Workshop Fee (includes materials fee): $200
Click here to apply for a Windgate scholarship.

Masks are no longer required for most workshops, though anyone is welcome to wear one if they wish.
 

Cylinder Core Certificate Program

The hand-fed 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 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 Cylinder Core Certificate Program.

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.

Competencies Gained:

• Builds on skills from Cylinder Core 1

Knowledge:

• How composition, justification and registration combine on press

Skills:

• Basic letterpress design
• Composition of a tight line
• Line justification
• Making a line cut work with type
• Locking up a form in a chase
• Case memorization for speed in composition and distribution
• Proficiency in using the composing stick

Equipment:

• Increased familiarity with the cylinder (Vandercook) press

>> Prerequisite: Cylinder Core 1 <<

Materials to Bring: None. All tools and materials will be provided. 

Date & Time: Sunday, June 2, 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 | Brian Ferrett (he/him)

Brian has a printing degree from MATC and worked in offset web and screen printing. In 2008 he joined M&H Type as a typecasting apprentice under Lewis Mitchell. These days he co-manages M&H's daily operations, maintains the historic casting machines and presses, casts type and prints for the various Arion Press publications. Brian is a member of the Northern California chapter of the American Printing History Association, the American Typecaster Fellowship, and volunteers with San Francisco Public Library's annual Valentine’s Day broadside event. In his spare time he plays around with his Vandercook 219AB, C&P New Style 10x15, and his two Kelseys.

Past Student Reviews:

“Brian was very knowledgable, organized, patient, and helpful. He kept a very relaxed atmosphere and let everyone explore and find their own projects with just enough support."

“Brian was fantastic.  I tend to ask a lot of questions and Brian was understanding and willing to answer all of them!  Brian set a nice pace of the class, supported each student with the process while still allowing them to experience the process.  He provided good background and reasons for each of the steps.”

“Brian was great and I would take a class with him again."

"Good mix of informative (history, how-to) and hands on."