Pressing On: The Letterpress Film

ClintGoss

Just stumbled across Pressing On: The Letterpress Film on Amazon Prime. WowCoolGonzo and so spot on for this list.

I did a search for "Pressing On" across all of TypeDrawers and found not a single mention. Odd, for a film that might be the best first introduction to typography. (even though I've only seen the first 15 minutes, so far).

Vasil Stanev

Dibs!

Mark Simonson

Maybe it's because we are more oriented here to type design rather than type use in general. 

Pressing On is mainly about small letterpress printers, including older "hobby" printers and the new generation of young people who have discovered letterpress in the digital age.

It's a really great movie, though. I saw it a couple of times at type-related events when it debuted in 2017. I'm really happy to learn that it's available for streaming.

Mark Simonson

Some others in a similar vein:

Los Ultimos -- Endless Letterpress (Argentina, 2019. Not available for streaming yet.)

Linotype: The Film (US, 2012. Available for streaming.)

Typeface (US, 2009. Available for streaming.)

Thomas Phinney

Related, type design metal and digital:
Making Faces: Metal Type in the 21st Century (US, 2011, available for streaming)

ClintGoss

Mark Simonson said:

... because we are more oriented here to type design rather than type use in general. 

I was just struck by the value of the deep background for people, like myself, who have only read about the history of typography. I think that a well-done documentary, even if somewhat tangential, gives motivation and history in a way that printed publications do not.

In most fields I have waded into, when asking one well-heeled in the subject, the most rewarding response has been a short list of the seminal words in the field that I had to read. These days, a mix of print and video seems in order.

I started in 1993 by hacking Palatino to get the kerning I wanted for a book I was publishing. My techie background has tended to keep me in the trenches, rather than accessing resources to get the 30,000 foot view.

So, if others could please add to this list - post your suggestions (along the lines of "must read, seminal works" for budding typographers.

I hope to view them all and assemble my own list ... 

Andreas Stötzner

Stephen Fry explores the history of Gutenberg and the first printing:

https://youtu.be/uQ88yC35NjI

Chris Lozos

At my age this is very old news.  Perhaps the younger designers should see it, though?

Mark Simonson

And, let's not forget:

Helvetica (US, 2007. Available for streaming and in many formats.)

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Malcolm Wooden

https://player.vimeo.com/video/133085076?wmode=opaque&api=1&autoplay=1

'Type Speaks'  ATF film from 1948

Stephen Coles

See also:

https://typedrawers.com/discussion/1041/type-design-videos/p1
https://typedrawers.com/discussion/1088/typography-videos-website/p1

Ray Larabie

Netflix: Abstract The Art of Design
Jonathan Hoefler: Typeface Design
Season 2, Episode 6. IMDb Netflix

Mark Simonson

In case anyone is interested in my talk ("The Romance of Offset") that James mentioned above, here is a link:

https://www.typotalks.com/videos/mark-simonson/

This is from TypoSF 2015. I also did it at TypeCon the year before, but I think this version is better.