Offset Printing

Letterpress is alive and well in Midsomer Norton!

Monday 30. September 2013 - Terry Paget was 16 years old when his father Albert Paget established the Paget Press in 1955 and installed a new Heidelberg 10 X 15 platen. Terry had previously operated a Thompson-British platen, and soon mastered the Heidelberg. 58 years on, Terry is still using the same machine to print draw tickets and social stationary.

As technology changed, Rotaprints replaced the letterpress machines, which were later replaced by a Heidelberg GTO and digital kit, but the original 10 x 15 platen remains and is still in daily use. The machine is still in tip top working condition and producing high quality results for a largely local customer base.
Operating in premises that were formerly stables of the vicarage, these days The Paget Press is just Terry and he regards it as more a hobby than a business. He operates three days a week, a compromise with his 67 year old wife who has retired and isn’t quite as keen on letterpress as Terry!
“More people are asking for deep impression embossed work although we used to say there should only be a kiss impression. I handle work for people wanting letterpress quality for draw tickets, social stationery and even art work. The company has the full range of hot metal machinery. Type is set on an Intertype C4 linecaster, spacing is cast on a model F Elrod strip caster, and metal is melted and recast using a Funditor electric furnace and air cooled moulds.
“I am 74 but have no plans to retire. You need an interest and this is a great way to meet people. We even welcomed some Australian visitors who came to view the set up. It draws the crowds these days but when I started letterpress was the normal printing process. I probably handle ten or 12 jobs a week – one third letterpress, one third litho and one third digital,” says Mr Paget.