Pressing Ink In the Digital Age

December 6, 2008 By: Marshall Cutchin

Just because we wander daily through a fog of electrons doesn’t mean that those of us who love books must remain lost in the haze. Chad Pastotnik’s Deep Wood Press, mentioned in northern Michigan’s Record-Eagle this morning, has been producing fine books for more than 15 years now, using linotype presses, with handmade paper and binding folios by hand. One of their more popular books, A Trout In Winter (2000, verse by Jerry Dennis, intaglio engraving by Glenn Wolff) has sold all but one of the one of the sixty books printed — and that at the price of $500 per book. Having watched my first book project being typeset by a master craftsman more than thirty years ago, I’ve never lost my love for paper — especially when it reveals the talents of publishers who know the subtleties of fine type, engraving and binding. Check out Jodee Taylor’s coverage of the Pastotnik’s latest project.