Big loud machines that make delicate beautiful things! In this video by Chase Heavener, shop owner and printer Nick Sambrato introduces his Kluge Letterpress machine, “a 2,000 pound, cast-iron, electric-powered monstrosity of vacillating rods, giant spinning wheels and pneumatic hoses.” With it, he creates prints, packaging, and paper products in his boutique print shop, Mama’s Sauce.
“The Kluge is Nick’s weapon of choice in his battle against the future.
So why does Nick use the Kluge? A clearly outdated, cumbersome and obsolete machine? The same reason any craftsman uses any tool: for the quality of the finished product. A letterpress offers a tangible, three-dimensional look and feel to the printed image that no other technology can replicate.”
Also don’t miss this sweet letterpress primer vid that walks us step-by-step through printing on a smaller Vandercook proof press:
Watch more videos about printing on this site, including Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film.
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