Click on the image to see a short film made from our visit to see our new book 'Print in Thanet' being printed by En Route
New book celebrates Isle of Thanet’s forgotten industry
A new book celebrates the Isle of Thanet’s lost printing industry, through the stories of just three of over one hundred printing businesses once based in the area
Print Works project images
The images show some of the workshops and events we delivered as part of our Print Works project as we researched, explored, sorted and organised the Thanet Press and Martell Press archives.
Coming soon – Print in Thanet
Coming soon
Print Works Part 4: Working In The Print Industry
There were a variety of jobs in the pre-digital printing industry, meaning works like the Thanet Press employed large numbers, and needed specialist suppliers so supported small printers, bookbinders, and other trades locally. The key jobs, as a compositor laying out type, proof reading pages, or working with the machines, were highly skilled. A printer's … Continue reading Print Works Part 4: Working In The Print Industry
Print Works Part 3: The Martell Press
Two Thanet schoolboys had already caught the addictive whiff of printer's ink, oil, and paper that you find in any pre-digital printworks, from their father Norman, co-founder of publishers The Graham Cumming Group and owner of printer Westwood Press. Norman Martell printed town maps for councils, and diaries for clubs and societies, selling advertising in … Continue reading Print Works Part 3: The Martell Press
Print Works Part 2: The Thanet Press
In 1887 Frederick J Bobby, who had been running a small store in Bedford, moved to Margate and took over the Smeeds store, on the junction of Margate High Street and Cecil Square. With business booming, over the next few years Bobby's acquired neighbouring premises to expand the business. In 1907, he bought a nearby … Continue reading Print Works Part 2: The Thanet Press
