I have been embarking on a lot of “firsts” recently, and last week was no exception. I assembled and printed my first two color letterpress broadside. It all began with a silly parody poem, and ended up being a fabulously fun printing project.

A parody of the infamous ‘Baby Got Back’ verse by Sir Mix-a-Lot, the text reads,

“I like Big Type and I cannot lie.
You other printers can’t deny:
When your form gets set with some itty-bitty type
and some reglets in your chase,
it gets proofed!”

Essentially, I wanted this to be what my boyfriend calls “letterpress porn”: a compilation of a variety of sizes and typefaces (in metal and wood) and decorative leading and cuts.

The “itty-bitty type” and the colophon were the most obnoxious parts to set, since it was REALLY FREAKIN’ SMALL TYPE! I literally had to use tweezers to grab the sorts from the case.

But once I did, I think the tiny type came out just fine:

But the headaches didn’t end there. After I set it all together in one form, I had to decide what I wanted to pull out for the second color. Then I divided it all into two forms:

After that, it was just the fun of printing and watching it come to life! I had some 110lb. Cranes Lettra 8.5 x 11 left over from another project, so I went ahead and used that to print these small broadsides.

Here is the press all set up and doing the black run:

And once I printed the red, it all came together!

I am really happy with the final product. I know most people won’t get it. But I think it is hilarious! And anyone who has ever said (or thought to himself) “I like Big Type!” will enjoy it to no end.

I just listed it on Etsy today, so head on over to get one for your very own! I only printed 25 of them, so get ’em while you can!