Hot Off The Press Podcast

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 organization and greatly appreciate what it stands for, so we are thrilled to get to chat with Kseniya about it all! (Jillian was especially excited that for once she wasn't the only one showing up to the recording with a baby! Yay for moms of letterpress!!!) Links: Ladies of Letterpress LOLP Facebook Group LOLP Instagram Thomas Printers

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 show up than you put on the press. Overall: an amazingly fun tool to have in your pocket! This season, we’ve been talking a little more in depth about specific print methods, tools, and equipment. Tune into this week’s episode as we dive into creating an ombré effect on platen & flat bed presses, and with a good ol’ brayer if hand inking is your style! Don’t forget to join us on instagram to see some of the projects we discuss printing, and be sure to visit hotoffthepresspodcast.com to see some of these prints (and maybe get one or two for your space)!

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 would be fun for all of us to learn a little more about it. So tune into this week’s episode to learn all about QR codes! Their origin, how they work, and what you’ll need to know in order to make sure when you print one, it scans smoothly. We also touch on NFC chips, which are seeing an increase in paper popularity too. Whether you’re a wedding stationer (or planner) looking to make the RSVP process as smooth as silk, or a business who wants to ensure their print collateral stays accurate for the long term, this info will be relevant to many!

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! Looking to buy a motor? Check out our supply guide here!

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 decision! Interested in learning how to use the foil press? There are currently two courses offering indepth lessons online: https://www.sal-studios.com/foil-pressure-dwell-heat https://papelnco.com/the-art-of-foil-press-printing Don't forget to check out (and follow) Knapp Design Co on instagram to see all the fun things Cojo has been foiling with Tin Man: @knappdesignco

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 months… You’ll have to tune into this episode to hear all about everything, but most importantly: we’re SO FREAKING HAPPY to be back!! We’ve got a big surprise in this episode, and some other very fun things to come. Thank you SO much for being here! We’re incredibly grateful for your patience, excitement for our return, and for your tuning in each week. We can’t wait to share more with you soon.

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. From contracts to pricing, this book provides real world examples and standards for it all! Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine Everything you need to know about this book is in the title. Profit First will help set your business up for financial success by reframing the structure used to organize your money! LINKS Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, 16th Edition: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines https://amzn.to/46pn014 Profit First by Mike Michalowicz: https://amzn.to/46k1ETi on Amazon or Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/la-ganancia-es-primero-transforma-tu-negocio-en-una-maquina-de-hacer-dinero-y-logra-una-rentabilidad-inmediata-profit-first-transforma-tu-negocio-mike-michalowicz/266082?ean=9780735214149 And if you’re interested in Honeybook (Moriah’s CRM): https://share.honeybook.com/moriah68753

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 fabrication of the plates and talk all about setting up the prints, the most successful materials to use, and even some troubleshooting tactics that we can almost guarantee you haven't thought of. If you'd like to book a sculpted embossing (or any kind of print) project with JR Press, you can contact them via their email jrpress1@aol.com, or visit the contact form on their website: jrpress.co To see some of their great work give them a follow in Instagram: @jrpress.sf And to see the projects we discuss in this episode, make sure to check out our instagram over @hotoffthepresspod !!

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 of creating a sculpted plate from the order submission to shipping it out. This is an episode you surely do not want to miss! To start your next order with Metal Magic, you can visit the contact tab on their website: https://www.metalmagic.com/ To view the videos we discuss in the episode, you can click the following links: BRASS DIES COPPER DIES Follow the Hot Off the Press instagram account to see more content and updates from Metal Magic!

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 Other sources used were: Wikipedia An article by Fred Williams posted on the APA Website Briar Press for miscellaneous current listings of Vandys for sale

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 technique to add to your skill set - especially if you want to gain more dimension, and more colors without doing too many press runs! Want to see some of the visuals we discuss during our chat with Shelley & Max? Hop on over to our instagram and check out the post with the title Screening & Screaming for Half Tones. To place an order with Concord Engraving, visit their website (www.concordengraving.com) or send an email directly to Shelley at ShelleyOtto@concordengraving.com Make sure to let her know we sent you!

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 sales brochure Fun article Other sources used for this episode: Wikipedia George Gordon’s ‘Dream’ Press by Fred Williams on the APA site