Hot Off The Press Podcast

We hope you enjoyed Season 6 of Hot Off The Press!!! In this finale we recap 2024, and look ahead to 2025. We're heading into the new year with high hopes, big plans, and new ideas for how Hot Off the Press can be a helpful tool for our printing community! We love you for being here, tuning in, and asking us all of your questions. We hope to see/hear even more from you next year! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EV...

In this episode, we’re joined by Kseniya Thomas, Director of Ladies of Letterpress, and the Owner/Presswoman of Thomas Printers.  🎉 We can't count the times we've turned to the forums or classifieds of LOLP during our printmaking journeys, and we can’t wait to attend one of the conferences in person. (2025 goals!) As female printers ourselves, we fully understand the importance of the LOLP organi...

If you're being bombarded with ads for in-house/studio lasers then, like us, you may be very tempted to take the plunge. While we have *so* much to say about our experience with the three lasers we each have, we thought it'd be great to give you an overview of the lasers themselves - what they're capable of, and what we have and haven't liked so far.

If you joined us at the Los Angeles Printer’s Fair in October, you might have seen some of our new prints the three of us created. You might have also noticed a few similarities… A few of them were printed in a combination of colors to create an ombre effect.  However you want to name it - split fountain, gradient, ombré - this printing method results in some really fun colors, usually more colors...

In this week’s episode, Cara Jo & Moriah are united in Denver and joined by Jason Wedekind, of Genghis Kern. We discuss his journey into printing, his experience in the design world (seriously cool branding & packaging is his speciality), and how he came to be a part of the Letterpress Depot.  The Letterpress Depot will be a living museum where you can get your hands inky and learn about l...

In this week’s episode we’re talking about something a little different… Modern technology!  While century old equipment is usually what we’re discussing on the pod, this week we’re changing it up a bit and discussing some newer technology. We’ve encountered a growing number of requests for this little tool in the wedding stationery industry, as well as on print items in general, so we thought it...

As a continuation of our episode from season 2 "Working on your Workflow" we discuss the processes and systems we use to keep jobs flowing smoothly through our studios. The three of us all have very different preferences and strengths when it comes to organizing our workflows. We hope you guys find it helpful to hear some examples, and that you take the time to tweak your workflow if it hasn't fel...

As we recover from the 16th annual Los Angeles Printers Fair, we travel back in time to the summer of 2024 when Moriah and Jillian discuss one thing that had befuddled them for so long... Motors. This episode is *not* for the electricians or engineers (HAH)! It is for us entry level machinists who just need a better understanding oh how motors work so we can find the right one for the job at hand!...

This week we’re journeying all the way up to Alaska to visit with our friend Meghan Chambers! Meghan has been pulling some incredible prints, and building an understanding & appreciation of Letterpress all the way in Juneau, Alaska. We invited her to join us on the podcast to celebrate the grand opening of her new art gallery (The Laundromat Gallery) and to generally get the scoop on what it’s...

For years, acquiring a foil press for our shops was a hotly debated topic. Would it be worth the investment? How would we feel about doing foil in house? Where on earth will we put another press??? We discuss all of this and more with Cara Jo because she took the leap and bought the highly sought after Metallic Elephant KSF3. Tune in to find out whether it was worth dwelling so long on the decisio...

There are so many things to consider when designing for letterpress. Knowing the process, limitations, and techniques can help you elevate your design and avoid surprises ($$!). In this episode we cover some of the main items you'll want to keep in mind while designing for letterpress (although there could possibly be a hundred more!). We've discussed some of these topics more in depth in the past...

This week, Moriah & Jillian have an episode that requires some serious heavy lifting… Moving presses! All jokes aside, it’s an intimidating process to move antique printing equipment. With several moves under our own belts, and plenty we’ve seen/heard about, we’ve gathered up our best advice all in one episode for you. If you’re looking at getting a press, then you’ll definitely want to tune i...

Although we’ve been working behind the scenes on this season for quite a while, it felt so right to officially kick off season 6 on Type High Day! Hopefully 9/18 has some fun print projects in store for you, and you can get caught up on all our goings-ons while you get inked up. We have been through some big changes in our personal lives, our work lives, and with the podcast too over the past 11 m...

Val Lucas is one of the few changing the game and carrying on the legacy of metal typecasting. We were introduced to her stunning work via her pattered border submissions to the APA, and we knew we had to have her on to walk us though this process! This episode covers Val's journey from printing classes to creating her own line of cast borders. We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in...

Pricing and finances are two of the scariest parts of going into business. In the third edition of our Book Club series, we cover two amazing guides to setting yourself up for financial success. Books discussed: Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, 16th Edition: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines This textbookesque guide covers so much information regarding the professional life of a graphic designer. Fr...

If you want to keep your press in tip top shape, regular maintenance is key. But we know how daunting this could feel, especially if you're brand new to printing and just acquired your press friend. In this episode we cover some of the standard maintenance procedures you'll want to take part in. Full disclosure: this episode favors those of us operating platen presses. If you run a cylinde...

For the second episode in this short series on Sculpted Embossing, we speak with Nick and Mac from JR Press in San Fransisco. JR Press is a family owned business that Nick's grandfather opened up in 1987. They have a hefty list of equipment and they've had the pleasure of working on some incredible projects. We pick up the sculpted embossing process from where we left off with the fabricat...

In our second edition of the "Book Club" series, we discuss some of our favorite and most popular technical handbooks. These are books that can directly enhance your knowledge of printing and print history that can be applicable to growing your press skills. Books covered: Elementary Platen Presswork by Ralph W. Polk ( buy here on ThriftBooks ) Printing and the Allied Trades by R. Randol...

If you've been oogling the beautiful results from sculpted emboss while scrolling through Instagram, you're not alone! We have been so intrigued by the process that we decided to set out and do a 2 part series on this seriously impressive print method! In Part 1, we speak with Mark Schumacher from Metal Magic, the #1 place to source brass and copper dies! Mark walks us through the process...

Ever since the great wedding surge of 2021, it seems like rush projects are the norm. How we handle those varies from company to company, but if you're just starting out and are curious on how other printers handle rush fees - this episode is for you! Prior to recording this episode, we polled our audience and the print community at large to gather some data. Immediately we spotted (3) common...

In this episode we walk through the history of our favorite proof press manufacturer: Vandercook & Sons! Their story takes several twists and turns before it ends with a familiar name, in a completely different place. Want to follow along with some of the imagery we discuss? Here is a link to the very helpful timeline of all Vandercook presses, with details on each one! VANDERCOOK TIMELINE Oth...

Your favorite letterpress podcast is starting a book club! We have been inspired, influenced and encouraged by the writings of many authors, and we know there are so many more to hear from! We'll occasionally be sprinkling in Book Club episodes so that we can share our favorite readings with you! In this episode we discuss two books: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner...

After a fellow printer sent us a very intriguing photo of an unexpected print result, we reached back out to Shelley & Max Otto from Concord Engraving to discuss screening plates, half tones, and what happens when you submit plate artwork at anything less than 100% opacity!  We are so thrilled to have Shelley and Max rejoin us, and this episode is a must listen if you’re looking for a new tech...

We've all been there... Something is spelled wrong, the prints have a line running through them, the foil is subpar, or that color of envelope your client has been obsessing over is out of stock EVERYWHERE! No matter what the situation is, it SUCKS delivering bad news to a client. Our emotions will always want to get the best of us, so in this episode we break down a couple different types of...

We’ve talked a lot about platen presses on Hot Off the Press, but in this episode we are diving deep the history of Chandler & Price in particular. C&Ps, as they’re commonly known, are one of the most popular presses still around, and they're one of our faves! We found some visuals that you might enjoy to check out as we talk through the history of this iconic company:  Super cool sale...