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Posted by RL Tillman on August 31st, 2010 | The Times‘ Arts Section shares a heartwarming tale about Jack Schwartz, President of the Nature Printing Society, who has dedicated himself to the art of gyotaku.
Last year, one fish print even served a humanitarian purpose. Mr. Schwartz was asked by a fourth-grade teacher in Shoreham to memorialize an angel fish, a class pet that died after what Mr. Schwartz called “an overzealous cleaning of the tank.” The children were bereft.
So he made the print and brought it to class. “They were so happy; they gathered around and looked at it and talked about how it looked like the fish,” Mr. Schwartz said. “And that now, they didn’t have to take care of it.”
Posted by RL Tillman on August 30th, 2010 | Two clips from the old Adam West Batman show prove that printing is only good for one thing: CRIME.
In this clip, Bruce Wayne sets up a sting operation, convincing The Joker to print some fake money on his old letterpress. The Joker is posing as a comic book publisher. Bruce says “I chanced to be thumbing through one of the comic books you publish and it struck my eye that the inks you use are identical to the inks used by the United States Treasury.” (what?) The dynamic printing action starts at 3:25.
This next clip features a second-rate villain called “Colonel Gumm” who counterfeits stamps. Just watch the first two minutes:
His henchman’s name is “Reprint”!
Posted by amze on August 27th, 2010 |
In a nod to the political posters as a form of public discourse Rome is full of many official and seemingly unsupervised locations to hang them. These poster spots often have a layers and layers of posters in various stages of decay. All of the posters I had a chance to see looked to be slickly produced numbers, probably designed by a particular campaign, candidate or party.
Continue reading Dispatches from Rome: Public Display of Graphics
Posted by Jason Urban on August 26th, 2010 | For those who need a healthy dose of counter culture with their prints, check out the Blotter Barn. Mark McCloud, acid blotter art historian and 60s archivist, has been collecting LSD blotter art for more than thirty-five years. He shares some of his collection on the site and offers prints of the designs for purchase (minus the hallucinogenic effects, of course).
 Gorby, this print depicts a four-way hit that was originally issued circa 1988.
 Black Cats, this print depicts a four-way hit that was originally issued circa 1981.
 The Mighty Quinn, this print depicts a single hit that was originally issued circa 1978
I think this one above is my favorite. So simple but so full of drama and implied narrative. A lone figure stares out into the distance at a boat. Someone could write a novel based on this scene. The design is inspired by the Bob Dylan song but looks like it’s pulled from an issue of Tintin to me.
Oh, and check out the Blotter Barn annex for some interesting images of the pre-press sheets…
 Detail of image.
(Thanks, Luther.)
Posted by amze on August 25th, 2010 | 
A short visual essay on some of the more interesting street graphics seen while wandering through Rome this summer.
Continue reading Dispatches from Rome: Word on the Street(Graphics)
Posted by RL Tillman on August 23rd, 2010 | A UK-based retailer partnered with an artist named Faith Pearson to create a series of dioramas using recycled ink cartridges. You can see more (including Godzilla) here, but this Starship Enterprise is really the best one:
 (via)
Posted by RL Tillman on August 22nd, 2010 | When, do you think, was the last time the word “printmaking” was printed in an issue of GQ? My guess is that it was a long time ago, perhaps when the magazine went by its original moniker, “Gentleman’s Quarterly.” In that era, gentlemen and printmaking went hand and hand (unlike today, when our beloved art form is besmirched by ruffians, scamps, and scoundrels).
It took the Levi’s Workshops to bring this matter to the attention of well-dressed men everywhere:
 Scan courtesy of Brian Garner.
Posted by RL Tillman on August 18th, 2010 | 
Good printing scenes, but that song is just awful.
Posted by Jason Urban on August 12th, 2010 |  In conjunction with the Printers’ Ball, a section of the Luddington Building’s ground floor was cordoned off as a showroom of sorts. On sale was a wide range of merchandise produced largely (I think) by Columbia College students- prints, cards, jewelry, apparel, and all manner of hand-printed product. It seemed like a decent way to put some money in student pockets- a celebration of academic cottage industry. We didn’t have time to get the details on the work in these pictures but if you know anything about it, you can add credits in the comments. Speaking of which…
One Printers’ Ball attendee emailed us to ask us if we knew anything about an item that was for sale- “a small poster with a phrase that started with “Everything is going to be all right . . . “” We didn’t see it but maybe a Printeresting reader can help him out? Feel free to add a comment…
 Continue reading Merch at the Ball
Posted by RL Tillman on August 6th, 2010 | Apparently last week was the official opening of Printers Park, a playground in New York City inspired by printing equipment. The park was constructed on property owned long ago by Richard March Hoe, who invented the rotary printing press in 1843. NYC Parks and Rec sez:
The southern portion was reconstructed in 2009 with a playground modeled after the design of the rotary printing press: graduated steps mimic the cylinders of the press, and the white pathway running through the park alludes to the continuous roll of paper that was fed through the press.
Last April, the Times featured this photo of the park’s super-fun printing press jungle gym:
 Kids can pretend they’re INK!!
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