Commercial

The Winterbourne Press is run by an expanding team of volunteers. One of their main roles is to print material which contributes to Winterbourne’s income. Hand-printed items which are retailed in the Winterbourne Gift Shop include greetings cards designed by volunteers, branded carrier bags, and bookmarks. These items are printed using a combination of type, historic, and newly-commissioned printing blocks. 

 

As part of a Creative Writing internship in 2022, University of Birmingham undergraduate Will Moran spent time with the printing volunteers. They wrote a poem in response which remains on display in the press room. The phrase ‘soft-toed in Converse’ refers to the health and safety restrictions in place when using the Heidelberg: protective footwear is mandatory.

The Printing Press

 

Setting up with lively chatter, swapping coffee
for stories. Phil, the compositor, quick and precise.
Under his hands, shining blocks of metal
come together to make art.

When Perry and Peta take me down to the machine,
they set to work breathing life into the room.
It floods my senses – the tang of ink in the air,
the lyrical whirr of the Heidelberg.
Soft-toed in Converse, I stay back and listen.

Perry starts the machine, the beast tamed in
his capable hands. He shows me a print,
points to the delicate haloes around the letters,
explains excessive pressure but all I think is –

human hands and human skill made this.
For your mother’s birthday card. For your
daughter’s graduation. Leaving an impression
on the paper and on all of us.

 

Will Moran

2022