New woodcut course part of Creative Arts Summer School
The University of Tasmania’s fifth annual Creative Arts Summer School is continuing, with students from the “new woodcut” course visiting the workshop of one of the state’s last remaining letterpress printers.
Letterpress printing was pioneered by Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, in the 15th century.
It was used widely throughout the western world until the invention of industrial printing presses in the 20th century.
Tasmanian newspapers, including The Examiner, still used “lead type” as recently as the 1970s.
New woodcut tutor David Marsden said letterpress printing had experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and he was thrilled Invermay printing company Max Berwick & Sons had invited students on a tour of their facility.
Manager Lee Berwick has worked in the printing industry for more than 35 years, and said he was a keen collector of old printing machinery and equipment.
Among his collection are printing presses formerly owned by The Examiner Newspaper, a huge range of moveable type, and metal plates.