Where it all started

I came across this photo in the book "Cardiff - Those Were The Days", a collection of photographs compiled by Brian Lee. Brian Lee worked for the Western Mail and Echo, in Cardiff, which had connections to the Tudor Printing Co, the previous occupiers of the building which housed Qualitex Printing. The photograph, I would think, was taken between 1968-1970 judging from the hairstyles and the Cornerstone frames. Although a taken a little while before I started some of the faces circled were still there. (From left to right: Glyn Mayor, Dennis Mayor, Bill Cuthbert (the Father of the Chapel), Ken Jones, Mike Manley and Maurice Nolan (the Comp Room Overseer). For the first three years of my apprenticeship I carried out my work at the frame in front of Ken Jones, who then occupied the frame in the very bottom left, just out of shot. In my time, behind Ken, was another tall bench/frame where the leads for line-spacing were cut. In the top right of the picture you can see the Monotype Keyboard room. When phototypesetting was introduced in the mid-seventies, this room was partitioned and annexed to the very back of the comp room, with a couple of keyboards moving upstairs into a room in the loft - where I took up residency in the last two years of my time.

Shades of Green

"Shades of Green" is a collection of articles originally written for the South Wales Echo by local gardening expert Clive Edwards. Clive had the idea of combining them all into one volume and producing a very limited edition which he would give to his closest friends and family. Clive contacted me, through Abbey Bookbinding, and commissioned me to design and produce the book. Eight editions were produced in perfect bound form and two were case bound.
Both versions were A5 and digitally printed in full colour throughout on 150gsm silk. The perfect bound copies had a gloss laminated 350gsm silk cover while the case bound versions were bound using green cloth in keeping with the theme. The typefaces used were Sabon Roman, Italic and Bold for the text and DIN Light and Black for display.
Sadly, after a very short, sudden illness Clive passed away before he could take the next step and publish a larger quantity. However, his sister, Ann, and brother, Roy, are taking the project on as a lasting memorial.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy please contact Ann Brookman (email: annbrookman2@hotmail.co.uk).

Motorbikes!

As a test for a future photo book I have produced a prototype A4 landscape version. The cover (front and back) has a full image which has been gloss laminated. The inside pages have been printed on 170gsm Printspeed uncoated paper. The book has then been finished with a wiro-bind although this will not be the method used in any future edition which will probably be smaller in size.

Michelle Chick Portfolio

My latest commission to design and produce a portfolio displaying paintings by Michelle Chick. The pages are A3 in size and printed through a Xerox 7002 on 190gsm Perfect Image and the porfolio features a spiral bind so that the images lay perfectly flat. Bound in green cloth it also has a magnetic closure on the right.

Geoff Marsh Number 13

My first commission for a bespoke photo book. It is A3 in size and consists of 56 pages printed full colour through a Xerox 7002 digital press on 170gsm Core Silk at Beacon Printers, Penarth. It was then bound in black cloth with the title block blind embossed on the cover. Bound by Abbey Bookbinders in Cardiff.

Typeface

I have, at last, managed to see this film made by Kartemquin Films. Although it is about a company in Wisconsin it is a poignant piece and illustrates how the computer age has affected businesses which serviced letterpress printing.

The Linotype Film

"Linotype: The Film" is a feature-length documentary centered around the Linotype type casting machine. Called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing and society.

The film tells the surprisingly emotional story of the people connected to the Linotype and how it impacted the world.

www.linotypefilm.com

Not a machine I've ever operated, but marvellous none the less.