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WILTON, Conn. Every time Lynda Campbell climbed into the family car for a road trip, she got a master class in graphic design. Campbell's father worked as a printer and was quick to offer his critique of every billboard and road sign along the route.
"He would say, 'Look at that sign. That's the worst case of word spacing,'" said Campbell. "I just assumed every kid grew up learning about typography."
These private tutorials continue to help Campbell as she creates greeting cards, invitations, calendars and other printed goods for her business, Saltbox Press, which she runs out of her Ridgefield Road home.
In what was once her husband's "man cave" sit two bureau-sized printing presses. The drab-looking gray one with its interconnected rubber rollers could pass for a piece on the set of "Mad Men." It's a proofing press, which allows Campbell to use its close registration to create a highly accurate copy of the designs she fashions from wood or metal lettering and cut-out polymer stencils.
Taking up much less space is Campbell's production press, which looks like a cross between a spinning wheel and loom. It was made in the late 1880s with technology not much different from what Guttenberg used.
At the top of this machine sits the inking plate, where Campbell slathers a huge helping of the rubber-based ink she favors. Using a lever on the side, Campbell manipulates the rollers up to the plate, where both are covered with ink before returning to the mold. She then slides a piece of heavy paper into place in an adjacent frame. With another quick flick, Campbell has created a card adorned with the colorful imprint.
"I love this. I love the tactile feeling of the paper," said Campbell. "I can create things that are beautiful. And it is so non-computer; I can respect the process from beginning to end."
It is also a time-consuming affair. Every word that appears on a card or invitation starts as Campbell digs through one of her three giant cases of block-cut letters. Once she decides on a font and size, she arranges the letter blocks upside down on a metal composing stick before sliding each line of text into a wood and metal casing.
Campbell, now in her third year of business, sells her creations online and locally at A. Flood of Paper, Sea Beans Studio and Babycat Milkbar.
"I do this because I love this," said Campbell. "I have no illusion of becoming the greatest letterpress printer in the Northeast. I'm happy having found a niche."
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