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. Core classes must be taken in order, 1 through 4.
Click here to learn more about the Cylinder Core Certificate Program and how to receive a discount.
Cylinder Core 2 :: Power of the Broadside
A broadside is a single-sided printed sheet historically used for advertisements, proclamations, or other public announcements, though in modern times they're most often used for poetry.
In Core 2 you'll build your letterpress skills: learn advanced justification, typesetting, and composition, then put it all together to print a single-color 8 x 10" 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
Materials to Bring
All tools and materials will be provided. Students can bring some ideas for what to set as multi-line text, with the understanding that the instructor will have final say in what will be appropriate for this project. Poems, song lyrics, and pithy paragraphs are good candidates.
Please note: Class projects are for learning particular skills and supporting class dynamics. Project ideas should be flexible, open to what class time and communal studio use will permit.
About the Instructor
Brian Ferrett (he/him) 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 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
“It was designed for us to create our own individual project and it was very detail oriented.”
“Brian is so fun to work with. He helped me laugh through my mistakes and never made me feel bad for not fully understanding something or having incomplete mastery.”
“Brian really cares about letterpress and is able to make it relevant and fun for new students, which is not always the case! He's a great guide and really gets creative results from the students! A+”
Location
San Francisco Center for the Book
375 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Registration Policies
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.
Workshop fee
(includes materials fee):
$225
SFCB's Windgate Scholarship Fund is dedicated to providing need-based financial support to individuals interested in learning bookbinding, letterpress printing, and related book arts. Click here to apply.
Prerequisite(s):
Cylinder Core 1
Class session:
Saturday: June 14, 2025
9:30am-5:30pm
If this workshop is full, please click this link to add your name to the waitlist. If a seat becomes available, we will contact you.