Notes from the Studio
The Golden Hair of Medusa
The Presses are Rolling…
Printing on Black
At the end of April, 350 sheets of gorgeous black handmade paper arrived at the studio.
After folding and trimming the head and tail of each stack, printing began.
Mixing Inks
As pages are turned, one’s eyes adjust to the black paper, and to darkness and more muted color. Black absorbs, so color may not be as intense. Metallic silver and gold inks work well in the mix of ochres, greens, blues and reds.
Printing alignment upside down
To print the large typography in this section, with text running close to the edge of both sides of the sheet, the plates are placed on the base upside down. For the center design, with the largest amount of text running across the full folio, text has to be aligned for forward feed and upside down, in order to have full coverage. As in the typographic section of the Minotaur, 5 colors on the page will take 10 press runs, for many of the design.
Maquette
Four folios are close to being finished. I am usually able to print 2-4 print runs each session, as they require different press set-ups, some more complex than others. The page mock-ups are used as guides on press, to help set up the press bed and translate the plate positions and color changes of ink, as final designs and decisions are realized.
The front of the book will begin with white pages and progress to black – from day to night. The white sheets are ready to be shipped, and the mill will begin pulling the light grey and dark grey sheets soon, for a total of 1,000 additional folios. It will be quite a bit to juggle in the studio, but I am looking forward to it. In between days in the printshop on press, I work mornings and evenings on new, detailed drawings and finalizing page compositions.
