Category: General discussion
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Letterpress Convention/Trade Show

Hello!

I was wondering if there was any sort of national convention that meets each year for the letterpress industry? I am new to the art and just wondered if there was an association or an annual trade show that anyone knew about. I appreciate your help!

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There is the Midwest Great Northern Printers Fair held each year (often in a different location). More info here: http://www.briarpress.org/27301

Ladies of Letterpress (http://ladiesofletterpress.ning.com/) held its first conference this year, and will likely make this an annual event. Btw, Ladies of Letterpress is not just for ladies. Laddies are welcome, too. Conference info here: http://www.loflcon.com/

There’s also a professional organization of design, AIGA, (http://www.aiga.org/) that has local chapters across the U.S. It’s more of an umbrella group for all design—not only letterpress.

I’m a newbie, myself—and I’m looking forward to going to the Printers Fair next year (can’t make it this year). I hope this information helps. All best, Heather.

There is a Printers Fair ever fall in Los Angeles at the International Printing Museum. This year it’s on October 1st.

http://www.printmuseum.org/

The 18th Annual Midwest & Great Northern Printer’s Fair is now over. It seems to get bigger and better every year, and this year was no exception. We had a total of 34 sales tables just packed with goodies. I tried my best to keep track of people and by my count we had 132 people there.

We started out modestly on Thursday but had a really good crowd on Friday to play with the presses and equipment. Saturday is the big day with the swap meet attracting the biggest crowd.

It was great to see lots of type and presses being carted out by newbies. Lots of people left with wood type. I would guess that there were probably around 50 fonts of it available when the doors opened. I think there were only three or four left when the day was done.

Not only are events like this a great opportunity to buy things but the chance to interact with other printers and ask questions, see demonstrations and try you hand on different equipment is absolutely priceless.

Rick

In the Boston area there is the annual Print Fair:

http://museumofprinting.org/index.html

http://museumofprinting.org/Printing-Arts-Fair-2010.html

There are also the APHA events:

http://www.printinghistory.org/about/mission-history.php

http://www.printinghistory.org/about/calendar.php

Thank you!!

And don’t forget the annual Book Arts & Printer’s Fair in San Francisco every spring. It was started in the early 1970s as The Printer’s Fair by the Small Press Club of Marin, later taken over by the Pacific Center for the Book Arts and moved to Fort Mason.