Cylinder Core Certificate Program
San Francisco Center for the Book’s Cylinder Core Certificate Program is structured to allow for scheduling flexibility while offering students a comprehensive foundation in letterpress printing, personal attention from instructors, and access to our well-equipped print studio.
SFCB offers three terms per year: January-April, May-August, and September-December. Workshops are posted 6-8 weeks before the start of the new term. The Bookbinding and Letterpress Core workshop series are offered each term.
The Cylinder Core Certificate program consists of four daylong workshops, each with a small project to complete and take home at the end of the day. These classes gradually build letterpress skills and experience on the hand-fed cylinder (proof) press, often referred to as a Vandercook:
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Core 1: Experience Letterpress!
Learn about the process and practice of setting type, mixing inks and pulling impressions. Students will design and print a small edition of a folded greeting card while learning the basics of press operation.
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Core 2: Power of the Broadside
Build your letterpress skills: learn advanced justification, typesetting, and composition. Put it all together to print an 8 x 10" broadside of your own design.
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Core 3: Posterized
Get more acquainted with the press: learn about packing, roller height, and make-ready. Once you've got everything set up you'll run an edition of your own 12 x 15" poster.
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Core 4: Digital into Analog
All those fancy letterpress wedding invitations are printed from digital designs turned into polymer plates. You'll learn how to print with premade plates and walk away with a stationary suite: a coordinated set of cards, letter sheets, and envelopes.
Individual workshop sessions are offered on weekends throughout the term. Classes must be taken in sequence; students who miss enrolling in a Core 1 workshop must wait until the next term to begin the series. The Intensive option offers all four classes on four consecutive weekdays.
Students who enroll in all four individual classes at the same time are eligible for a $100 series discount. To receive the discount, please call or email to let us know which four dates you wish to take; we will complete the registrations and email an invoice for payment. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively to online registrations/payments, so please don't register yourself online if you want the series discount. The Intensive class rate is already reduced; there is no further discount available for that workshop.
Upon completion of the four-class series, students will receive a certificate of completion and be eligible to rent studio time to use the Vandercook cylinder presses in our print studio, including our collection of metal and wood type, polymer plates, cuts and images. Please see the Rentals page of this website for more information on dates, times, fees, and more.
Questions? Contact us at workshops@sfcb.org or 415-565-0545.
Cylinder Core Schedule :: Spring 2025
