Let The Artisan Press be the sea of calm amongst your hectic deadlines and frantic bridal arrangements. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional rapport with you will ensure a smooth and trouble-free ordering experience. If you’re seeking a unique custom approach, you should be excited!
The Artisan Press is based in Byron Bay on Australia’s most easterly point. As a leader of the letterpress revival in Australia, The Artisan Press has been playing the letterpress tune since 1999. Originally based in Lane Cove, Sydney, the studio relocated to idyllic seaside Byron Bay in 2009 to escape the distractions of the city and allow us to focus on the intricacies of your work rather than traffic.
Being a small studio allows us to take a very personal approach with you. It’s an approach we enjoy and from the large repeat client base we’ve built over 15 years, an approach our customers definitely appreciate. As an award winning letterpress studio, we have high standards and simple goals – the pursuit of beautiful printing, accurate and prompt service and the satisfaction gained from perfecting the craft we love. Where others have tried to imitate, The Artisan Press has moved closer to the edge with a signature style of printing like no other.
Wayne Davis, Founder and Master Printer – 15 years of letterpress dedicated print
As the morning sun rises on Australia’s most easterly point, soft infectious rhythms roll out of a small studio in the Byron Bay Arts and Industry estate. Matching time to the bass beats of a reggae classic is the swoosh and rhyme of a 1963 printing press. At the helm of the press and its snapping jaw is Wayne Davis, stepping around the press with the dexterity and confidence that comes from over 28 years of playing this 1500kg instrument in the pursuit of highly tuned printing perfection.
The Artisan Press owner, Wayne Davis, is an award winning printer who served his apprenticeship in the 1980s with Australia’s leading music industry printer, Z. Nosek & Co., based in Waterloo. Wayne printed record covers, music packaging and posters under the watchful eyes of both a Dutch and an English Master Printer for major labels such as EMI, Mushroom, Studio 301, Warners, CBS, Virgin and indie labels such as Red Eye, Aberrant, Shock, Waterfront and many others.
Wayne’s print background covers offset, letterpress, intaglio, screenprinting, digital, real pre-press (plate-making, screens, negatives), finishing and binding, photography, graphic design and typesetting. Also armed with a BA in Media Communication, he can move from hand-feeding a 110 year old printing press to recreating line art in Illustrator. The knowledge gained over 28+ years in the printing industry now has professionals and amateurs seeking information from Wayne about letterpress and assures you that at all times, your work is in the hands of an expert.
If you have a general inquiry please contact Merran to discuss your letterpress project.