P98a Paper #4
Erik Spiekermann will be a familiar name to anyone who’s attended a design conference over the past decade or two. Alongside his busy career in typography and design, he’s established himself as a witty, personable and knowledgable chairman/MC at events like Typo Berlin.
He recently retired from his design agency EdenSpeikermann and has established a letterpress studio in Berlin, where he and his small team host workshops while experimenting with the metal type.
His primary output is a series of statement posters and this delightful publication, P98a Paper. The A5-sized magazine is named after the street number of the studio, and as you would expect is expertly designed and produced. The text pages are printed on a Risograph machine (french folded so they only have to print on one side of the paper) and the flourescent covers are printed in the letterpress studio.
Each issue of P98a Paper features an essay and accompanying illustrations. Issue four has excerpts from the travel diaries of novelist Joshua Cohen, with drawings by Tomas Clarkson. It’s a delightfully simple proposition, good writing with light illustrations. But it’s made special by the care and attention paid to every part of the process – the commissioning, typesetting, printing and finishing.
At the back of the issue Spiekermann considers the success of the Paper, and attends to some of the details of its production. He explains the risograph process, why the covers may not continue as flouro (they can’t get the paper any more) but promises another four issue in 2017. Can’t wait!