Many people ask if never mind the press does job printing or bookbinding for others. I don't, but these people do. I know some of them, but can't vouch for them all. They are mostly in the San Francisco/Berkeley area. Just do a search for "letterpress printing" and the name of your town for other listings. These are current as of: 9/30/15 with some updates 3/21/16

Letterpress Printing
Bowerbird Atelier: Letterpress & Flowers in Oakland, CA
Dependable Letterpress

Bookbinding
Pettingell Book Bindery
Taurus Bookbindery

Print On Demand
You upload your files, either in pdf or using their software, to create an offset-printed, full-color book with color cover. This is great for cookbooks, exhibition catalogues, photo albums, personalized gifts, etc. The cost is inexpensive, the quality is really pretty good. I used Blurb for the ArtRead catalogue. The San Francisco Center for the Book used Lulu for our exhibition catalogue for Wings for Words. Create Space works through Amazon, is cheaper, and allows purchasers to add your book to their regular Amazon.com shopping cart. I currently use Create Space for my print magazine, *82 Review.

Online Resources

Audio Interviews with Book Artists
Some wonderful podcast interviews with book artists and poets may be found here. They are hosted by Steve Miller, coordinator of the MFA in the Book Arts Program at the University of Alabama. A partial list includes: Betsy Davids, Betty Bright, Julie Chen, Brad Freeman, Kitty Maryatt, Clifton Meador, Harry Reese, John Risseeuw, Special Collections Librarians: Bob Blesse, Janice Braun, Ruth Rogers & Judy Harvey Sahak; Kathleen Walkup, Barbara Tetenbaum, and projet Mobilivre among many others! Now available on iTunes as podcasts, too! Search in podcasts for "book artists and poets" with artist "Steve Miller". It's free and you can listen to book artists talk about book art for hours and hours.

ABC News
Video interview with Lisa Kokin

And Some Fun that has no relation to never mind the press at all!
A pop-up book music video: check it out on YouTube. For those who fall for it like I did, it is now available on iTunes.

Cool website with wonderful examples of contemporary books in the categories of: children's, comics, design, fine art, handmade, interviews, other, sketchbooks.

Secret Belgian Binding (from the Wayback Machine) instructions.

Crossed Structure Binding instructions.

One-Page Books

Want to make books from a single piece of 8 1/2" x 11" or A4 paper? You can also use any size paper, actually. Here are some examples from never mind the press. These would be excellent structures for use with Photoshop or Illustrator.
Accordion with Tunnel
T-cut Maze
X-Book, Hidden Book or Slit Book and here and here
Check Book or Winged Book This is really made of several square sheets sewn together.
Simple Accordion or Pants Book
Ox-Plow Pamphlet or Shorts Book

Bookmaking and Art Supplies
The descriptions list some highlights.

Letterpress Plates by Elum film output and photopolymer platemaking for the letterpress printer

Campbell-Logan Bindery Japanese book cloth in large quantities, large sizes, good range

Paper and Ink Arts calligraphy supplies, bookmaking books, hot foil pen

Colophon Book Arts Supply dyed linen for bookbinding, general bookbinding supplies

Volcano Arts metal alphanumeric punches, bookbinding supplies, Japanese screw punch, Japanese book cloth

Tandy Leather more metal punches for leather that can be used on book covers, waxed thread, artificial sinew

Talas bookbinding supplies

Caning Shop colored waxed linen thread

Paper Source book cloth in a wide range of colors

Castle in the Air calligraphy pens, envelopes

Miki's Paper beautiful Japanese patterned papers

Exposures corner rounders, archival adhesives

Archival Methods acid-free and archival storage boxes, clear sleeves, boards and paper

Amazing Magnets strong magnets for book closures

John Neal Books large stock of bookbinding books (not all online, ask for paper catalogue)

General Art Supplies
printmaking and other papers, bookbinding tools and materials, glue, general

Artist & Craftsman Supply

Blick Art Materials

Arch art and drafting supplies

Flax Art

Other Cool Stuff for Bookmaking

American Science and Surplus don't even get me started on all the cool stuff you don't need but do want

Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics all the cloth and sewing supplies, including curved needles for Coptic binding, you'll ever want

Organize.com acrylic boxes for storage or display

Tap Plastics clear plastic boxes, frames, panels, everything plastic

Herrschners embroidery thread, alphabet hole punches, latch-hook rug mesh, glass beads

Other Places to Go

Rose and Radish little sweater for apple, felted chicken egg cozy, felted vase covers, letterpress notepads, Yee-Haw Industries Dada mini-journals!

Recycled Materials (SF bay area)

East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse paper, containers, ribbons, corks, tins (your junk, my treasure) in Oakland

SCRAP your junk, my treasure on a grand scale in SF

Urban Ore large things like doors, for example

El Cerrito Recycling Center free book exchange

Alameda County Libraries book sales lists from all over the east bay

Ohmega Salvage General Store & Omega Too large things

Books

Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms   Creating Handmade Books

Expressive Handmade Books Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards

Speaking of Book Art: Interviews With British & American Book Artistsby Cathy Courtney
Anderson-Lovelace, 1999. Descriptive, in-depth, and illuminating interviews with Ron King, Ian Tyson, Joan Lyons, Betsy Davids, Sas Colby, Telfer Stokes, Kathy Walkup, Susan King, Helen Douglas, Johanna Drucker, Paul Coldwell, Susan Johanknecht, Alisa Golden, Julie Chen, and Karen Bleitz.

Japanese Bookbinding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman by Kojiro Ikegami
New York; Tokyo: John Weatherhill, Inc., 1986. xi, 127 pp. illustrated, hardbound. Photographs of each step of each binding structure. The best book describing traditional stab bound books, scrolls, and other Japanese structures.

A Book of One's Own: Developing Literacy Through Making Books by Paul Johnson
New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1992. Includes the accordion with tunnel structure that he designed and many books made out of single sheets of paper; bookmaking with kids, too.

Creative Bookbinding by Pauline Johnson
University of Washington Press, 1963. 263 pp. illustrated, oversized paper bound. 7 3/4" x 10 1/2". New edition: 272 pp. Uses more traditional methods, more complicated tools, distinctive 1960's patterns.

Cover To Cover: Creative Techniques For Making Beautiful Books, Journals & Albums by Shereen LaPlantz: North Carolina: Lark Books, 1995. illustrated, hardbound. 139 pp. Full color and glossy pages. Packed with photographs of book art made by many different people. Easy-to-follow directions and diagrams for making books at home. Inspirational structures.

Non-Adhesive Binding Books without Paste or Glue by Keith A. Smith
New York Sigma Foundation, Inc., 1992. 320 pp. illustrated, paper bound (Smythe-sewn). Complex, good for the those who are good at reading and following intense directions. Describes variations. Also: Structure of the Visual Book (Expanded Fourth Edition); Text in the Book Format; Non Adhesive Binding, Vol. 3: Exposed Spine Sewings

Books, Boxes & Wraps: Bindings & Building Step-By-Step by Marilyn Webberley
Washington: Bifocal Press, 1995. Illustrated with line drawings. Contains lots of good examples and diagrams, this book is helpful to teachers and others interested in learning some simple and non-traditional book structures.

More Making Books by Hand: Exploring Miniature Books, Alternative Structures, and Found Objects by Peter and Donna Thomas
Quarry Books, 2004. 144 pp.. Excellent reference for bookbinding techniques as well as unique structures.

Books, Boxes & Portfolios: Binding, Construct and Design, Step-By-Step by Franz Zeier: New York: Design Press, imprint of TAB books, division of McGraw-Hill Inc., 1990 304 pp. illustrated, hardbound. Meticulous and clear, contains mostly traditional structures. Chapter on 3-D shapes.

The Penland Book of Handmade Books: Master Classes in Bookmaking Techniques (Master Classes in Bookmaking)
Lark Books, 2004. 232 pp. In-depth look at master bookmakers and their techniques. Gorgeous photographs. Recommended for Intermediate/Advanced bookmakers. Inspiration for all.

Design of Booksby Adrian Wilson
Chronicle Books, 1994 (reprint).

Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books by Uri Shulevitz
Watson Guptill (reprint 1997), 272 pp. Many of his suggestions and examples for children's books are absolutely applicable to making book art: sequence, suspense, layout, variation on a page. All make for a tremendous resource.

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud
HarperCollins, 2006: NY. 264 pp.. Great information on pacing, narrative drawing, word and image combinations. See also Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age
Thames & Hudson, 2006: NY. 192 pp.. How hand lettering is used boldly in posters, packaging, and design.

The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume I: Basic Forms: How to Make Pop-Ups Step-by-Step
Instructions for making pop-ups from a master at the craft.

Dieter Roth Books + Multiples: Catalogue Raisonne
Edition Hansjorg Mayer, London, 2004. 351 pp.. Huge and inspiring catalogue/collection of Roth's work. Includes a CD of his music.

500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form (500 Series)
Lark, 2008. 420 pp. Juried by Steve Miller. Mammoth book that is what it says it is. All photographs.

CREATIVE WRITING & JOURNALS
What It Is by Lynda Barry
Drawn & Quarterly, 2008. Fantastic, wild, helpful, touching, and wonderful collection of ideas about writing, art, teaching, and the creative process. She spins it with her childhood stories, comics, and collages, as well as drawing from a stash of children's homework from the 1950s. Worth re-reading many times.

Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg (author of Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within).
Bantam Books, 1990. 238 pp. Softcover. Anecdotes regarding how a writer thinks, what exercises she uses. Inspiring stories that relate to writing.

A Life In Hand: Creating the Illuminated Journal by Hannah Hinchman
Utah: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc., Peregrine Smith Books, 1991. 144 pp. Softcover, one edition comes with blank book. With beautiful black and white drawings and some color illustrations. Good writing exercises, encourages you to experiment with letterforms and design, nice examples of merging words and images on a page.

Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico
J.P. Tarcher, Inc. distributed by St. Martin's Press, 1983. 287 pp. Softcover. Writing techniques, especially focussing on "clustering", a way to generate words without worrying if they are the "right" ones.

Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge
New York: Three Rivers Press (member of the Crown publishing group. www.randomhouse.com), 1996. 210 pp. Softcover. Inspiring and entertaining anecdotes and stories about the process of writing. Ideas for exercises and things to try at the end of each chapter. Also samples of some excellent student writing.

Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You by Ray Bradbury
Bantam Books, 1992. 176 pp. Inspiration and insights into the mind of a terrific writer. He shares secrets for getting started, and how to think about writing stories. A book of engaging essays.

Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art
Princeton Architectural Press, 2005. 192 pp. Actual journal pages created by Maira Kalman, Christopher Leitch, Jenny Keller, Rick Hoblitt, Hannah Hinchman, Martin Wilner, Lynda Barry, David Byrne and more are reproduced with commentary. Appealing book design with gridded pages, rounded corners.

COOL ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
Arm in Arm: A Collection of Connections, Endless Tales, Reiterations, and Other Echolalia by Remy Charlip
Tricycle Press, 1997, from an earlier edition published by Parents Press, 1969. This was my absolute favorite book when I was a kid. I loved the puns, the humor, the intricate drawings and watercolors. Very inspiring and funny.

Riceboy Sleeps by Jon Birgisson and Alex Somers
Moss Stories, 2008. Second edition. Expressive drawings, debossed birds on the cover and the rounded corners give this small book a handmade feel. Go to the website after you look at the book for the first time and find links to a poem and two short impressionistic loop videos that slightly alter your next reading experience.  Also at Moss Stories, check out the digital books based on heartfelt installations by Marguerite Keyes.

Postal Seance: A Scientific Investigation into the Possibility of a Postlife Postal Existence by Henrik Drescher
Chronicle Books, 2004. 80 pages. Softcover. Drescher mailed creative cards and to famous people, long gone, at their last known addresses. The resulting book is a compilation of those letters, many marked "return to sender," some with several postmarks. He assumed that those not returned were able to reach their destination. Afterlife anyone?

The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
The Penguin Press, 2007. 327 pages. A wonderful book with handwritten text and paintings on every page. Ms. Kalman describes it on the front flap as "This is a Year in My Life Profusely Illustrated. Abounding with Anguish, Confusion. Bits of Wisdom. Musings, Meanderings, Buckets of Joie de Vivre and Restful Sojourns." She likes packaging and food, cloth and people, hats and many other things.

The Crocodile Blues by Coleman Polhemus
Candlewick Press, 2007. Marketed as a children's book, but amusing to all ages, this book also shows how the architecture of a book structure can advance the story. It has fold-outs for going around a corner, fold-ups for going upstairs. The forty words, scattered throughout, are there to clarify the action. A brilliant example of form and content working together in a mass-market book. Even if you don't care about any of that, it's a really fun book.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Scholastic, 2007. 544 pages. A magical tale, marketed for children, with a wonderful story and detailed drawings for everyone. The text is interspersed with a sequence of rich black and white pictures that tell that part of the story visually, like movie with dialogue, then with scenes. Selznick, in an online note on the Amazon website, confesses that his drawings of the older man were based on Remy Charlip (see Arm in Arm, above).

 

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