Letterpress Core Skills: 2025 Spring Session

Participants of all skill levels are welcome*

UVa Education Benefit Eligible**

Explore the art and craft of typesetting and letterpress printing in the Center's Pressroom which features Vandercook cylinder letterpresses and the largest publicly accessible collection of movable type in the mid-Atlantic region.

We’ll have multiple small assignments/projects demonstrating metal type, lino & wood block, polymer, and multi-color printing.

All participants will receive a copy of our type specimen book Speaking in Faces.

The goal is to achieve a demonstrable level of skill and confidence on a Vandercook press; it would be a first step toward being “licensed” on the press, which comes with sufficient experience and exposure to all aspects of printing.

During the course, the student will learn the skills necessary to:

• Independently compose, typeset, and print a typeset text project on a Vandercook printing press
• Utilize basic letterpress terminology
• Navigate a job case’s arrangement and distribute type
• Understand the strategies and concepts behind two-color printing
• Use wood type, polymer, and block print on a Vandercook press
• Troubleshoot common printing problems
• Clean the parts of a Vandercook press
• Clean and store accessories including furniture, tools, and type

Participants of all skill levels are welcome.
Experienced printers should contact Garrett regarding specific areas of interest.

Those wishing to pursue Vandercook Licensure can pursue independent projects arranged after completing the coursework.

• Instructors: Lana Lambert and Garrett Queen
• Schedule: Four Classes – Two Consecutive Weekends – Saturday and Sunday – April 19 & 20 and 26 &27, 2025 (10 AM - 4 PM)
• Location: Virginia Center for the Book (map: Jefferson School City Center)
• Registration Fee: $400 members/$450 non-members (course fees include materials & Speaking in Faces Trade Edition)
• Registration Closes: April 14, 2025
• ** UVa Staff may be eligible to use their UVa Education Benefit for this class (see HR Guidance) Reference non-degree certification class #041925 (use the non-member price).
• For additional course information contact: Garrett Queen at [email protected]
• Class size: Limited to six/eight students

• The Virginia Center for the Book asks that all program participants be vaccinated.
• Should public health guidelines change, and new norms be applicable, we reserve the right to revisit the expectations in the interest of participant health and safety

Host or Publisher Virginia Humanities