Studio
A railway arch, three presses, two printers.
Quoinwell started in 2014 with a tabletop Adana and a box of second-hand type. Today we print from a converted arch in Bermondsey, five minutes from the Thames.
Since 2014
We print slowly on purpose.
Letterpress was the way almost everything was printed for five hundred years. It is slower than digital printing and it costs more, but the result has a depth and a weight that no other process gives you.
We set metal and wood type by hand for posters, and use photopolymer plates for wedding suites and cards so we can print any typeface or drawing you send us. Every colour is mixed by hand and every sheet is fed through the press one at a time.
We are a small team on purpose. You will speak to the person printing your job from first email to final box.
The machines
Three presses older than us.
All restored, all running daily, all with names.
1961
“Winnie”
Heidelberg Windmill
Our workhorse. Automatic feed, up to 800 sheets an hour, deep impression on thick cotton.
1958
“Van”
Vandercook SP-15
Proof press for wood-type posters and editions up to 38 × 56 cm.
1952
“Ada”
Adana 8×5
The tabletop press we started on. Now used for workshops and tiny runs.
The printers
Two names on every box.
MO
Founder · printer
Maren Oyelaran
Trained at the London College of Communication. Sets type faster than she types.
FD
Printer · ink mixer
Felix Dunmore
Former chemist. Keeps the ink recipes and the Windmill in perfect order.
Come and see the presses.
Studio visits Tuesday to Saturday by appointment. Bring your ideas and we’ll pull paper samples.