You might think of printing as a necessary evil that costs eight cents per page, but don’t write it off just yet. Once upon a time, printing brought us out of the Dark Ages, and Penn’s own illustrious founder got his career off the ground working in a printing house. Still not convinced that its better than you think? The print shop in the basement of the Morgan Building (3620 Hamilton Walk) might change your mind.
Of all the various types of “print media” the Morgan Building hosts, two stand out for the casually interested. The first is the Common Press — three traditional letter presses that use individual letter blocks arranged into words and lines of text. Once enough lines have been arranged to form a page, the entire “forme,” as it’s called, is coated in ink and pressed into paper. The process is labor-intensive, but the art is valued for its beautiful finish. Every image is crisp and subtly embossed from being impressed into the paper.
Referring to the intangible enjoyment the letterpresses provokes, Fine Arts professor David Comberg said in the Penn Current last year, “Something comes with slowing things down and appreciating the words on the page.”
Another, and less démodé, form of print media is silkscreen printing. Screen printing essentially uses a stencil to create images that can be transferred onto paper or cloth. An image is placed over a silkscreen covered in photo emulsion. After being exposed to UV light, either by sunlight or an artificial source, the screen is rinsed, and the unexposed emulsion washes away, leaving the image behind. The screen is placed over the material to be designed, and a squeegee spreads ink or paint across the screen, leaving the inked image on your T-shirt or poster.
Too lazy to do it yourself? You can pick up shirts designed and printed by Penn's own Matt Neff at Etsy.com for $20 each. Etsy is a great source for tons of screen printed, limited edition pieces, from posters and greeting cards to t-shirts and even underwear.
Want a large run of shirts printed for your club or group of friends for Fling? Contact Vacord Screen Printing, located in Powelton Village, for cheap prices, quick turnaround and high quality apparel at www.vacord.com. All you have to do is e-mail your design of choice. Happy printing!
