Pressing On: The Letterpress Film

“It’s a tactile process that some would call obsolete in the computer age—but this film contradicts that belief.” - Leonard Maltin

“A salve for technological oversaturation … There is some discussion of the history of the technique, but the focus is on eccentric characters whose passion keeps the form alive.” - New York Times

The modern world was born on a printing press. Once essential to communication, the 500-year-old process is now in danger of being lost as its caretakers age. From self-proclaimed basement hoarders to the famed Hatch Show Print, PRESSING ON: THE LETTERPRESS FILM explores the question: Why has letterpress survived in a digital age?

Worlds of each character emerge as unusual narratives — joyful, mournful, reflective and visionary — are punctuated with on-screen visual poetry, every shot meticulously composed. Captivating personalities blend with wood, metal and type as young printers strive to save this historic process in a film created for the designer, type nerd, historian and collector in us all.