Rental pricing
Workspace Rental
Renting our workspace costs $10 an hour and is available by reservation. Group rates are available on request after an explanation of project scope, expectations and expected number of participants. This could include clubs, scout troops, classes, etc.
We are willing to allow studio rental users to work with our metal and wood type for personal projects. It is critical for the user to realize that this material is old, valuable and often irreplaceable. This is most often true with wood type and many ornate metal / initials metal types. Mainly this means that you need to take extra care in handsetting / redistributing type and avoiding an overly deep impression which wears down the type surface and rounds the edges of type. Some papers and chipboard, such as those with seeds and other materials imbedded in the paper, may not be used with our type. In such a case the user is encouraged to use either photopolymer plates or your own copperplates which can be created utilizing .pdf files from a computer. Feel free to contact us about places from which to purchase these materials.
We have two paper cutters, a hand-operated one for cutting larger paper down to a more manageable size and a computer-controlled cutter for more accurate and smaller cuts. Most of the time we'd rather cut the paper for you at no charge if it only takes a few minutes, otherwise we will charge $25 an hour for our time. Use of our computer-controlled paper cutter is a separate rental charge of $15 per hour, charged in 15 minute increments.
Press Rental
Our press rental is becoming more popular. Press rental requires your completion of the appropriate technical workshop on the equipment to be rented or our prior approval.
Tabletop press - included free with workspace rental (we have two large tabletop presses)
Vandercook SP-15 - $25 per hour
Vandercook Universal III - $35 per hour
Chandler & Price 10 x 15 or Golding 8 x 12 - $25 per hour
Hoe or Albion iron handpress - $20.00 per hour (not yet operational)
Except for paper and plates, we will typically supply you with everything necessary to walk in and print. For letterpress you can use our wood and metal type collection including dingbats, borders and copperplates; chases, metal / wood furniture, quoins for locking up your form; various sizes of bases for photopolymer plates; ink in moderation; scales, ink knives, ink mixing stands, and brayers; paper / cloth clean up rags, mineral spirits and Putz Pomade for roller / press cleanup / conditioning; and galley trays to store type without quoins for ongoing projects.
It is important to note that much of our metal and wood type collection is difficult, if possible, to replace. Care must be taken in its use and deep impression is frowned upon. If you want to do deep impression work you should be working with photopolymer plates or copperplates.
We do not supply paper which is an item you need to think about ahead of time. We may have paper in-house that we will sell at a price with a markup. You may order paper and photopolymer plates and have them sent directly to our studio which will reduce your shipping costs versus sending to a residence. See the bottom of this page for suggested paper sources.
We will typically clean and oil a reserved press before each rental and expect it left in the same condition. All solvents, rags, rubber gloves, etc. required for press cleaning are supplied. Cleaning the press typically takes about 30 minutes of solid work, especially when cleaning up after a dark or metallic ink which require an application of roller cleaner (Putz Pomade).
Thoughts for students
Always come with a helpful friend. That way you get some help, an extra pair of eyes, and the two of you get the experience. As a general statement there is no problem with up to three of you in most cases, except example #3 below.
Remember that you can continue to rent our studio / press time after you graduate and get a job which may improve your marketability or add to your freelance options.
Also keep in mind we are happy to look over your files ahead of time to see if we detect any problems. A good rule is always work in InDesign or Illustrator with vector-based images and spot colors.
Sample projects and costs
Example #1: Tabletop press using our type to print 50 one-color party invitations: 3 hours of handsetting type, 2 hours setting up and printing on a tabletop press, 30 minutes redistributing type, and 30 minutes clean up
6 studio hours x $10 per hour with no press charge for the tabletop press
= $60 total
paper & envelopes estimate = $25
Example #2: Vandercook SP-15 with your photopolymer plates to print 120 greeting cards in two colors: 2 hours of preparation time off press (cutting paper, ink mixing, etc.); 1 hour of set up and registration of color #1; 1 hour of printing color #1; 30 minutes of press cleanup; 1 hour of set up for color #2; 1 hour of printing color #2; and 30 minutes clean up
2 off-press studio hours x $10 per hour
5 on-press hours x $25 per hour
= 20 + 125 = $145 total
plate estimate = $58
paper & envelopes estimate = $45
Example #3: 4 students willing to use the same four colors for 200 business cards: 2 hours of preparation time off press (cutting paper, ink mixing, etc.); 1 hour of set up and registration of color #1; 1 hour of printing color #1; 30 minutes of press cleanup; same 2.5 hours for color #2; same 2.5 hours for color #3; same 2.5 hours for color #4; 1 hour of cutting and finishing.
3 off-press studio hours x $10 per hour
10 on-press hours x $25
= 30 + 250 = $280 total ($70 per student)
plate estimate = $115 ($0.65 / square inch x 44 square inches x 4 colors)
Shipping is free (UPS 2-day Air) for over 90 square inches and you can have it delivered to Lead Graffiti.
paper estimate (Mohawk Superfine 100# cover) = $25
= total of $105 per student (including press rental plus plates & paper
Increase the projct to include 6 students and the cost per student is $77.50
and 6 students get a day's experience in a letterpress studio plus a portfolio piece
Example #4: Vandercook Universal III with your photopolymer plates to print 150, 5" x 7", 4-card wedding invites in two colors plus two 1-color envelopes: 2 hours of preparation time off press (cutting paper, ink mixing, etc.); 1 hour of set up and registration of color #1; 1 hour of printing color #1; 30 minutes of press cleanup; 1 hour of set up for color #2; 1 hour of printing color #2; and 30 minutes clean up.
2 off-press studio hours x $10 per hour
2 on-press hours for set up on Universal III x $35 per hour
2 on-press hours for printing on Universal III x $35 per hour
2 on-press hours for printing on SP-15 (envelopes) x $25 per hour
1 off-press studio hours (cutting) x $10 per hour
= 20 + 70 + 70 + 50 + 10 = $230
plate estimate = $125
paper estimate (Crane Lettra) = $120
envelope estimate = $60
Total = $535
A few suggested supply sources
Photopolymer plates
Copperplates
Paper / envelopes
French Paper / good colored papers and envelopes (smaller sizes and amounts)
Legion Paper / printmaking papers (by the case only)
Utrecht / printmaking papers and art supplies
Dick Blick / printmaking papers
Talas/ bookbinding supplies (bookboard, bookcloth, glue, etc.)
Katz Americas/ blank beer coasters
Song Papers (will sell split cases, ususally in 5 or 10 sheet increments)
Neenah (will sell samples and split cases)
Other supplies
Clearbags / packaging products and clear sleeves
Uline / boxes and shipping materials