Printers Fair rolls out all things letterpress, screen printing

DIYers, bibliophiles, buyers or makers of handmade crafts — actually, anyone who appreciates the tangible results of the printing process — can rejoice at the annual Printers Fair, Oct. 5 at the International Printing Museum in Carson.

“Printing, graphics and paper are all around us but we never think about it,” said Mark Barbour, curator and founding director of the museum. At the fair, he said, “those worlds come alive. Visitors can really get hands-on in the process and it’s magic. I’ve seen adults walk away looking like little kids.”

The fair makes use of seemingly every inch of the museum. The event runs in two buildings and the parking lot in between, with type casting and printing demonstrations, handmade paper goods and artpieces from more than 75 vendors available for purchase, and even a re-creation of a 40s-era print shop.

This year’s featured artist is avant-garde printer Kevin Bradley, who runs the Santa Monica letterpress studio the Church of Type. He will showcase some of his intricately made large-scale posters.

An exhibition of Colby Posters’ familiar designs — thick black lettering on super-bright colors — will be on view at the event. Visitors can print their own letterpress keepsake, screen-print a shirt, have their name cast in metal or get a head start finding some handmade holiday cards.

Admission is $7. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 315 Torrance Blvd., Carson; (310) 515-7166; printmuseum.org.

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