New Orleans Letterpress Printers Show That with Practice and Commitment the Rewards are Beautiful

This is work that requires both delicacy and physical strength. Printing presses are expensive, heavy, difficult to move and require maintenance. Most letterpress classes begin with safety lessons—pull your hair back, watch your fingers, pay attention. Paper is fragile; ink, indelible. Practice and commitment are essential. And the rewards are beautiful.

Baskerville Studio, at 3000 Royal St., New Orleans, is a haven for print lovers, with antique presses and drawers of type and paper. A collective of nine members—called Hounds, in homage to Sherlock Holmes—keeps Baskerville going. Every January, they celebrate the birthday of their namesake, John Baskerville, and the typeface that bears his name.

Over at 3700 St. Claude Ave., Yuka Petz and Jessica Peterson have joined forces to create the welcoming environment that is Southern Letterpress and Studio Ippiki.