Print­ers tend to be socia­ble fel­lows, and it’s always nice to meet like-mind­ed peo­ple. Hap­pi­ly the UK has online and real-life groups that can sup­port you in your let­ter­press jour­ney.

British Printing Society

The British Print­ing Soci­ety has a pur­pose to cre­ate ​‘friend­ly asso­ci­a­tion’ between print­ers of all types. (This unfor­tu­nate­ly includes litho print­ers!) There are local branch­es in many parts of the UK; a reg­u­lar mag­a­zine and an annu­al con­ven­tion.

http://www.bpsnet.org.uk/

Oxford Guild of Printers

The Oxford Guild of Print­ers is a more book- and let­ter­press-focussed group than the BPS and hap­pi­ly has mem­bers across the UK. While most events – like the month­ly meet­ings and the Wayz­goose – are in Oxford­shire or sur­round­ing areas, the Guild is very friend­ly. Worth join­ing even if you’re miles away from Oxford!

http://www.oxfordguildofprinters.com/

Printing Historical Society

Devot­ed to the record­ing and explo­ration of print­ing his­to­ry, the PHS has done won­der­ful work and pro­duces the excel­lent Jour­nal of the Print­ing His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety as well as Print­ing His­to­ry News with the Friends of St. Bride.

http://www.printinghistoricalsociety.org.uk/

Online: Briar Press

The right­ful par­ent to all oth­er let­ter­press web­sites, Bri­ar Press has been run­ning for just over fif­teen years. While start­ed as a US-focussed site its reach has now spread over the world. Bri­ar Press has the best online dis­cus­sion forums; and also the best place to buy and sell let­ter­press equip­ment out­side of the UK.

http://www.briarpress.org/

Online: Metal Type

Dave Hugh­es’ vibrant site is a mec­ca for those that case type in the UK whether Lud­low, linecast­er or Mono­type. The site also includes plen­ty of sto­ries and per­son­al his­to­ries of type­cast­ing and news­pa­pers espe­cial­ly.

http://metaltype.co.uk/