Name: Erik Spiekermann Foundation gGmbH
Address: Potsdamer Str. 98a, Berlin, Berlin, 10785, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0)30 8321 9070
Price range: $$

Hacking Gutenberg is an experimental letterpress workshop in Berlin dedicated to letters, printing and paper.

We explore how letterpress can be redefined in the 21st century through research, printing, collecting, publishing and making things. We work with hot metal- and wood-type, several proof- and platen presses and other traditional analogue equipment, and combine those with digital technologies. We have a Ludlow caster, a Risograph, a Glowforge laser. We built our own laser to make polymer metal-backed 50×70cm (20×28") plates direct from data (no negs), and we print those plates on a 1954 Heidelberg Cylinder.

2017 04 05 P98A Type Media Np 0023 — A group of TypeMedia students from the The Hague visits the workshop.

P98A Studio — Our proof presses in full color.

Workshops → One of the joys of running a letterpress studio is to share the experience with others. At Hacking Gutenberg we regularly set up workshop sessions for a group of individuals or entire teams. Workshop sessions start with a historical introduction to letterpress and with a look at different printing methods as well as the typographic measurement system. This is followed by a tour through the work-space. → Sign up here.

P98A Workshop 03 — Alexander (right), a trained typesetter, sometimes helps us during workshops.

P98A Workshop 04 — Jannis (right) knows our wood type catalogue pretty well, because he’s proofed several of them himself.

181008 p98a broschuere Erbar — Our favorite letter ‘ß’ in 48 point Erbar Grotesk halbfett, designed by Jakob Erbar and released with Ludwig & Mayer in 1927.

Collection → We have more than 500 cases of poster type made from wood and alternative materials, ranging from 8 to 60 Cicero (the German equivalent of a “line”) and around 450 cases of foundry type from 6 to 96 point. Gauges for measuring the height of rollers and type as well as the thickness of paper are tools we use daily. We also have type specimens and a large collection of books—old and new—about printing, typesetting and typography.

181008 p98a broschuere schrifthoehe — Schrifthöhenmessgerät

181008 p98a broschuere gummituch — Gummidrucktuchspezialdickenmesser

181008 p98a broschuere walzengreif — Walzensteller „Greif“ a.k.a. Walzengreif

Post-digital printing → We expose polymer plates, cut large size type from digital data, mill punches to make matrices for casting new hot metal type and will be 3D-printing poster type as soon as the materials become affordable. We use a direct-to-plate process to output digital plates for letterpress-printing books on a Heidelberg Cylinder and a giant (130×96cm) Johannisberger stop-cylinder press from 1924. Erik recently talked about the process and some projects at a conference → watch it here.

P98A Adlershof — Daniel checks a proof while printing the books for the Suhrkamp Letterpress edition.

Suhrkamp Letterpress does not seek to serve a bibliophile market. Our aim is to produce pieces of literature that exceed the pleasure of reading and also satisfy other senses. Many trades are necessary to produce a book. A book is only a book, once it has become a book.

181008 P98A Broschüre Sv01 — Raymond Queneau: ‘Stilübungen’ → For this piece we selected predominantly French typefaces. Roger Excoffon’s ‘Banco’ seems legit.

181008 P98A Broschüre Sv02 — Ludwig Wittgenstein: ‘Tractatus logico-philosophicus’ → Designed in Questa (sans and serif), a type family by Jos Buivenga and Martin Majoor

We have recently joined forces with TOC The Other Collection.

TOC is the product of our belief that important literature deserves books made of the finest materials, using the most sophisticated printing techniques. At a time when most reading has become a fleeting experience, we will create a more permanent space for important thoughts and ideas, by lodging them in handsomely printed books. Our books – placed on a curated bookshelf – will be a quiet place in today’s information pandemonium. But we shall also choose books that spur lively dialogue with other readers. TOC focuses on contemporary literature, books that will form the canon of the future.

The books are printed in limited editions, signed and numbered – individually designed to enhance each text.

At TOC we combine the advances of modern typography with the quality and artisanship of centuries-old book printing. While classic letterpress offers a pleasant analog reading experience, its limitations, including the high cost of traditional metal type setting, have so far made it prohibitive for modern book production. By transferring the layouts onto polymer plates with our in-house laser setter and improving print quality, step by step, on our Heidelberg Cylinder press, we combine the virtues of analog and digital processes. This results in the best of both worlds: refined digital typography and a smooth analog reading experience.

20220314 T152907 Toc 04 Boyd Np — TOC Books come with colorful jackets, each one designed to express the theme of the book

Toc 04 Boyd Np — Letterpress printing comes in more colors than black.

Toc 03 Banville Np — At the back of each TOC book, we write about why we picked a particular text and how we design it.

Publishing → Our journal P98a Paper is a collection of stories, opinions and illustrations by people we know and whose work we like. In its first volumes, the project began on a Risograph, a “digital silkscreen” printer used for small publications with spot colors. Through Paper we continue to explore different printing technologies: letterpress, offset, post-digital letterpress, and digital printing. Buy it here.

181008 P98A Broschüre Paper — A collection of stories, opinions and illustrations by people we know and whose work we like. P98a Paper explores printing technologies.

Material → We are experimenting with different materials and methods for producing our own large type. After trying out acrylic glass and 3D printing, CNC-milling from hard surfaces like Formica mounted on plywood turns out to be the most promising way.