Hello, I'm Bob Read.

I am a retired Letterpress Printer.

I gained my apprenticeship in the printing trade at the age of 15 and was in employment for the next 48 years.

I served my apprenticeship at The Land newspaper in Sydney, Australia. They produced mainly magazines on big letterpress machines, so I gained a lot of experience in imposition and lockup. During this time, I was lucky to have the opportunity to work every machine, big and small, and work in many printing establishments in metropolitan and country New South Wales.

When I retired, I volunteered at the Caboolture Historical Village and was involved in returning many old letterpress machines to working condition in what became a very popular display. During this time, we were approached by a number of people who wanted to learn how to operate the original machines, with the Heidelberg platen being the most popular, due to it being the easiest to acquire.

The purpose of my class is to demonstrate how to Maintain, Set up, and Run a job on a Heidelberg Platen.

As I am in my 88th year, I feel this a better way to pass on my knowledge to all future printers.

Bob Read

Old Man Print

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