OUGD505 - Studio Brief 01 - Print Methods of 1880s

There were many print methods used during the late 19th century that derived from and that can be transposed to traditional print methods which can be used for this particular brief.

Lithography was a print method used during the 19th century to illustrate publications and posters. It was a popular process to commercially print maps, posters for events and in the mid 19th century, illustrated newspapers appeared and used this method to illustrate the news by developing litho printing into the rotary printing press technique. Lithography is a long process, for this reason it was developed into the rotary press. This method would be difficult to complete within the college resources and would create similar prints to relieve printing or wood or lino block printing.

Letter press printing was a popular method used in the printing presses of the 19th century. Letterpress was developed in the 15th century and is still popular today. The process can be completed with wood block type letters or led type letters. A mixture of both won and lead type letters were used during the 19th century. Block type letters were popular for mastheads and titles in print. Letter press printing can mass produce a large amount of information and was the most popular method of printing making it the most appropriate for this brief.

The advancement in industry during the 19th century lead to cheaper production, which meant the use of thin paper, shoddier press work and the use of drab grey inks. In order to create a print that will be most authentic to the time, these methods of printing will be most appropriate for this brief. The nature of Victorian's careless craftsmanship by replacing missing letter blocks with similar looking letters can be recreated in order to make a more authentic print.

The distinctive Victorian style of layout included extreme variations of type size and weight, crammed within the page. Depending on the availability of type within the college will depend on the variety of type and weights that can be used. As much information will be included to ensure that the layout looks as much like Victorian style.

Linocut printing is a print method developed in the early 20th century. Although not used during the late 19th century, Linoleum was a popular material used for flooring. The concept of linocut is to create an image by carving into the lino and then stamping the image with ink. It is a similar process to litho printing placing ink on the cut image and transferring it to paper and arguable is the most appropriate for this design.