Back by popular demand, this special collaboration between Swiss master printer Dafi Kühne and the HMCT Artist-in-Residence program offers the rare opportunity for designers, artists, and students to work directly with this innovative artist without traveling to his studio in the Alps. Each five-day workshop is open to the public, 12 participants per workshop. Visit Dafi’s educational programs website for more information. Fees and deadlines (per five-day workshop): $990 [USD], until November 15, 2022 $1090 [USD], until December 1, 2022 $1190 [USD], after December 1, upon availability Workshops can be booked together for a reduced total fee of $1950. Session 1: January 4–8, 2023 Letterpress Research & Experimentation Training Session Explore the full potential of letterpress printing and what it means in the 21st century while learning new techniques and using unconventional materials such as cast plastic resin type, vinyl stickers, and more. At HMCT Archetype Press, you will develop and document a visual vocabulary by working closely with Dafi Kühne, the Swiss printing wizard. Each participant will document one specific technique for a catalog produced by the class. The fee includes five fully-coached workshop days, plus all materials (meals and accommodations not included). This session is for letterpress printers at any level of experience who want to learn new approaches to an old technology. Not only beginners, but also experienced printers will learn new approaches and experimental techniques. The class is also suitable for graphic designers with a strong interest in letterpress printing (entry-level welcome as long as you are motivated). Learning goals Setting up a letterpress flatbed proof press for safe experimental printing with unconventional materials, plus five new approaches to making printing blocks (including casting plastic resin replacement sorts). You will have time in the Press to explore and develop several techniques. See this provisional PDF schedule for session I. Session 2: January 10–14, 2023 Typographic Fitness In this workshop we train your typographic fitness. We workout typographic details and develop a deep understanding of the theory and history that lies behind it. In the HMCT Archetype workshop we will work with an inspiring archive of letterpress equipment and foundry type as we manually explore typographic and design history. This acquired knowledge can be applied to contemporary digital practice. Over the course of five workshop days, we will develop typographic layouts that will be letterpress printed by each participant. This class is intended to be a lab environment for designers and printers to explore experimental analogue typographic poster design and its relevancy in the digital landscape. The fee includes five fully-coached workshop days, plus all materials (meals and accommodations not included). This session targets graphic designers at any level of experience, as well as letterpress printers with a strong interest in contemporary typography (entry-level welcome as long as you are motivated). Learning goals Working with analog typography, analog typographic sketching, learning from the history of letterpress printing, lots of theory as well as practical exercises, developing a skillset to produce typographic poster layouts. See this provisional PDF schedule for session II.
Dafi Kühne is a graphic designer, typographer, and letterpress printer. He studied in Zürich at the Visual Communications Department of Zürich University of the Arts. After learning the skills of letterpress printing, he focused on more contemporary methods, exploring the potential of using newer technologies in combination with traditional printing equipment.
To watch Dafi in action, watch this video, filmed during his residency at Archetype Press in 2019. For a tour of his 2022 exhibition, Baby Ink Twice, click here. To see work from last year’s workshops, click here.
