National and Local Printing Groups

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Published on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 11:14

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There are a number of national associations of letterpress printers in the United States, chief among which is the Amalgamated Printers' Association, organized in 1958 as a hobby printers' group so that members could improve their skills, expand their knowledge, and exchange samples of their letterpress work. Today, the APA consists of both professional and amateur letterpress printers who contribute letterpress examples to a monthly mailing which goes to all members. APA also maintains a high-quality, private forum and e-mail list, and holds a renowned annual Wayzgoose (a three-day, traditional printers' picnic, with an auction, swap meet and banquet), in a different city each year. Membership in APA is limited to 150 printers at any given time and the group usually has a waiting list of applicants, but if you're really serious about printing, this is the heart of avocational letterpress printing in the US. For UK letterpress printers, the venerable British Printing Society, founded in 1944, offers membership to all who are interested in printing, and includes those who print for pleasure or profit, typographers, teachers, clubs and private publishers. The BPS produces several interesting publications for sale, as well as a monthly magazine. Overseas members are welcome. In Canada, the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG: pronounced "cabbage") was founded in 1983 by a group of professionals and amateurs from all branches of the book arts: bookbinders, calligraphers, paper makers, letterpress printers, paper marblers, and book artists, as well as archivists and conservators. Membership, currently about 500, is open to all those around the world who share their interests. CBBAG maintains a very useful web site that includes an extensive array of printing links.

Depending on where you live, there may be a Chappel, Guild, printing club or other such organization near you, and these are excellent places to find fellow letterpress printers, both beginners and experts. Boston Book Arts, for example, was established in 1999 by book artists who wanted to share ideas about their work and exchange information about the art of the book. A good list of these groups is maintained by the American Amateur Press Association, where you will also find a wide range of letterpress links to museums, type-founders and other letterpress subjects. The AAPA is one of a number of associations of printers, small press publishers and writers who, like the APA, regularly exchange publications. Other similar groups are the National Amateur Press Association and the United Amateur Press Association of Amercia.. An up-to-date list of associations and local groups can be found in the Briar Press Resource Guide, another is at the Gothika site of the Phoenix APA, and the British Printing Society has an online directory of their local chapters in the UK.

Once you get bitten by the letterpress bug, you may well find yourself hungering to learn about the history of this Black Art. In the US, the American Printing History Association, founded in 1974, encourages the study of printing history and its related arts and skills. It issues a regular newsletter and twice a year publishes Printing History, a scholarly journal which contains articles reflecting the broad range of printing history, as well as reviews and other features. It also holds an annual scholarly conference in a different city around the country. In the UK, the Printing Historical Society is a non-profit organization that fosters interest in the history of printing and encourages both the study and the preservation of printing machinery, records, and equipment of historical value. For people on both sides of the Atlantic, the Fine Press Book Association is an organization formed by individuals interested in the art of fine printing to promote printing skills and the appreciation of beautiful books. It has over 700 members, publishes a journal and organizes events for members and non-members.