⬆ At Lead Graffiti, we wanted to create a broadside stating our opposition to “the big lie” and a group of so-called American patriots.

What a trying 15-hour day we had at Lead Graffiti to get this one image so we could post it on January 6. There are still a few bugs to work out of the process before printing an edition (and then we are thinking 10). We’ve done a fair amount of printing on our iron hand presses, but never such a sizeable corner-to-corner image. The grey paper we chose has a strong woven texture which adds some visual detail to the large flat areas.

January 6 is undoubtedly a tricky subject. We’re trying to combine paying homage to its historical significance while finding the experimental letterpress discovery we seek with a dash or 2 of typographic playfulness.

A lot of the brain fun was searching for a meaningful visual that we could pull from the avalanche of available imagery. And to marry that image with words and typography that would capture the essence of what happened and how we felt. I debated for a while, saying “my voting rights” instead of “democracy.”

Hand-cutting a full-size sheet of book board to create the broken glass pane was more satisfying and meditative than just plugging into a laser cutter—just one of the things that pushed us toward the craftsmanship of letterpress and away from the computer.

The image below shows the inked plate showing the white ink on the upper surface while the cut-away areas are left un-linked.

Just for the experience we may try to re-cut the plate, but this time using a laser cutter and working with a sheet of 1/8” thick Plexiglas.