The Moon again! I hoped to get some pics yesterday, as it was beautifully clear all day, but by the time I got the Goose to bed there was a high fog enough that there was nothing to see but a vague half circle glowing through the soup. But tonight is a nice early waxing gibbous, always a favorite phase. The telescope/iPhone process is settling down now. For most things I don't like the 3x camera, it makes daylight objects kinda mushy and flat, but it really brings a level of detail out in these lunar shots that the 1x just can't touch. I didn't bother to use the 1x shots tonight, these are all 3x. The one difficulty is that the full disk of the Moon barely fits in the eyepiece field at lowest power, so we're pushing the edge of magnification versus composition. Possibly I'll use a lower power fixed eyepiece for the Moon and reserve the variable eyepiece for planetary observations. But then I won't be able to get a real closeup on crunchy terminator craters like I did here. Although I forgot -- it's best to set the three-second timer on the camera app for these closeups, as that allows the vibrations from me poking the "take picture" button on the screen to die down before anything happens. In other words -- less blur! 🤪 #iphoneastrophotography #lunarphotography #themoon #shallowskyastronomy #newtonianreflector #telescope #114mm #waxinggibbous https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqb07a3L9oy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

THE REVEAL! One year ago today, a grungy piece of neglected printing machinery arrived in Charlestown from Tulsa, after a tortuous trip through various points in between. A new taper pin, fresh rubber rollers and a lot of scrubbing later, she started a new life here at Reflex Letterpress. And here's the kicker: SHE'S NOW 75 YEARS OLD! Yup, she was made in 1948, which means this is her Diamond Jubilee! In celebration, I pulled a four-color 5×7 Diamond Jubilee print, numbered in two editions of 75. One is printed on Colorplan 100# Pristine White, and the other printed on SunPak 0.008″ press packing paper actually used on the press itself. And the diamond printing block was a fortuitous appropriate eBay find... Maybe even a good omen. 😁 To get one of these birthday cards, all you have to do is go to the Reflex website, join the mailing list, and select which paper stock you'd prefer. I'll stuff one in an envelope and it'll whisk its way across the country to your doorstep. Also, a possibility for local folks: a birthday party sometime later in the spring. Does that sound fun? I think it sounds kinda fun. If you agree, let me know in the comments, if there's a groundswell of interest we may just make it happen. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #vandercookno4 #75thanniversary #diamondjubilee #madein1948 #75years https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqa9QWyutUJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

The @museumofprinting Semi-Annual Garage Sale has many wonderful pieces of heavy steel. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #cornerrounder #saddlestitch https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYZocROYwM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY! The final reveal. 😁 #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #75years #75thanniversary #diamondjubilee https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYZOyxuFB1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Been a while... Oh, wait, it hasn't. https://www.instagram.com/p/CqT35ImLR61/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Making a 4-up test deckle for A7 sheets out of foam, as one does. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #papermaking #paperdeckle https://www.instagram.com/p/CqTPYjZO56N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Getting closer to the reveal! #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #diamondjubilee #75years https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSyk5huopz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Well, finally. Finally the stars aligned (😏) and it wasn’t raining, snowing, cloudy, foggy, or overcast, and I wasn’t grumpy, tired, weary or asleep. Back out with the telescope! Sadly, in the interim, Jupiter has gone almost to conjunction — I was really pissed that I couldn’t see the Jupiter-Venus-Moon lineup last month — so no Galilean moons for six months. But the Moon always comes through. Thick waxing crescent this evening. Some 1x camera photos, sharp but kinda small, plus some experimental 3x shots, full-frame but kinda muddy. #newtonianreflector #telescope #114mm #iphoneastrophotography #lunarphotography #themoon #shallowskyastronomy #waxingcrescent #marenectaris https://www.instagram.com/p/CqRkjMVrcsb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today's project: a novel in six words. Got three of them, forgot to get the other three. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #foureasypieces https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOaaFKOE-1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

More actin shots from Four Easy Pieces. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #foureasypieces https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOO3qnu2G9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Today's Airbnb Experience prints, including my usual but tweaked because I couldn't find an exclamation. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #airbnb #airbnbexperience #bostonairbnb #bostonairbnbexperience https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOKTEDOk25/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

The quiet bustle of the Four Easy Pieces class this afternoon.. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #foureasypieces https://www.instagram.com/p/CqOJCsXOCAF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Airbnb hand models! #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #airbnb #airbnbexperience #bostonairbnb #bostonairbnbexperience https://www.instagram.com/p/CqN6b9dOmT6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Show time. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handcranked #class #workshop #comelearnletterpress #handmade #bostonclasses #imadethis #airbnb #airbnbexperience #bostonairbnb #bostonairbnbexperience https://www.instagram.com/p/CqNuj_eOqOj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Another fun thing I've been doing recently is collecting old PANTONE uncoated swatchbooks to satisfy a long-held curiosity about this whole color mixing business. You're supposed to replace your mixing guides to keep the color true, and every year there's *NEW COLORS* as an enticement, but what happens to the old colors, and have the recipes ever changed? Well, as far as the recipes are concerned, the answer is no. The old standby PANTONE 286 is still the same mix of Reflex and Process from 1972 to 2020, except the recipe slowly transitioned from parts (for mixing a pound of ink by ounce increments) to percentages (for mixing a kilogram by grams). I wouldn't expect the company to mess with success, but companies do stupid things. No one expected Coca-Cola to mess with its recipe, and no one expected American Airlines to throw out decades of brand mindshare for a cheese pizza logo, either. But here we are. What *has* changed is the sheer number of colors. I haven't gone through to see if any colors have been retired, but the tendency seems to be no. Through my 1995 edition the coated and uncoated swatches fit in a single fan book, although it got thicker and thicker; the 2015 was a stand-alone uncoated book. The other thing that changed is the colors are no longer in numerical order. Good, bad, ugly? Well, it was easy as pie to look up 286 in the numerical books, but I'm assuming the newer system keeps hue families together for ease of design selection. I'll need to get some interim Aughts books and see when those changeovers were complete. Many thanks to @greenturtlepress for the truly antique fanbooks! #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #inkmixing #colormixing #reproducableresults #pantonehistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLO_kAu7aX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

As promised, pulling the sheets from the dryer. Here's what two weeks of fermentation does to the Colorplan Vermilion pigment load! Not quite a blush, more of a champagne, definitely lighter and more muted than the original run. Dunno if I'd recommend fermentation as the best way to get this result, but it's a nice color. 😁 Total of 42 sheets yesterday, minus the 10 thin-and-crispy end batch sheets and plus the 12 from the original run, makes 44 decent sheets all told. There's some variability in thickness amongst the good sheets, but that's to be expected for only the second batch of pulp. 👍 #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handmadepaper #recycledpaper #upcycle #champagnepaper https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLK06auV_v/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Back in the paper mill today, @namio100 and I got about 40 pulls with the rest of the pulp. However, after two weeks the pulp had paled away from Basic Borscht and was starting to give off a scent I'm calling "Weekend Fishing Trip". Perhaps it's all for the best we finished it up. 🤣 The final few sheets were pretty diaphanous, but we're drying them just to see how they look. With the original run that’s probably 40 good sheets all told, which is good to know as the result of pulping 1.5 pounds of paper. More pics when they come out of the dryer. #letterpress #bostonprinter #printing #bostonpress #popmembers #crankclickyankback #type #lead #tin #antimony #vandercook #stovefactory #Charlestown #ink #paper #inkonpaper #handmadepaper #paperpulp #papermill https://www.instagram.com/p/CqJBoWyudS3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=