Hi Larry. Long time, no see! How are you?
Hello, very well thank you — looking forward to catching up.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?
I’m Larry Hale, specialist printer and owner of Glasgow Press. I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and moved to Scotland in 1980, where I became part of the family business. I learned my craft from Master Printers and have worked to understand my presses inside and out. Over the last 40 years or so, I’ve learned a thing or two about letterpress, and I like to think that I’m good at what I do. It’s been an incredible journey. I have a mechanical mind, so I maintain the machines myself and rarely need help with repairs. That’s the level of understanding I’ve built up over the years.
How did your journey into print start?
When I was in America, I was all set to become a PE teacher — a totally different path. Life is a rollercoaster, and seeing how things can change is fascinating. I fell into printing as it was engrained in the family. Moving to Scotland changed my way of life. I went to college and learned there from some wonderful tutors, some of whom I’m still in touch with. They taught me the basics of foiling, which was a great experience for building my printing career.
How did you first get started with letterpress?
To start with, we dabbled with it. We had this machine — we could let it press paper. Letterpress had fallen out of fashion in the 80s as everything revolved around litho. This is before any digital. So, we had this old machine that we had set up for doing foiling and intricate embossing, and we experimented with that. And over the Atlantic, an explosion of interest in letterpress — a real resurgence — took place. So, I took this old machine and started playing. We loaded it with rollers. We worked it all out and started getting better and better. We dismantled it, reassembled it, reconstructed it.
So a lot of trial and error in the early days. Did the American printing scene inspire your attitude to print?
Absolutely. They were doing interesting things over the water, so we thought, ‘well, let’s do that here. There’s no reason we can’t.’ To start with, we worked with a lot of wedding stationery. But quite quickly, designers like yourself began to cotton on to the possibilities of letterpress. That then became our focus. Working with designers who could work with us to create beautiful tactile print. It’s such an exciting part of the design industry.
For designers, letterpress is almost the holy grail as it is so tactile. Has designers’ use of letterpress changed?
Traditionally, designers would come with incredibly Intricate work. I’ve always liked the challenge of working on complex projects. I’ve never tried to say no to a job. But where letterpress shines is when the materials, process and design all come together. I think that as the general understanding of letterpress has improved, so has the level of design. It can be expensive to produce letterpress in large quantities. Trials are important to ensure the end product matches the designer’s expectations. It’s not digital print, where you press a button and the piece is printed. This is manual work that needs time and planning. That’s what makes it unique.
What’s been your biggest challenge in business?
Honestly? Covid. Business was flying up until that point. Letterpress is expensive and unfortunately the need for print has diminished since 2020. I enjoy preserving this craft, but I’m afraid it will be lost in a few years. Take business cards for example. That’s always been a constant in our line of work. But people haven’t used them the same way since Covid. So much of the art, energy and detail that goes into the design has disappeared. The next thing on the list is production.
How has the increased focus on sustainability impacted you?
Firstly, people print less, but they print better. It’s a double-edged sword, as we are a premium product and we are inherently more sustainable than many other forms of print. But if we look at whisky packaging for example, many brands now produce a high-quality label but cut right back on the outer boxes to save on paper waste — which we understand. The quality and sustainability of our materials — paper, foil, inks — have all improved hugely. I sometimes worry people think we’re all chopping down trees, but we need these things. Good quality print is valuable.
What principles underpin your process?
Quality is a massive thing for me. My OCD is in my printing. I don’t have it anywhere else in my life — only printing. I methodically run through my machine wash-up every time, so I know I can run a lighter color if necessary. I always try to match what people want perfectly. From colour chip to the final print. It might be a colour not in the Pantone book — I’ll always try to get it perfect.
Sustainability is also essential. By the time a job is finished, we hardly have any waste. One of my goals is to keep it that way and a lot of that is down to how designers spec their projects. Most understand that less waste is good for the pocket and the planet. We’re careful with the materials we use. The chemicals that are put into the world are thankfully much cleaner now. Even the plates that are used in the processes are much cleaner.
What do you wish that people understood more about letterpress?
I wish people understood its value and could see its worth. It’s expensive. But it makes an impression — literally. When you put a nicely printed design in someone’s hand, they always notice it. It’s not instant. It takes time. It’s a work of love, because every job I create is my own. I put a bit of myself into each job, no matter how small. It’s more than print, it’s an experience. Clients and designers come and watch the jobs being made — they’ll be here with it and I encourage that. I love to have people here to witness it. They can take pictures and post them online — it’s all part of the creative journey.
If somebody wanted to learn letterpress, where would they learn it?
Honestly, I’ve no idea now. They don’t teach it at college. Letterpress is on the Red List — it’s an ‘at risk’ industry and I worry it will disappear.
What brings you joy?
A good job. A challenging job. When someone gives you a job that works well with letterpress. It’s just really fun.
What advice would you give to someone interested in a career in print?
To give your all, and to make it part of you. Do it for love of it, because it means more. That’s why I’m still here, right now, at 67.
There’s a love of wanting to see you guys come in, love the job, talk about it, and show people and be proud of what we have created together. Go beyond what you’re being taught.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
To do your best. Always. Don’t cut corners.
Where should emerging talent look for guidance?
By coming into somewhere like Glasgow Press. Come in and have a look around. Feel the paper and watch the process. Flick through the samples on the shelves. You will see some outstanding designs and some poor designs. You will learn what fonts work and what fonts don’t work. What size is too small? What colour is too light? You have to learn what looks good.
Thanks for your time, Larry. I really enjoyed that!
Me too, thanks again. Look forward to catch up with you soon.
