【Made in Hong Kong】 Discovering Art of Letterpress Printing
- Visit "Guanghua Printing", a time-honored movable type printing brand, and listen to the story of the brand name told by the second generation heirs
- Understand the movable type printing process and watch the entire movable type printing process
- Admire the type grains, printing tools and printing presses produced in Heidelberg, Germany in 1970 that have been used for half a century
- Understand the cultural conservation issues faced by Hong Kong during its economic development, and reflect on the social value of safeguarding tradition
What to expect
Movable type printing technology is one of Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritages. Although offset and digital printing have long been widely used, they still cannot replace the elegant craftsmanship of movable type printing.
In the 1950s, movable type printing was very popular in Hong Kong. At that time, newspapers, leaflets, forms, etc. were all produced using movable type printing. When printing is in progress, the typewriter will use the engraved and cast lead pellets one by one to arrange them neatly and orderly on a special metal plate, then add ink and print. The entire process is meticulous and there can be no mistakes. These word particles are arranged, printed and reorganized over and over again, becoming a living carrier of culture and knowledge.
In the past, there were many movable type printing shops in the Central and Sheung Wan area, which also led to the prosperity of type foundries, foreign paper shops and ink shops. Although the prosperity of the industry in the past is long gone, we can still experience the extraordinary features of this craft by visiting the inheritors of the movable type printing craft who remain in Sheung Wan.
