The Mission district of San Francisco is home to a number of used book stores, galleries, murals, and artist studios. Nestled in one studio building on Alabama Street is
Logos Graphics, presided over by Master Printer John Sullivan and his cat Binky.
Logos Graphics specializes in letterpress and offset printing, as well as film, photopolymer plate production, pre-press consulting, bookbinding, and screen printing. John is an innovative printer with a laid back personality and a wide range of knowledge of all sorts of subjects. A conversation with him is more than a valued learning experience, it can be a challenge to a thinking person's vocabulary.
In addition to his work at Logos Graphics, John is also Board President of the
Pacific Center for Book Arts (PCBA). PCBA is a membership organization, designed to support its members and develop their professional practices through events, exhibitions, and educational programs. The organization also produces a quarterly journal called
Ampersand. The current volume, the
Maker's Issue, has a focus on paper, features include paste paper and paper tearing techniques. And lucky readers also receive with each issue printed ephemera. For this volume, there is a paste paper swatch and comb by Marie Kelzer, a collaborative handmade paper/letterpress piece by John Sullivan,
Peter Thomas and
Michelle Wilson, and a letterpressed coaster
Yvonne Tsang and
Lisa Rappaport that includes instructions on making a mojito with print shop equipment. The upcoming issue, in full color, will be focused on
Bookworks, the PCBA Triennial Members' Exhibition at the San Francisco Public Library.
John will be a speaker at the
Ladies of Letterpress Conference in Asheville, NC, this August. His shop is a short hop over from the San Francisco Center for the Book for anyone who would like to check it out while in town for CBAA 2012!
