Artisans of Dartmoor - Book - Page 182
Having outgrown their spare room, in 2022, the couple
moved their equipment into a studio in the centre of
the village. Keen to purchase a bigger press, two years
later, they moved to a larger outbuilding on a nearby
18th-century farm. To their surprise, while refurbishing,
they discovered printing tools left by a previous occupant,
who, it later transpired, had used the workshop as a
letterpress studio from 1980 to 2010.
They now have eight cast iron hand- and foot-powered
printing presses, including a behemothic 1952 Soldan,
purchased from a letterpress printer in Bath, Somerset.
Measuring almost two metres long and weighing over 1.5
tonnes, it had to be delivered by a company that specialised
in transporting equipment for nuclear power stations.
“To us, the press seemed enormous, but it was nothing
compared to what the driver was used to,” says JP.
Several of the smaller presses, including Emma’s
mother’s, are lined up along a high shelf, while at the rear,
in its own room, is an ornate black and gold guillotine
dating from 1906. Vintage wooden drawers with
decorative brass handles house the couple’s collection of
wood and metal typefaces (some of which may be the
last in existence), and shelves stacked with antiquarian
books explain archaic-sounding printing terms such as
deckles, flongs and flying friskets. Thanks to the vintage
car oil needed to keep the presses flowing smoothly, the
studio has a wonderfully nostalgic smell, reminiscent of
grandpa’s old banger.
A tongue-in-cheek sign on the door reflects the
couple’s humour. It reads ‘Princetown Press, not quite
commercially viable’. This is Emma and Jon’s nod to the
difficulty of earning a living using a 15th-century printing
method that traditionally required large, highly specialised
teams. “We print for the pleasure of being creative, and
love the idea that we might be contributing to Dartmoor’s
literary history,” says Emma. The couple are now both in
full-time jobs, so the studio is a place they retreat to in
their free time. “For now, Princetown Press is a part-time
venture for us. We hope to at least cover our costs, but
don’t even try to compete with commercial digital printers.
The only way a letterpress business can survive in a digital
world is by creating something truly unique.”
182
The Letterpress Printers • Emma Hogbin & Jon Palmer
