Printmakingblog

Graphic Chemical & Ink Company is a world leader in the fine art field of printmaking. We manufacture our own time-tested inks for etching, litho and relief printing, as well as sell screen print inks, papers, tools, chemistry, plates and supplies for all of a printmaker's needs

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Location: Villa Park, Illinois, United States

I have worked for Graphic Chemical & Ink Company since 1968 - with a brief hiatus(almost 4 years) to travel the World courtesy of my uncle. Sadly it turns out it was my Uncle Sam, and I wasn't too thrilled about the places that he chose to send me. My wife and I have run Graphic Chemical for many years, and have enjoyed the travel that comes with the position. We get to meet our customers (and the occasional vendor) from all over the World

Sunday, August 20, 2006

EXTRA!! NEW SITE IS UP & RUNNING.


We're live with the new Graphic Chemical website effective this morning (August 20). Like any new venture, there are some minor glitches in the transfer, but for the most part it's a significant improvement...one that has responded to many of your requests. The discussion forum is yet to come - hopefully soon. The address remains the same - www.graphicchemical.com.

Let us know what you think. We've got the ability, now, to change things ourselves - quickly. Pictures and MSDS will be added as we go, and we will have a better listing of links soon. All of us here at Graphic Chemical want this to become your website, so let us know what you want to see.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

ALBION PRESS

Recently, a friend of mine suggested that I post information about his press on the web. While I'm not particularly inclined to make this blog a place to post all sorts of advertisements, I am inclined to provide some information on this press for a variety of reasons.
T.N. Lawrence and Sons has been a staple to British printmakers for well over 100 years. The press shown above is an Albion Letterpress built approximately 1825. While I have seen newer models (circa 1900) selling for as much as $15,000, I can't tell you what an actual sales price has been.
This press appears to be in close to pristine condition, and I suspect that the price is negotiable. Martin Lawrence, the current owner of the company, certainly doesn't want to sell this press for enough to retire on, but on the other hand maybe he'd like to get close.
Many years ago, the best known address in all of printmaking was No. 2, Bleeding Heart Yard, off of Grenville Street, London. It was the address of the world-famous T.N. Lawrence Company. In fairness, Bleeding Heart Yard was a car park (parking lot to we Yanks), but it was a great address nonetheless! Martin's grandfather, Stanley, was the proprietor when I first visited Lawrence back in the late '70's. He was an eccentric man, but walked on water as far as his customers were concerned. Back in those days - in fact up until just a few of years ago - Lawrence was probably best known for wood engraving blocks: e.g. boxwood, lemonwood etc. They are, of course, a full service art supply retailer who happen to sell printmaking materials too.
Martin is more of a renaissance man...a glider pilot, a sailor, husband to the brains of the family, Monica, and father of two. He's been involved in the school system and has brought T.N. Lawrence into the 21st century with class. Martin falls into that class of suppliers that we all like to know, and most importantly he stocks a great many of Graphic's products at his shop on Portland Road in Hove, Sussex. If you're ever near Hove (just west of historic Brighton), you should visit their shop, it's worth the trip.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

VACATION or BUSINESS


At the risk of being accused of taking advantage of the situation, my wife, Susan, and I decided to do the frivolous this past weekend. We have a customer that many of you may know. Bonnie Koloc is a talented artist in many definitions of the word. She has performed for years in the concert halls of America as a folk singer. For a number of years, she has also branched into jazz and blues. Bonnie also is a talented printmaker, creating relief prints - many times illustrating the songs that she has written. Several years ago, she also wrote a one woman show, she performed the songs, and even designed and built the set!
Last weekend, Bonnie was performing in New York City for the first time in years! We have some good friends in New York, and decided to visit them and attend the show at Joe's Bar in the East Village.
Despite staggering gasoline prices, our friends treated us to a boat trip around Manhattan in their power boat. From Long Island Sound to the East River, down to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, up the Hudson River, past Ground Zero, past the USS Intrepid (a decommissioined aircraft carrier for you land lubbers), to the Harlem River, and back to the Long Island Sound. Four and a half hours, almost 70 miles, and a couple of glasses of champagne later we pulled into the marina thoroughly exhausted but had a great time.
This is a thin connection to printmaking, but what the heck, it's my blog, and I had such a great time I wanted to share it. We did pick up a couple of mezzotint rockers from Edward C. Lyons Company for a customer who was visiting the United States for a short time, so there's the printmaking for you!