<.
<span>Inspo & Moonshot Thinking:</span>
As a poet, I think a lot about how words look on paper. This is especially true after I’ve written a poem and the question of how I want to format it—and eventually print it—becomes important. I’m inspired by the bespoke quality of 60s-70s zine culture as well as the tangible inkiness of hand stamping and letterpress techniques. But hand stamping takes forever! And so does designing a custom plate for each poem I want to print!
To address this problem, I’d like to create a machine that automates some (if not all) of the hand stamping process. The moonshot version of the project would work somewhat like a cross between a label maker and a letterpress, where I can upload a text file and then it will be printed on the page, preserving the original formatting. An alternative idea is to do a project related in book binding, automating the gluing/sewing part of the book creation process.
<span>Brainstorming:</span>
As it stands, I have a few ideas for how my primary idea could manifest and ways it could be scaled. This will definitely change over the course of the semester.
As I see it any version of my machine would have 5 main physical mechanisms:
- Plate/stamping surface, where the paper will lay
- Clamp system that keeps the paper from moving
- The stamps themselves
- A system to secure (and move?) the stamps
- A system to apply pressure to stamps
<span>Notes:</span>
I want feedback on how to scale this project and what seems feasible. I have a few plans for how I might scale it back...
- Create a machine that stamps custom plates (ones with all the desired words carved on it)
- Create something in traditional letterpress style, with letters that can be manually rearranged (in this case, would be cool to control for depth of indentation, vary stamp size, and possibly automate inking)
- Create something more like a drawing mechanism, with a paint brush and programed that letter shapes
And I want to be open to more creative solutions!
- I might consider a device that stamps visual art instead of text art (or both?)
- I will research other hand printing techniques besides the letter press to get more ideas! I’ve already emailed Houghton for support on this
<span>Imageboard:</span>
  
 
]]>