My first draft of my diploma project which deals with Letterpress printing.

1. DIPLOMA PROJECT PROPOSAL – Version 1.0
Neeti Gokhalay
Visual Communication Design
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Preservation through Production
The evolution of a faded craft in this digital age..
'Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a
reversed, raised surface is inked then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text
from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in use for books and other purposes until the
second half of the 20th century.' (letterpress printing, wikipedia)
Premise
Letterpress printing, as a commercial printing process (which was the primary means of mass communication for
over 500 years), has long been over taken by other printing techniques such as offset and digital printing, world-
wide. However, in countries such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom various institutions
have made a conscious effort to preserve this printing technique. In India that is not the case; over the past year a
large number of letterpress printers have shut down and more places will continue to follow. The lack of
commercial viability of using this labour intensive and time consuming method is a major reason for the dying of
this traditional printing technique.
Starting point
During the course of the student exchange program at the Edinburgh College of Art, UK in 2009 I had the
opportunity to work in the Letterpress studio under the guidance of Mr.Steve McDonald. During this time I
worked not only with metal letterpress but also with the larger wooden block type. This helped me gain an
understanding of the effort that goes into creating the work and the attention to detail that is needed to make
the work precise.
Brief
To research the art of Letterpress printing through online resources and interviews. The focus will be both
historical, examining the way in which methods and styles are consciously continued, and contemporary, looking
at how printers now in an era in which new technologies and aesthetics coexist with tradition, function.
Compile this information and archive the data found through research in the form of a book (done using
letterpress) and link the book to an online archive.
To sum it up, the project aims at effectively communicating “latent” data regarding the current condition of
letterpress through complex hierarchies of information across a range of media (viz. Print and Web).
Need
– Keep using the letterpress machinery, so as to preserve the equipment in itself while understanding the
nuances of typography. Hence, “preservation through production”.
– To make reference material about the evolution of letterpress and resources regarding the subject
available to people interested in the subject.
– To assist people in understanding the preservation of both the materials and the practices which are the
primary sources of printing history.
– To urge policy makers to build upon the cultural and intellectual history of printing and help foster
development and maintenance of this age old printing technique.

2. Research Questions
– How does the method of communication affect communication itself, and the design?
– How has the modernist attitude affected the traditionalism of printing techniques?
– What is the scope of letterpress in today's world?
– A comparison of current letterpress conditions with silk screen printing(serigraphy) (to help elaborate on the
difference between two labour intensive printing methods.)
– What are the recent innovations in letterpress printing? Can new technologies be integrated with
letterpress? Would such modifcations take away from the very nature of this technique?
– What is the relationship of the printer with his letterpress? What are the diffculties while working with
a language a printer is unfamiliar with?
– Economic understanding of the letterpress industry in India.
– What is the legacy of typography and it's impact on new media?
– How can new media be used as a technique to increase awareness? How can it be used to help archive
and make accessible knowledge about Letterpress printing?
Process and Approach
– Interviews and Archival:
People related to the printing industry such as practitioners of the letterpress craft
(private/commercial), digital and offset printers in India as well as abroad. Speak with academics as well as
educators who have knowledge in the history of printing techniques and letterpress.
Clients who still choose to get their collaterals done using letterpress. Understand why they choose to
do so and if/ how letterpress fulflls their printing needs.
While conducting these interviews I hope to re-iterate my research questions to get a holistic
understanding of letterpress.
These interviews would be documented through transcripts (in case of e-mail and skype interviews),
sound clips, video footage and photography. This data is then archived on an online portal for general
public to access. Categorization would be key. The online data would also act as a resource and not only
as a space that has access to my interviews etc.
– Content Generation and Presentation, using Tradition+Technology:
The content of the book would be generated from these interviews and discussions.
The book will be produced using only letterpress by me and if any other needs of the book such as
embedding 2D graphic barcodes, images etc will also be done using only manual methods of printing
such as screen printing. The book is to be linked to the available online resources, not only to the archive
I create but also pre-existing information available regarding the subject.
The 2D graphic barcodes are to be generated using an open source softwares. Once embedded in the
book, any mobile phone user with the application (available for free or for 99cents from Google) can
access the online archive via their phones.
– The book and online archive can be viewed in isolation, but if seen in conjunction with each other the
two will compliment one another.
Product
A publication created using manual methods of printing with embedded barcodes, that link to an online archival
about letterpress printing.

3. Audience
Primary audience:
– artists, designers, students of art and design
– people interested in the history of letterpress and it's current state
Secondary audience:
– policy makers with an interest in preservation of printing techniques (though this is not an Indian
invention)
– potential clients for the Letterpress industry.
Resources
– Konark Press (Letterpress Printers) – Initial Research as well as space to create my fnal book
– VenGraphics (Screen Printers)
– People:
Letterpress Printers in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi
Educators, Artists, Designers, Members of print based associations and collectives,
Students of art/design
Individuals getting letterpress printing done (clients)
– Films, Articles, Newsletters, Books online about letterpress and printing
– Vijay Rayapati, GizaPage – 2D bar code and basic coding information
– Books:
aboutface by David Jury
dotlinepixel by Michele Jannuzzi & Richard Smith
– Online Videos:
Short Letterpress Documentary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv69kB_e9KY&feature=related
American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pniaea9CsBY&feature=related
Pictorial Websters - http://vimeo.com/5228616
– Materials: For documenting interview – D SLR,Video camera
Learning Outcomes
– Interview techniques : Formulating questions, directing an interview, conversation techniques,
documenting an interview without being intrusive.
– Categorization and archival of data in the appropriate medium to make it accessible and interactive.
– Understanding typography from a labour intensive activity point of view.
– Examining and communicating the relevance of letterpress in current graphic and electronic modes of
communication.
– Learning and working with letterpress while understanding the nuances of typography, layout and
publication design. Working with the limitations of a medium, yet experiment for optimum and effective
communication of the subject.
– Exposure to manual binding techniques and using the appropriate one for binding the publication.
– Co-ordinating the product/message through both print and web based media.
– How to harness new technologies and how to determine their usage within out existing communication
paradigm.