Part Three of my guest post series for Poppytalk!

I love print shops. I am a printing nerd. I love the way inks smell and paper feels and I love it especially when the two meet to make MAGIC.

 When I lived in Mississippi I taught a class about print production. One of the high points of the semester was having the class design a poster and then seeing it printed at the local print shop. It taught my students (and me) that having something professionally printed was an entirely different experience than simply printing it at home on your ink jet printer. It can be a confusing process and finding the right printer to help can be intimidating and downright scary. 

While doing research for that class I stumbled upon Portland's Pinball Publishing and instantly fell in love. Since I lived in Mississippi, I was immediately jealous that I could not use them as a teaching resource and have them help me show students that printing is FUN!  So, of course, once we moved to Portland, they were one of our first visits. 

I mean, seriously. Look at this place.

Pinball Publishing was founded in 2002 by Austin and Laura Whipple. This DIY establishment was born out of a desire to produce their own publications while helping clients with their own printing needs. They invested in equipment and mashed it together with super savvy design and smart business sense. 

There website is chock full of great information and printing resources. CLICK IT! 

Along with running a printing press, they are also responsible for Tenth & Grant (a line of paper goods), COIN-OP (a graphic culture catalog), and Bangback Records (their micro-record label). OH and they also operate an independent literary press. 

10th & Grant website. Go and drool over their creative artisan goods.

Pinball  promotes the use of recycled papers and they use locally manufactured soy based inks. 100% of their electric bill supports energy from renewable resources. Did I mention that what flies off of their printing presses look super hot as well? Did I mention that I can't wait to have one of my Portland State classes print a project with them? 

Like their motto says: "Printing made FUN". 

Printing Made FUN. Go and check out the cool and good looking  kids that work at Pinball. You won't be sorry.

Pinball Publishing  prints these smart promotional cards using different artwork for the front and then the back is used to explain and demystify the printing process. The cards breakdown the type of paper used, the pantone colors specified, finishing and other printing details. SO GREAT! I picked a few of these up at their headquarters, but I have also spied these cards around town for free at different restaurants and shops.

Gary Quick Reference Card designed by Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co. 

Promo card for doubledutch (on Bangback Records). Photographed by Melani Brown.

Promo Card illustration by Brent Wick.

Promo Card Illustration by Patternpeople.

Along with having an excellent site geared towards making printing fun, they also have a store filled with their goods that you may purchase online. This leads me to my daily drawing. I picked up the 20th edition of Pocket Pal: The Handy Book of Graphic Arts Production. 

Daily Purchase Drawing for September 9th, 2008

Even though they are based in Portland, I bet you have purchased work printed by them without even realizing it. They have printed work for Jill Bliss, Poketo, Nikki Mcclure, LIttle Otsu, I Heart Guts and many more. People love them. 

Don't you need to get something printed? Now that you have read about them...don't you want to?

Get to printing!!!