About Us
About the Smallprint Company
The Smallprint Company is a traditional letterpress and design studio in Derby, Derbyshire.
The heritage print shop specialises in Wedding Stationery and teaching the craft of letterpress through workshops and courses.
A Brief History of the Smallprint Company
Combining a love of print, typography and design the aim of the Smallprint Company studio is to explore the world of traditional letterpress print, using antique presses, original type, beautiful papers and hand mixed inks.
Chris and Hannah Barker met at art college back in the 90s, where we discovered a shared love of print and a burning ambition to run a print studio. The final year of University was spent working with RGAP (Research Group for Artist Publications) led by Martin Rogers. This was an introduction to many printmaking and bookbinding techniques, often blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary practices. It was also the inspiration to set up a studio practice of their own.
After graduation, thoughts turned to work. The interest in print and publishing led to careers that would help pave the way to forming the Smallprint Company. Following several years in the print and publishing industries respectively, they finally purchased their first press, an Adana 8x5.
In April 2014 the studio was moved into an incubation hub for creative businesses at Banks Mill Studios, alongside Green Door Printmaking Studio. A rare and rather beautiful Squintani Model no.6 treadle press was acquired, which we went on to be restore to full working order and which quickly became the main press of the studio.
In August 2016 they took on an independent studio close to the centre of Derby and expanded the services to include bookmaking workshops, gallery space, copy shop, gift shop and creative workspace which is available for hire.
Workshops
The library of original type continues to grow, with fonts ranging from miniscule 6pt type to large wooden poster type. Recent acquisitions have greatly helped to grow the popular 'Poster Workshops' and bespoke commissions for original prints.
The Smallprint Company offers a range of Workshops to suit all ages and abilities. Whether you want to learn the intricacies of typesetting in letterpress, or to experiment with typographical layouts there is a course for you.
As well as one-to-one workshops, group workshops for family, friends or work colleagues can be arranged.
The Smallprint Company can also offer off-site workshops and demonstrations for events or education. Over the years Smallprint have worked with a variety of cultural and educational organisations to deliver engaging workshops to the public. As a heritage craft studio it is important to spread awareness of letterpress to help keep the practice alive and healthy.
Chris is a printer and designer with 30 years experience in the print and graphics industry. After studying in Fine Art he gained hands on experience in the print trade, from print finishing, pre-press, design and gaining an apprenticeship as a lithographic press operator (where he won the Hawthorn Rigby Apprentice of the Year award).
Chris has continued to study the history and techniques of design, typography and printmaking and is an extremely knowledgeable and enthusisatic tutor.
Wedding Stationery
The studio offers a range of print and finishing solutions for everything that you might need for your Wedding Day. From Save the Date cards, Invitations, RSVP cards, Thank you cards, table plans etc...
There are plenty of designs to choose from or use as inspiration for your own unique design. Bespoke options are also available for a really personalised touch.
Printing services include Letterpress, Hot Foil and digital, and commisions can include a blend of all three. It's important to keep you on budget so there is a flexible approach to designing the stationery, without compromising on quality.
It is advised that you get in touch to discuss your requirements and see what can be done, and a visit to the studio is highly recommended.
Contact
Chris: 07948 266652
email: hello@smallprintcompany.com
If you want to find out more about Smallprint Company you can follow our story on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Client Kieran Harrod, made a little film of his business cards being printed, which can be viewed to the left.
"Shows the process which is relatively simple but takes the care and patience of a dedicated craftsman."
- Blog and video by Kieran Harrod, derby.graphics
We’ve been involved with Green Door for several years, both as members of the studio and as volunteers. Under their expert tutelage, we’ve learned new printmaking techniques under their expert tutelage and developed our private work. Through Green Door, we’ve had the opportunity to take part in several regional and international print exchanges and exhibitions, which has inspired us to start an annual Mail Art Project.
Our Eco Credentials
We don't tend to shout about our eco credentials enough – and perhaps we should! The studio is sustainable in many ways, with vintage letterpress naturally being an environmentally viable process.
Most of our equipment has had a previous life, with many presses and equipment having been rescued in some cases and restored. The presses are all powered by hand and foot and our ability to produce short print runs means that we are naturally producing less waste too... unless you're counting the amount of choccy bars it takes to power our Master Printer!
We source recycled and FSC accredited materials wherever possible. The beautiful papers we print on are FSC accredited, cotton-based or 100% recycled and we re-use and recycle newsprint and packaging wherever possible.
We use oil-based inks which have often been rescued from commercial printers and we hand-mix our inks which means that we use very little ink too. To clean down, we use vegetable oil, avoiding harsh chemicals wherever possible.
This careful and considered approach to our practice ensures high quality results that cannot be imitated.
Work for Us
Volunteers
Would you like to volunteer with us? A few hours a week is all that we ask for, and in exchange we will train you in the art of letterpress!
Email: hello@smallprintcompany.com
Internships
We offer internships occasionally through local universities, so keep your eyes peeled on university job boards and through our social media.