Letterpress Gig Posters

Thin Ice Press: the York Centre for Print is running a letterpress gig poster workshop on Sunday 25 October, from 11:00 to 16:30. It's a one-day session where you design and print your own one-of-a-kind gig poster using the press's wood type and split-fountain inking — a technique that blends colours on the roller to create a vibrant gradient across the page — before overprinting the design on top. Mike from North or Nowt is leading the session.

If you haven't spent much time there, Thin Ice Press is a pressroom, museum and gallery tucked into the garden of St Anthony's Hall in the heart of York. It's run by Professor Helen Smith, who also leads the children's letterpress sessions known as 'Printer's devils'. The place works to keep traditional printing alive, and its collection charts the history of the craft: there's an 1845 Crown Columbian press, 115 cases of wood type and 100 cases of metal type. It's also home to parts of the DeLittle of York collection, the last and most successful wood letter manufacturers in the UK.

Letterpress isn't the only thing they do. The studio runs risograph and linocut clubs and bookbinding workshops, and offers memberships, equipment hire and exhibition space. You can explore the shop and gallery or take a free tour, and members can use the studio. The gig poster session is a one-day chance to get your hands on the wood type and the split-fountain inking yourself. It runs from 11:00 to 16:30 on Sunday 25 October at Peasholme Green, YO1 7PW, and costs £95.