The Challenge:

Print a 5 letter word using handmade potato stamps!

First Attempt:

Second Attempt:

Was there something particularly challenging in the process?

There were several challenges with the potato printing process such as: drawing the outline of the letters on the flesh of the potato, keeping the letters the same size and style, making sure each carved letter was flat enough to press the paint on the paper without gaps, and remembering to make the letters reflected so that they would print the correct direction (you can see in the video that I made this mistake with the letter E and R and had to start over again. It was also tricky to press the stamp without it sliding on the paper (very dependant on the amount of paint used).

How much time did it take for you to create the stamps?

It took at least 10 to 15 minutes for me to complete the entire process of printing my word with the potatoes the first time. When I made my second attempt it took less than 10 minutes.

Have you noticed anything particular about the letters that you have chosen to reproduce?

I noticed that letters with straighter lines like A, E, T, and H were much easier and the letter R was the most difficult as it had curving lines. Using Adobe Photoshop, I was able to overlay one of my prints over the other for a comparison. My prints came out relatively close but the placement of the last three letters was too far to the right.

 

Considering the time and effort that took you to create a 5-letter word, how do you feel about the mechanization of writing?

The mechanization of writing was groundbreaking because it allowed civilizations to store and share written text in a much more efficient way. Creating these potato stamps was difficult but I’m sure it was nothing compared to creating smaller, more detailed characters using harder substances such as metal.

After listening to a Stuff to Blow your Mind podcast about the creation of the book, I learned that the eventual advent of the codex (or current representation of a book) also made it much easier for readers to handle printed text as opposed to the previous most common format, handwritten scrolls. Scrolls did not store easily, were more fragile, and the text within them just went on and on without the benefit of numbered pages. I believe that the mechanization of text and the resulting allowance to produce mass-printed literature also excelled the literacy skills of the general public as books became more abundant and more diverse in content.

Final Thoughts

I had worked as a pre-press technician for a few years and witnessed the process of printing newspapers. Time was crucial as new information was to be printed up to the minute but it was all possible as the printing process had come a long way. Machines now take digital files that are engraved by a laser onto big metal plates that are then run through a press machine that transfers the text and images onto paper (similar to the potato stamps). If you want to print in colour there needs to be four plates (C-cyan, M-magenta, Y-yellow, and K – black) and only one plate for printing in black (this is less expensive). There is a lot of waste created in printing with all of the plates, ink, and paper. Sometimes an entire run of printing is trashed if a crucial mistake is discovered such as a false claim or pricing error on advertisements. The ability to now read digitally allows for instant information and removes the requirement for so much material waste that comes with traditional printing.

It is unfortunate that many jobs and trades are becoming obsolete with the advancement of digital media. Even though the potato stamps were cumbersome they were a form of art, much like the people that handwrote scrolls or carved different font styles for a printing press. I think the digital formation of text takes some soul out of the actual writing itself, it is too easy now to use hundreds of pre-made fonts and this makes the peronalization of written text less special. I am reminded of my students using pre-made powerpoint templates and websites, it looks nice and professional but they did not have to invest much time or creativity into the actual process because everything was available to be used at their command.