Letterpress Classes & Events
Here, at SVC, we teach people of all levels how to use their hands, brains, and eyes to create beautiful, touchable, lovable art using the centuries-old craft of letterpress printing. Our Long-Distance Letterpress offerings are nearly as satisfying as the real thing, delivering expert instruction—no matter where in the world you live.
Featured Classes and Workshops
Letterpress classes and workshops at SVC can take you from a true beginner, all the way to becoming an accomplished printer.
Long-Distance Letterpress
How do you learn about letterpress printing when you can’t take an in-person class? Since we can’t deliver a printing press to you via the internet, we’ve got a better idea: online workshops where you’ll pick up skills and a big dose of inspiration.
Letterpress Levels 1 & 2
Our 5-week foundational courses on the essentials of letterpress are for those who have never printed before, or are new to SVC. These classes will give you a thorough introduction to typesetting, printing, and proper shop techniques.
Letterpress Level 3
This 10-week course provides advanced instruction for students who have taken Levels 1 & 2, and may be repeated so that more accomplished students may pursue their personal projects with expert supervision.
All Letterpress Workshops
There are more letterpress offerings at SVC than we have room to include here, from 2-hour all-you-can-print Letterpress at Lunch, to all-day master classes. We even do letterpress team-building days for corporations. Times vary; learning and enjoyment don't.
Community Events & Projects
Steamroller Smackdown
Crazy, creative artists. Indelible ink. Sharp instruments. And a 5-ton steamroller. If that's not the perfect combination for fun, we don't know what is. Each August, SVC and the South Lake Union Block Party co-present the Steamroller Smackdown, where teams of top artists and design firms from around the Northwest print oversized posters with a steamroller instead of a printing press.
Letterpress Team Building
All of SVC’s workshops build skills, but this one also builds camaraderie. You’ll bring your team into one of the best equipped letterpress print shops in the Northwest. A few hours later they’ll leave with some beautiful, hand-crafted letterpress posters and an even more beautiful sense of teamwork. Enquire about a customized letterpress play day at a time convenient to your group.
Children's Hospital Broadside Project
For more than ten years, SVC’s letterpress instructors and students have worked with Seattle Arts and Lectures' Writers in the Schools program to publish poetry broadsides written by patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It’s just one way we use the power of the press to let all of our community’s voices be heard.
Designer in Residence: Kristen Ramirez
Following in the prolific footsteps of SVC’s first two artists in residence, Glenn Fleishman and Claudia Castro Luna, Kristen Ramirez took the reins in 2020. Kristen creates across media, with works on paper, large-scale murals, sculpture, signage, and socially engaged public projects. Her work is often grounded in an investigation of place and how our environment impacts our identity. Kristen works for the City of Seattle managing public art projects for the Office of Arts & Culture and has served as artist-in-residence to the Department of Transportation (SDOT).
