Michael Dacey | Repeat Press Letterpress Studio

I love the internet’s ability to create connections. Stopping by my friend’s blog A Continuous Lean a couple months ago, I was treated to a video (by Quarter Productions) of a letterpress printshop making some coasters for Highsnobiety.  The video was so well done that I wanted to find out more about the people behind it and in it.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the very bottom of this post.

This led me to Michael Dacey of Repeat Press, the artist/owner behind the letterpress shop. Since the video’s viral proliferation, Michael’s one-man-show at Repeat Press has been going 24/7. With that said, I’d like to thank Michael for taking the time away from his schedule to answer my questions.

First taking up digital design at Hampshire College in western Massachusetts, Michael quickly gravitated to screen printing for its tangible qualities. Before he knew it, he was setting up shop in his dorm room and creating marketing paraphernalia for his friend’s bands as well as his own.

From there, it seems that the art of letterpress printing found him.  Since western Mass has been a printing hub for centuries Michael was able to acquire the vintage machinery and open workspace needed to get his studio up and running before graduating.

Michael’s printing equipment is the real deal- nothing lightweight or plastic in this shop. His main workhorses are a 1964 Vandercook and a 1949 Chandler & Price.
The Vandercook (a cylinder press) is the easier of the two to set up and use, although being hand cranked, is quite slow, but fantastic for larger than average stock paper- large posters in particular.
The Chandler & Price prints on a flat surface (platen) and is used for specialty stock, like that used in the “Letterpress Coasters” video as it’s great for items such as business cards and art pieces. While the video shows Michael using a polymer plate for the coasters, he often uses his sizable collection of antique hand-carved wooden type, dating back to 1857.

Beyond Repeat Press business, Michael has a thriving personal art career as well, in both installation art and printing. His personal art tends to be an off-shoot of what he may be working on in his business, be it display art for Urban Outfitters or work at Repeat Press. He often utilizes methods and techniques from his “work”, but taken to the extreme, using the same basic work processes, but to the extent that the end result is too complex and costly to be commercially viable.

Commercial work on the left for Urban Outfitters and Michael’s gallery installation art on the right

The lines between business and personal art blend in his concert posters. He’s undoubtedly the go-to-guy for concert posters for the many bands of the Somerville, Mass area. Knowing many of the bands himself, he takes personal pride in creating powerful and memorable works of art for their events.
I’m sure these posters find their way to people’s homes immediately following the performances!
Check out the video of him creating the collaborative poster (above right) for Proletariat Boston-

And to the compliments he receives for the “Coasters” video, he modestly responds “Stebs (Quarter Productions) did all the work. I just drank scotch and did what I do everyday.”

Letterpress Coasters from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.