THE 2020 VIRTUAL LOS ANGELES PRINTERS FAIR

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The Los Angeles Printers Fair had to be different this fall. We brainstormed a creative, out-of-the-box solution to make the Fair accessible during this unprecedented year. The result: The 2020 Virtual Los Angeles Printers Fair!

Lorna Turner and George bush Printing the cover for the fair show guide

Lorna Turner and George bush Printing the cover for the fair show guide

In normal years, 2,000 visitors participate in demonstrations throughout the Museum and interact with vendors selling artistic prints, cards, books and printing supplies. The goal was to replicate this experience with a dedicated website, PrintersFair.com. Our videographer, Jay Haddad, worked tirelessly to record tours and demonstrations. Other friends like the Los Angeles Printmaking Society and bookbinder Stephanie Gibbs also contributed. With an online format, there was the opportunity to reach a national, even international, audience. And rather then limit the event to one weekend, we made the Virtual Printers Fair last for all of November.

An impressive 65 vendors participated, both locally and across the country. Vendors were showcased in our Vendor Marketplace with photos and videos of their practice and process, images of featured products, and links to their portfolios and e-commerce sites.

Daily Experiences included video tours of the Museum, bookbinding and paper marbling demonstrations, scans of archival material from the collections, and more. Our featured artist, Lorna Turner, designed and helped print the beautiful LA Printers Fair Show Guide and t-shirts, available in the Museum’s online store.

Printers’ Drive-in Movie Night at the Museum during the Printers Fair, featuring “Park Row”, from 1951 that is centered around 19th century printing shops.

Printers’ Drive-in Movie Night at the Museum during the Printers Fair, featuring “Park Row”, from 1951 that is centered around 19th century printing shops.

The Printers’ Drive-in Movie Night was one of two live events. Guests were able to enjoy the evening from the comfort of their cars in the Museum parking lot. Our volunteer, Brent Boal, set up the 20’ movie screen with full theatre sound. Curator Mark Barbour showed clips on printing presses in the movies, followed by the feature Park Row, a 1951 film featuring numerous printing presses and even a supporting actor role for Ottmar Mergenthaler and his Linotype. The tag line for this blockbuster about two New York newspaper publishers was, “She had blood in her veins...He had ink in his!” The following morning we held our other live event, the Surplus Equipment Sale in the Museum’s parking lot, with presses, type, books and supplies, helping us raise $5,000.

With over 12,000 unique visitors and 33,000 page views over the course of the month, the response to the Virtual Printers Fair was overwhelmingly successful. Several vendors commented that November was their best month all year! Visitors to the Virtual Fair were enthusiastic about the experiences, the changing daily content and beautiful work of the vendors. The 2021 Printers Fair will be in-person and virtual, allowing us to continue reaching a national audience. That’s a win-win in the year of the pandemic for the Printing Museum!