OFFICINA TYPO a slow graphic experience

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1 OFFICINA TYPO a slow graphic experience Liceo Artistico A.Venturi classe 5E Corso di Grafica CLIL_Content Language Integrated Learning

3 Alice in Wonderland Laura Bulgarelli This year I was able to take part in a project on traditional printing at Officina Typo. We had to choose between creating a book and a poster. I decided to make a short book summarizing and reinterpreting the famous story of Alice in Wonderland. I started off by drawing some of the main characters, then I transferred them on to a linoleum sheet and carved them using gouges. I also carved the title by hand. Then I mounted the carved linoleum sheets on wooden frames so that they wouldn t move during the printing process. I also set the type for the text. After positioning both the linoleum sheets and the sentences I inked the ink roll, positioned the paper and then turned the printing roller to make the print. It took over a day to dry all the pages. I thought that this book might be useful for children, so I used short, easy sentences to help them understand the images. My book is designed to be an educational toy, helping children with numbers and sequential order. They have to put the pages in the right order based on the sequence of images on the front and/or numbers on the back). This is why I decided to keep the pages loose. This project lasted several weeks. It was a wonderful experience and I learned many new things.

5 In search of novelty in a mundane life Giulia Brighenti My wonderful experience at Typo broadened my knowledge of the world of letterpress printing. Officina Typo is a slow printing workshop, a tiny corner of an otherwise digital society in which craftsmanship and artistic skill still reign supreme. Gina Paolini and Silvano Babini are the founders of this magnificent example of Italian tradition. With the help of Ebe Babini, I was able to create my own book, a production of relief printed texts made using printing plates composed of movable type which lend a textured effect. My encounter with this new world began through my senses: the smell of the ink, the feel of the paper, the clanking sound of the hand press First of all I had to create a storyboard of the book to explain my project to Babini. Then I had to come up with the perfect graphic elements. In graphic design it is important to you express yourself and to get your message across, but both must be achieved by following a precise set of rules. This research phase taught me just how important and necessary it is to analyze every element in a project. Once the composition for each page had been set and locked into position I was able to print the book in color (in my case two colors - black and red) using a hand press. Afterwards the pages were cut with precision and sewn. This book took a lot of work, but it also gave me a great deal of satisfaction. My story focuses on an imaginary character - Mr Q - who is in search of novelty in his life, through money, fortune or love, but he can t find anything. In the end Mr Q finds a letter-dog and this makes him very happy, the moral being that life and happiness are made up of little things.

7 Le parole del tipografo Alice Fugazzaro I just love font, expecially typefaces and letterpresses. I guess I m just an old - fashioned kind of girl! Given my interest in movable type, I ve decided to talk about my workshop experience, here in Modena, at Officina Typo, a traditional printer s. At this workshop, we developed a project to design and create entitled Le parole del tipografo, a mini tribute to the traditional printer and his printing press. It is a four quarter booklet, plus cover and features five printing terms printed using different typefaces and a printing press. Designed in collaboration with the staff at Officina Typo, the aim was to create something simple, yet striking. We chose a composition of three letters in different fonts and printed in different shades of black. The title of the front cover is dry printed. So there is no colour but only the imprint of the letters which makes it pleasant to the touch. At the end I inserted the colophon which shows the reader how many copies were printed, the printing technique and the paper used. Before the final print I made some proofs and so I was able to make any necessary modifications and check on the paper the tone of the printing ink and the amount of pressure to exert on the paper. The workshop lasted about two months, and it was very fascinating because I discovered that there lies a whole new world outside the classical computer!

9 A maverick poster Elisa Parmigiani I have always liked traditional printing, so I decided to take part in the project in collaboration with Officina Typo. The quote I chose comes from a speech made by Pope Francis on World Youth Day in Krakow. I chose to do a poster and initially I designed the layout using a digital software program. Then I went to Officina Typo where I chose the movable type for the poster. It was very difficult because my composition has two uppercase words but the movable type available at the workshop was too wide for the paper. After finding some suitable movable type and putting it in the right position I measured the surrounding space using a type scale and locked the type with pieces of metal (in lead, tin and antimony alloy), so that the type would not move when the press rolled over it. I printed a proof of my work and then, to add a little interest to the composition, I removed some pieces of metal and replaced them with some movable type placed upside down (the press accentuates the wood grain). After doing some monochrome printing on various media, I made two stencils so that I could print the composition with two colours. I took two of the previous prints and in one I cut out the part with the text and in the other I cut out the part supporting the characters. Before printing I placed the paper without text on the composition, I inked the quote with red then I used the other stencil to ink the rest in black. I printed some copies in two colours on different media.

11 A poster about the importance of Art Costanza Maccaferri This year I was able to take part in a project thanks to a collaboration between our school and Officina Typo. Thanks to the project we discovered more about the world of traditional printing and were able to work at a traditional printer s using embossed matricles composed of movable type. Unfortunately in recent years this technique has been overshadowed by the rise of computers and software programs used for desktop publishing. During our assignment was to propose a project, I chose to do a poster about the importance of art as exemplified by the phrase Earth without Art is just Eh. My poster was composed of the shape of planet earth carved from a sheet of linoleum with the phrase above printed on it. Once the earth has been created, it was time to work with the printers. First I chose the type to use and then I set it on the cylindrical surface of the printing machine. When the type had been inked and the sheet positioned we were ready to print. Traditional printing takes place thanks to the pressure exerted by a roller which crushes the sheet onto the type. It may seem simple but this procedure is actually quite complex. It takes knowledge and skill to use this art. I experienced a real sense of satisfaction upon completion of this poster. When you use a computer everything is very impersonal and all you have to do is to click print your idea, with traditional printing, on the other hand,manual skill and dexterity is paramount, as well as experience and accuracy. This was a really interesting experience and I hope to be able to learn more about traditional printing in future.

13 A philosophical poster Alessia Leonelli During this school year I took part in the project with Officina Typo workshop to find out more about letterpress printing techniques. Our task was to create a book or a poster using any theme we liked. I chose to create a poster with a quote about pain, the subject of my exam paper. I started the project with some roughs and then I defined the fonts using graphic software. A plain layout was the best way of illustrating my concept to Silvano Babini, the owner of Officina Typo. During my time at the workshop I looked for the right movable type for my project, which was to be printed using the letterpress method. I used a type scale to set the typeface correctly, then I locked the latter so that it wouldn t move when the roller passed over it during printing. The first print was to test the final composition, and then I chose different kinds of paper, different colours and different ink tones to give to each print its own unique characteristics. For example, in one print I used a bright, saturated colour for the first passage and then for the second passage I created a sort of shadow using a low saturation. My experience at Officina Typo gave me new insight into world of letterpress printing. I learned that innovative work is possible even when you combine old-fashioned tools and traditional methods with the culture, communication needs and perspectives of today.

15 Faces. A xylographic book Alessia Caracci Xylography was the technique used primarily to reproduce illustrations in print before the advent of photography and photo-mechanics. Later, chalcography, lithography and silk -screen printing were used by artists to create illustrations. Today, all of these techniques have evolved into uch sought-after elegant art forms. Xylopraphy, more commonly known as woodcut printing, is a relief printing technique whereby the printing parts remain level with the surfaces; the areas removed by the artists carry no ink, whereas type or images at surface level carry the ink to produce the print. Around in China since the end of 13th century, xylopraphy takes its name from the material used: wood (xilon). The matrix can be of two types: wire wood and head wood: the difference is determined by how the wood is cut: side grain, if cut longitudinally to the tree trunk and end grain if it cut perpendicularly to it. The first is carved using gouges and knives (large marks) whereas the second is carved with barens (fine marks). In both cases the wood is carved by cutting the surface and leaving the marks that will be printed in relief. Printing occurs by applying ink to the matrix using a pad or a roller. The pressure exerted by hand or using a press transfers the mirror image onto paper. Some artists use other materials for engraving such as linoleum, plastic, plexiglass, etc. Xylography was the printing form that most impressed me, so I decided to make a book using a variety of techniques.the images were made with linoleum engravings and the title was made with movable wooden type and hand printed. I decided to call the book Faces because all the portraits are of people I know. Everyone can give their free interpretation, because the portraits, (made with carved markings) are studies of human beings, and the depth of the engraving reflects the intensity of the soul of each character.

16 Officina Typo: Silvano Babini, Gina Paolini, Ebe Babini Project management: Antonella Battilani English texts editing: Janet Rice Modena, June 2015

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