Photopolymer Crash Course

Event Info

This two-day, in-person workshop takes place at CBA on Saturday and Sunday, October 14 and 15, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm ET

  • Saturday, October 14, 10:00am–4:00pm
  • Sunday, October 15, 10:00am–4:00pm

Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on October 7, at 11:59 pm.


About the Workshop:

This in-person class at Center for Book Arts is taught by instructor Elizabeth Castaldo.

Participants with some letterpress experience will get a crash course in how to create photopolymer plates to print their own custom designs on letterpress. Castaldo will walk students through how to prepare plates from hand-drawn illustrations and/or digital images using Photoshop or Illustrator. Then students will learn to make plates using CBA’s exposure unit. Finally, the class will set up the press and print!

Some letterpress experience is helpful but not required. 

Class size is limited to ensure an optimal student-to-teacher ratio. Register now before the remaining spots fill up!


Required Materials:

  • X-acto blade
  • Pencil and eraser
  • Please wear clothing you do not mind getting dirty and close-toed shoes
  • Access to Photoshop or Illustrator (optional)
  • An image you want to work with (saved on a flash drive or in the cloud) (optional)
  • Opaque black drawing materials such as paint markers, micron pens, rapidograph pens (optional)
  • Materials to experiment with for making transparencies (optional)

All other materials will be provided by Center for Book Arts at no additional cost.


About Elizabeth Castaldo

Elizabeth Castaldo is a New York based artist, printmaker, and bookbinder. Working with collage, drawing, and printmaking she creates works on paper and artist’s books that explore nature and the divine feminine.

She has completed residencies at Arquetopia in Oaxaca Mexico, the Center for Book Arts, NYC and Printmaker’s Open Forum, Oxford PA. Castaldo received her MFA from SCAD Atlanta where she was a Dean’s Fellow in Printmaking and her BFA from the School of Visual Arts. Her work has been exhibited nationally including with the Zuckerman Museum of Art, Center for Book Arts, Saint Joseph’s College, Oklahoma City University, Landing Contemporary, Empty Set Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

She teaches printmaking and book arts at Parsons School of Design and the Center for Book Arts. Her work is held in many private and institutional collections including SCAD, The University of Alberta, Carnegie Melon University, Yale University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


All images courtesy of the instructor.

Class size is limited to ensure an optimal participant to Instructor ratio. Register now before spots fill up! Registration for this workshop closes on October 7 at 11:59pm. The tuition of this class is $420 plus a $25 materials fee.

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