Challenges of bilingual typesetting / Retos tipográficos del bilingüismo

Trabajo de técnico de conservación en un taller de reparación de libros. Hace poco, tiramos un acopio de libros de muestras de papeles y telas -- algunos tendrían 30 años. Esta impresión pertenecía a alguno de ellos. Creo que los tipos para esta impresión se han compuesto a mano. Lo que destaca es la diferencia entre el aspecto del italiano y del inglés -- mientras la composición luce en italiano, en inglés se ve un poco incómodo.

Puede que una tipografía haga lucir el italiano, pero no queda bien al inglés. El diseño de una tipografía debe de responder a la distribución de letras y las otras cualidades particulares al idioma al que se dirige.

Pero aquí no creo que veamos un diseño tipográfico descuidado, sino errores de composición que le dan un mal aspecto al texto en inglés. Las comillas ("Carta Varese") no se suelen ver así en inglés. Hay demasiado espacio entre renglones; hay una mala traducción ("Collection of and papers made"). El tener demasiado espacio entre palabras y líneas es porque la traducción del italiano al inglés era más corto que el texto original.

Lo que sí se ha hecho bien es: convertir las medidas de centímetros a pulgadas para la traducción al inglés. También la justificación del texto es mejor en inglés.

No publico esta entrada para criticar, injustamente, al cajista y traductor y corrector a quienes les tocó este pequeño trabajo. De haber hecho yo trabajos bilingües, sé lo difícil que es hacer que todo salga bien. Especialmente con la tipografía manual.

Es que la atención prestada a un texto en idioma extranjero para hacerlo lucir, sobre todo en un anuncio, ayuda a comunicarle respecto a otro público; también sirve para decirles a personas de otro país o cultura que nos importan.
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I work as a tech in a book conservation lab. A little while ago, we ended up throwing out thirty years worth of accumulated sample books of papers and bookcloth. This little letterpress printed piece accompanied one of them. It looks handset -- what caught my attention was that although the text looked beautiful in Italian, it felt awkward in English.

And it's true that good type design takes the distribution and other quirks of the 'target language' for which it has been designed into account.

But I don't think most of the awkwardness here is due to a bad type design. The compositor didn't always make great design calls for the English text (probably because he wasn't used to reading or setting it). For example, the quotations around "Carta Varese" aren't conventional in English. There's too much space between lines, and one sentence of the translation is a bit off ("Collection of and papers made"). Generally, the excessive padding around all the lines and words is due to the simple fact that the English translation was shorter than the Italian original.

The well-done aspects of this bilingual job include the conversion of the paper measurements from centimeters to inches for an anglophone audience. Also, the justification of the English text is better (by chance or design).

I'm not writing this post to slam either the translator or the compositor who would have worked on this. From personal experience, I know how challenging it can be to set two languages in the same job! Especially when you're dealing with lead type.

But the attention we pay to making another language look good, especially in an ad, goes a long way toward communicating goodwill to that second audience and telling them that they matter to us.

This is a bilingual post. If you notice a mistake, please correct my grammar (in either language!)
Publico esta entrada en castellano e inglés. Al notar faltas de ortografía y gramática, hacedme el favor de corregirme (¡el inglés tanto como el español!)

First project for class / Primer trabajo del semestre

I'm in a letterpress printing class this semester! It has been months since I've touched a press; it felt good to print these.

Este semestre me toca una asignatura de tipografía manual. Hace meses que no imprimo. Que me esté de nuevo disponible una prensa me alegra. 

The assignment was just to print ourselves business cards. The font I used for my name didn't have a label on it, so I don't know what it was. But rad, right?

El trabajo que nos pusieron era imprimir unas tarjetas sencillas. Saqué los tipos para componer mi nombre de una caja sin marcar; así no puedo decir el nombre del estilo. Pero es chulo, ¿no? 

My only regret is that the spacing of my two phone numbers is maybe a little awkward. It's also great to print for yourself. I could get exactly how much impression I wanted (none), and use a paper that I liked.

Debería de haber jugado un poco más con el tracking de los números de teléfono. Ser mi propio cliente es lo mejor. Así estas tarjetas se imprimieron con poca impresión, como a mí me gusta. 

The shop at school has these great gauge pins. THEY DON'T MOVE. This is going to change my life.

En el taller de la universidad hay unas supercapuchinas que NO. SE. MUEVEN. Me van a cambiar la vida.

Also, I've been listening to the album Nos sobran los motivos on repeat lately. It's what I was listening to while I was printing. I wish somebody would go through and translate Sabina.

Últimamente escucho mucho el disco Nos sobran los motivos, de Sabina, incluso mientras imprimía esta tarjetas. Quisiera que alguien hiciera alguna traducción al inglés de sus canciones. 

This is a bilingual post. If you notice a mistake, please correct my grammar (in either language!)
Publico esta entrada en castellano e inglés. Al notar faltas de ortografía y gramática, hacedme el favor de corregirme (¡el inglés tanto como el español!)

SOCIAL/BRIEF: Blank Slate

I went to this event in Minneapolis at the Walker Art Center while I was home recently. 

I thought it was a cool collaboration because letterpress printing usually does not happen in a modern art museum. Craft and contemporary art may attract different audiences. Because most of the magic of letterpress printing happens behind the scenes, it can be a fairly opaque process. 

Here, printer Jenni Undis of Lunalux is setting some of the poems that were read at the event in type, and printing small editions of them on a tiny press. Lunalux prepared for the evening by printing the name of the event on the back of each card and numbering them before printing. They also have "live" printing events at their own shop sometimes. 

Here photo corners are being used instead of gauge pins. 

A handful of the editioned prints:

Test run

Here is what I printed for my test run of the platen press we have in the bookbinding studio. The text is the is the name of my school.

I think this wood type is actually Spanish, which makes it special. There were not a lot of forests to make wood type out of in Europe, which is why wood type is very much a new world thing, but in Spain, I guess a lot of wood type was burned for fuel during the civil war. (Conjecture or fact? I'm not sure). The stuff that survives is pretty worn down (some too much to pull a decent print from it). We actually have a tool in the shop for measuring how high a piece of type is, so that we can add pieces of backing to it if it's not type high.

The metal type is Ibarra Redonda.

{ speedy gonzales

Start to finish, an hour and 15 minutes.

I felt so speedy and on top of the world. Like when there is a tailwind and I am biking.

The biggest fan of your art ...

... will always be your mom. She put your art up on the fridge before you were famous. If you're lucky she still does.

These notecards were for my mom. The white on white is elegant, but the lower case initials at an angle keep the cards from feeling too formal for everyday notes.

Jackson Pollock's mother.
Start em young!

Ingredientes, lentitud & cariño

Wise words to cook by. This is a kitchen print ... a reminder to cook everything slowly, with good ingredients and, of course, love. I made it for my Spanish host mom, who told me this about cooking.

They are 5 x 7" and I printed them on some Hahnemuhle paper I found in my the stash under my bed. I damp packed the paper before printing.

The 'Ñ' is klutzy since I carved it myself; I'm so excited to be in Spain where they have REAL ones.

Is it a bird? A plane? A beehive? The cut from the studio at Leg Up is supposed to be stacking bowls.

Business cards for a flower shop

Photo credit: Satori

Paper is cream-colored Pescia, from the Wet Paint in St. Paul. The brown stock was salvaged from a friendly recycling bin.

Threaded with twine, these business cards double as enclosure cards for flower arrangements.

Love printing with a deckle.