Tara Vega

How long have you been printing?

We are printing since 1963, of course not me, but my grandfather.
My father followed him until now and I was introduced in the matter when I was teenager.
I started printing thoughtfully a few years ago.

Describe your first encounter with letterpress

Probably my first encounter was when I was a baby and I visited my grandfather’s letterpress studio for the first time. I grew up between chivaletes and lead type (I hope I didn’t eat any while I played).
The first letterpress work that I did by myself was a book: Expresión Tipográfica. This book was the best way to learn about printing and about the collaborative art, because more than one hundred people participated in it.

Where did you learn?

I learned in the family studio: Gráficas Marvel.

Who was your most influential teacher?

For all I know, I have to thank my father Emilio and my uncle Paco, also a printer.

What super power would you like to have?

The power of not dirtying my hands and keep the paper unspoiled.

Do you prefer to work alone or with others?

Always with others, much more fun.

What do you most value in your friends?

Clarity and predisposition for real communication.

When do your best ideas occur to you?

I always have ideas, then I have to sift through them which will be the best.

If you were to die and come back as a typeface, which would it be?

Superveloz.

What tool do you use more often than any other?

Soap and sponge ;)

What books are currently on your nightstand?

This night I can choose between Gloria Fuertes’ poetry and Galeano’s hopefull words.

If you could study with any printer throughout history, who would it be?

Marguerita Bodoni.

If you have your own shop, what equipment do you own?

A manual Minerva Boston and an Original Heidelberg of 1970.

When and where are you the happiest?

When I start to think about a print, while I am printing it and especially when it is finished.

What is your greatest fear/worry?

Not to be able to get rich with my work.

What do you think is useful about what you make?

I want to use letterpress to offer people a way of expression and communication with others.

What’s your day job?

It changes everyday, because I work with letterpress, offset, digital printing, accounting, diffusion, marketing, merchandasing, web design...
I start work early in the morning and I finish late in the afternoon.

Do you use any other techniques or media besides letterpress?

Offset and digital printing.