Hello! ! I’m Karen Edwards and the artist behind The Red Button Press, a traditional Letterpress and printmaking studio in Liverpool, England.
I'm a one person studio, making new things by hand in old ways. Helping me with the printing are a variety of hand-cranked, pedal powered printing presses named Ada, Tom , Babs, Ruth, Brian, Clive and Charley. All of the presses are at least 50 years old with previous owners.
What is Letterpress?
Letterpress is a traditional form of relief printing involving individual, moveable letters made from wood and metal. To create a print, these letters are assembled by hand, locked into a frame called a chase, inked with a roller and pressed against a sheet of paper, creating an impression.
It is one of the most significant inventions of the last 500 years. Moveable type enabled the mass-production of texts and fuelled the spread of printed matter across Europe. Printed books, - once the reserve of the elite, became cheaper and more accessible, they encouraged the development of literacy and learning in an information revolution that has parallels with the impact of the Internet today.
However with the dawn of the digital age, letterpress printing and its associated skills are in danger of disappearing and The Red Button Press is dedicated to preserving this art through printed items for sale, demonstrations and workshops.
Environmentally Friendly? - Definitely!
As well as second hand presses - most of the wood and lead type is second hand too. A lot of the wood type has scratches, dinks and signs of a previous life in the book and newspaper trades. This gives all the work a unique look.
- Hand operated presses so no electricity needed
- Paper and card are either recycled or FSC certified and made in the UK and so are our envelopes
- Printing inks are made in the UK, non-toxic, vegetable oil based and don’t need any horrible solvents to clean up.
- All packaging is biodegradable.
Adventures in print and more information can be found on Instagram @redbuttonpress
If you have any questions, do send an email - thanks for reading!
MY WORK
A small example of my letterpress and linocut prints
WORKSHOPS & DEMONSTRATIONS
Over the years I have demonstrated Letterpress printing for various organisations and institutions. Below are a few examples.
Workshops facilitated at my studio for private groups or across venues in Merseyside.
Demonstrations for various institutions across the North of England
MEET THE FAMILY
The Vintage Printing Presses
The equipment I use to create my work is one of the main features of what The Red Button Press is about. Finding a use for them again in a digital world. They are all vintage and so is most of the type and associated equipment needed to create my work.
