By Erica Keppel

There exists a handful of people in this big bad world, who devote their entire lives to the pursuit of passion. Michael Isaachsen is certainly one of those people.

Having begun his hobby printing at the fresh age of nine, Michael learned typecasting in 1978, and has over the years accumulated an outstanding collection of traditional print machinery and equipment. His understanding and vigor for the traditional process is unsurpassed, as is the genuine authenticity of the Melbourne Museum of Print as it stands today.

'Melbourne Museum of Printing (MMOP) is a working museum of typography and printing. Since 1993 the museums focus has been on the retention of traditional printing methods and equipment. Initially established as the Australian Type Company; containing a comprehensive collection of printing presses, typesetting machines, types and other print-related artifacts in addition to its Monotype-based typecasting machines and matrix collection. In due course, it became the last remaining typefoundry in Australia and should, by commercial norms, have closed in the early 1990's when proprietor Michael Isaachsen turned the whole collection into a non-profit museum.' (MMOP Website)

Mission: 'To preserve and operate a wide range of machines and processes relating to the craft and business of printing, so providing an ambience in which persons with knowledge and experience of traditional aspects of the craft and its related skills will be motivated to retain their skills and pass them on.' (MMOP Website)

The Museum is one of it’s kind, offering workshops with an opportunity for groups, individuals and educational institutions to experience traditional print in a hands on environment. Design Students gain a deeper understanding of typographic process with exposure to traditional methods of print technology, enhancing they’re ability to draw reference to real processes. Exposure to various pre-digital printing methods such as Hand Set Type printing, Lino Type typesetting, and the use of the Platen Press (1849), visitors are invited to witness the progress of print media technology through the decades.

Offering – Group Tours, Letterpress Studio access, Classes for Design students, P.D. Workshops for those in the Industry, Volunteering and Research using onsite Archives; The Melbourne Museum of Print caters for various interest groups. The Two Day Letterpress Workshop provides Design Practitioners and senior students the basics around the ‘Roots of Printing’ workshop – followed by a 1 day ‘letter press’ project, where individuals are able to use the studio in a hands-on capacity. The Graphic Design Students Workshop provides a 5 hours tutorial covering the basic understanding of typesetting by hand and the typographic measurement.

The significance the Melbourne Print Museum holds in the Creative Community here in Melbourne, and Nationally is great. To have knowledge of the limitations once faced in the creative process, and how these effected many of the processes we now take for granted in the industry, enriches the notion of possibility that lies in present technological capabilities. Where the pre press and printing process was once an arduous, painstaking craft – we now simply hit a few keys on our desktops, perhaps make a phone call and pick up the finished product without batting an eyelid! It’s as good as done.

The future of the Melbourne Museum of Print is heavily reliant on the Creative Community’s support, and endorsement through word of mouth, organised visits, and the continual recognition of it’s significance as a valuable resource to a fast moving industry.

For further information regarding the Melbourne Museum of Print - and the current fight they face in remaining operational, jump online to the following sites:

www.mmop.org.au
www.printingmuseums.com