Departments
Printing
The department contains a number of pre-war printing presses and tools, many of which belonged to the “Popularna” printing press. Due to the printing processes, the department is divided into two separate areas. The typesetting department collects the tools necessary to construct a printing matrix: stillages and racks, type cases, fonts, ornamentation, composing sticks. The printing department is where the large- and small-format printing presses are located. One of those is Planeta Fixia, which we use to print out posters, or the manually operated “Boston” machine from 1903, used for unconnected prints, flyers and small folders. Robert Sawa hosts typography workshops in this department.
Bookbinding
The bookbinding department is where we prepare the binding of unique books, bind books using the the Coptic and Japanese stitch binding methods, as well as all works that deal with the finishing touches for printed materials. As part of the Chamber of Printing, at the beginning the bookbinding department was largely concerned with the printing presses and tools that had once belonged to the “Popularna” printing press and the Printers and Bookbinders Work Association. In January 2012, we bought equipment from the old “Intrograf” bookbinding press that operated at Cyrulicza St. in Lublin. The department has been expanded by the inclusion of type cases and bookbinding ornaments, a gilding press, perforator, scissors, guillotines and bookbinding presses. The new machines and tools have afforded the department incredible opportunities. Alicja Magiera hosts bookbinding workshops using the old bookbinding presses.
Papermaking
The paper manufacture department is where we turn plants and maculature into unique handmade paper. The department includes a separate area where, through thermal and chemical processes, plant-derived cellulose is acquired. The papermaking department contains waterproof distillation tables with vats, where paper is produced using either European or eastern “sugeta” sieves. Old German binding presses of over a hundred years of age squeeze the excess water from handmade sheets. The traditional papermaking process is very long and requires precision and concentration, and particularly dislikes haste. At the start, the paper is a plant and is derived from it. In the delicate but sturdy paper, one can still feel the trace of a plant’s vitality in its structure. Cellulose is a very common material in nature. We can find it in many kinds of grass, flax, hemp, tree fibers, plant stems or banana peels. Sylwia Woźniak hosts workshops about paper manufacture using different techniques, such as the Japanese method.
Lithography
The lithography department, which exists as part of the Chamber of Printing, has been created to commemorate and cultivate this printing profession. In 2009 we have bought lithography stones from the European Arts Academy in Warsaw. These stones still contain the original labels from the 1960s. In the following years more have been acquired. Currently we are in possession of nineteen small format lithography stones and two large format ones. On November 29th, 2011, we bought our entire lithography department equipment from Ms Barbara Aumer, including a Karl Krause small format lithography press made in 1904 in Leipzig, and a polishing machine. The department has operated since 2013 thanks to the initiative of the Chamber of Printing and the people involved who work in lithography. Tomasz Malec, Jolanta Gmur and Przemysław Garczyński have offered to help set up and operate the lithography department in the Chamber of Printing. The department is operational and is being constantly expanded: we organise exhibitions and lithography workshops. It is where unconnected prints for cultural events are made. The department has been started by Jolanta Gmur and continued by Edyta Pietrzak. Currently, the studio is closed.
