Dwi wedi prynu Llythrenwasg!!
Ella eich bod yn gwybod fod gennai un bach yn barod (Adana 8x5) ond mae'r un newydd yma'n lefel hollol wahanol. Arab Crown Folio ydi hi, wedi ei gwneud tua 1890 ac mae'n cael ei gymharu i Rolls Royce / ‘The best jobbing platen ever made’. Ers imi ddechrau edrych mewn i Letterpress tua blwyddyn yn ol, hon oedd y freuddwyd.
Yn lwcus iawn, welais ar Instagram fod hon ar werth a wedi cael ei hadnewyddu gan Gary yn London Letterpress. Ar ol rhentu fan, mi aeth Iwan fy nghariad a minnau lawr i ochrau Southampton i'w chasglu. Yn edrych nol, mi oedden ni ychydig yn naïf o'r gwaith o'n blaenau ond mae'n rhaid i ti fod felna weithiau, neu fasa ti byth yn gwneud dim byd.
Mi yrron ni lawr o Ynys Môn am tua 5 awr, yna aros dros nos. Yn y bore, gyrru 1.5 awr i'r lleoliad yna pedair awr i dynnu'r wasg o'i gilydd a llwytho'r fan, cyn cymeryd 5 awr i yrru nol adra… Mi oedden ni'n shattered! Codi'r bore wedyn i ddad-lwytho'r fan a'i dychwelyd cyn diwedd y dydd.
Pan dwi'n dweud llwytho a dad-lwytho'r fan, roedden ni angen craen a pallet truck; mi oedd y wasg yn ofnadwy, ofnadwy o drwm. Dros dunnell o haearn bwrw. Chwarae teg i Iwan am ei holl help, mi oedd yn anferth o dasg ei chael mewn i'r stiwdio a drwy'r drysau cul. Roedd y ddau ohona ni yn shattered erbyn y diwedd.
Ond mae hi mewn! Ac yno fyddai am gwpl flynyddoedd rwan gobeithio!! :D
Yn anffodus dwi heb gael grant i helpu tuag at y gost ond diolch i fenthyciad dwi wedi gallu gwneud buddsoddiad i arwain y busnes y ffordd dwi’n ei deimlo sydd 100% y ffordd iawn.
Beth ydi Letterpress? Mae'n ffordd ddraddodiadol o argraffu (relief printing), lle mae llythrennau metal neu stamp plastig yn cael ei bwyso mewn i bapur gan adael argraffiad hefo neu heb inc. Mae'n ffordd lot arafach o weithio a dwi wedi bod yn ysu i gael gwneud ers tro rwan. Mae hefyd yn edrych yn ofnadwy o brydferth.
Mae gennai lot o ymarfer o fy mlaen, i berffeithio'r grefft. Yna byddai'n gallu gwerthu cynnyrch a chynnig y gwasanaeth.
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I have bought a Letterpress printing press and she's so so beautiful!! After months of secret planning, I’m so happy to share with you at last.
You might know that I already have a small tabletop 8x5 Adana printing press but this new one is on a whole other level. She’s an Arab Crown Folio, made around 1890 and it’s compared to the Rolls Royce / ‘The best jobbing platen ever made’. Since I started learning about Letterpress a year ago, an Arab was the dream.
I was very lucky to see one being refurbished on Instagram by Gary at London Letterpress and when I enquired, I was first on the list. After renting a van, my boyfriend Iwan and I set off towards Southampton to collect the press. Looking back, we were very naïve of the work ahead of us, but sometimes it’s a good thing or you wouldn’t start anything.
We drove for around 5 hours before staying overnight. The next day we drove for 1.5 hours to the location then 4 hours to take the press apart and load the van. After some food and a pep talk, we started the 5 hour journey back home to Anglesey… we were exhausted! The next morning we unloaded the van and moved the press into the studio, so that we could return the van by the end of the day.
When I say load and unload the van, we needed an engine crane and pallet truck for this; the press was just so so heavy. Over a ton of cast iron. I was very lucky to have so much help from Iwan, as just getting the press in through the narrow doors of the studio was a big task. We were both shattered by the end.
But she’s in! And hopefully that’s where I’ll be now for at least a few years, I’m not moving that again for a long time!
Unfortunately I didn’t get the grant I was hoping for but thanks to a loan I was able to invest in the future of my business and steer it the way I’m 100% sure is the right direction.
What is Letterpress? It’s a traditional form of relief printing, where metal or wooden type, or a plastic stamp is pressed into paper to create an impression, with or without ink. It’s a very tactile, slow way of working and I’ve been craving this type of work for a long time now. It also looks very beautiful.
I have lots of practicing ahead to learn the craft, then I'll be selling products and offering the service one day down the line.
