands dirty. Learn about the process and practice of setting type, mixing inks and pulling impressions. In this class you will learn how to print your own cards! 

Cylinder Core 2 :: Power of the Broadside

Build your letterpress skills: learn advanced justification, typesetting, and composition. Put it all together to print a broadside of your own design.

Cylinder Core 3 – Posterized

Develop your letterpress design skills and aesthetic while increasing your letterpress versatility: learn to set up the press, refine your registration skills, and run an edition. Learn more about packing, roller height, and make-ready. Come ready to run an edition of your own small poster!

Cylinder Core 4 – Digital into Analog

Bring digital back into analog in this final core course and learn to print from photopolymer plates. Apply your letterpress skills to artwork created digitally to make fantastic plates for printing. Walk away with a stack of greeting cards printed from polymer plates.

Materials to Bring: None

Workshop Fee: $700

Date & Time: Monday-Thursday, August 10-13, 2015 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Location: This workshop will take place at 375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Note: Please read the SFCB Registration Policies before signing up for a class

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THIS WORKSHOP.

About the Instructor | Mary Laird

Mary Laird, MFA University of Wisconsin at Madison, has been printing letterpress as Quelquefois Press since 1969. Mary loves to tutor projects at SFCB. See a video of Mary Laird here.

Past Student Reviews

"I was intimidated by letterpress at first, but Mary changed all of that. She is dedicated to making sure her students succeed all while having an amazing (and hilarious) time."

"Mary is so charmingly enthusiastic and supportive it makes everything fly beautifully!"

"Mary was a delight; informative, welcoming, and obviously skilled in her discipline."