Hot Metal printing?

[waysoftheearth]

Here's a left-field question to start the week out:

How many people, if any, would be interested in the prospect of a Delving Deeper booklet printed at a hot metal letterpress?

It turns out there's still an operational letterpress about a day's drive from where I live, still running a model 48 Linotype and a few other printing machines, so perhaps it's not yet an impossible dream. If it turned out enough people were interested, maybe it's something I could look into...

[Finarvyn]

I'm not sure exactly what this means. What would make the final product different from stuff printed in the regular way?

[waysoftheearth]

Letter press printing was a printing technology that essentially came to a commercial end in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was replaced by phototypesetting, and then digital typesetting which we have today.

The printing of ink onto paper from metal type is to today's printing technology what hand-made carpentry is to flat packed furniture at IKEA. The former epitomizes craft, the latter epitomizes economics.

[machfront]

Are you seriously asking us if we want an old school style game printed in a wholly legit super old school way and imagining any of us would say ‘no’?!?!!??
Do you have a high fever???

Yes! Yes we want it! 😁

[cadriel]

I'd be interested. Especially if you managed to find nice paper for the cover and have the Delving Deeper logo printed in a separate color like on the OD&D booklets.

[doublejig2]

Apr 17, 2023 4:55:50 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

Letter press printing was a printing technology that essentially came to a commercial end in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was replaced by phototypesetting, and then digital typesetting which we have today.

The printing of ink onto paper from metal type is to today's printing technology what hand-made carpentry is to flat packed furniture at IKEA. The former epitomizes craft, the latter epitomizes economics.

One vote for craft over economics with an anyway nod to getting paid for one's effort!

[waysoftheearth]

Apr 17, 2023 6:55:16 GMT -6 machfront said:

Are you seriously asking us if we want an old school style game printed in a wholly legit super old school way and imagining any of us would say ‘no’?!?!!??
Do you have a high fever???

Yes! Yes we want it! 😁

Clearly I do have a high fever for even thinking about this, but I share your enthusiasm.

One imagines it can't be sensibly priced, but let me make a few calls and see if there's any possible way forward...

[ochrejelly]

Apr 16, 2023 22:52:07 GMT -6 waysoftheearth said:

How many people, if any, would be interested in the prospect of a Delving Deeper booklet printed at a hot metal letterpress?

I would

[tombowings]

I would love one, but shipping there is huge pain. So put me in the "begrudgingly no" category.

[hamurai]

Apr 17, 2023 23:16:23 GMT -6 tombowings said:

I would love one, but shipping there is huge pain. So put me in the "begrudgingly no" category.

Same here, I guess.

[dcullina]

I'd buy one!

[geoffrey]

For me it's all about the pricing. So maybe yes, maybe no.

[capitalbill]

Yes

[waysoftheearth]

I had an initial chat with the printer. Unfortunately, they don't have the bandwidth to take on a new project

Seems like I will have to extend my search to other printers (possibly on other continents). Hmm.

[waysoftheearth]

Hold the phone!

This week I've connected with another printer who uses phototypesetting (albeit not hot metal) with genuine letterpress printing. I have a ballpark cost estimate around $10 per booklet (subject to a bunch of variables). I'm getting a handful of physical samples done to see the various paper stocks and what the printing looks/feels/smells like "in the real". I'll report back---and see if I can share some meaningful pictures---when I get them...

[ramblingcleric]

I’d be interested in this, and I’ve been advocating DD to the groups I play with for a few years now. What are you thinking in terms of the version you’d be printing if you make this happen?

Peace

[waysoftheearth]

My head has been totally into V5 for many years already.... so, V5 all the way baby

[ramblingcleric]

I was hoping that was the case! Definitely interested.

[verhaden]

What typefaces do they have to choose from? Can't go wrong with most hot metal fonts, but phototype is another story. Are they still plugging along on an old Linotron or Berthold Diatype?

[waysoftheearth]

Not sure what equipment they are using yet... all part of the discovery process.

[waysoftheearth]

Quick update on this one.

Last week I received some printed samples in the post.

What can I say? Genuine letterpress printed, ink impressed on quality paper stock, is off the charts better than today's lightning press products. It looks better, it feels better. Dang, it even smells better. I have a variety of paper weights in hand and have pretty close to the original 3LBB paper weights nailed down (way nicer than any POD I've ever touched).

However, one limitation of the printing technology is: no grey-scale art. It's line art only, baby. But on that one I did get some art printed in my samples pack, and it looks amazing. So crisp. It's not a haze of tiny dots fooling your eye to see something that's not there. A line actually is inked, or it isn't. So the art just looks... sharp.

But for all that upside, one must pay a price. It isn't going to be cheap.
And right now I am not certain what licensing arrangements DD5 can be published under, if at all, so the whole thing is under a bit of a cloud

More to come...

[peelseel2]

I would buy this in a heartbeat!

[thorswulf]

I certainly like my printed copy of the rules, as they are a fine set to game with. I love the idea of the nostalgia in getting printed rulebooks the way they were done in the 70's. I'm sure pricing would be high, but then that might get altered by a bulk printing? Not sure if they offer a price break for that. Would the game come in a box as well? I could see myself paying for something like that.

[waysoftheearth]

Thanks thorswulf.

I suspect the market for a letterpress version of DD (or anything hanging off it) would be a niche within a niche, and wouldn't approach anything like the numbers needed for meaningful price breaks. That said, every extra copy would help a little bit!

If I had a business head (highly doubtful) I would partner with someone in the USA to try to make this financially viable. However, even organising just that would be a substantial thing. Still... some things (i.e., the entire DD project) are done even if they are not financially viable, just for the love of doing it

[gonyaulax]

I'd buy a copy regardless of price, if it was a version that would stay "current" for a number of years and not up "updated" or "retconned" or otherwise be superceded too soon.