The Guild of Craft and Rewilding Youth

A behind the scenes experience inside Jacque Bidon's Printing Studio in South Providence. Read the Full Interview in Issue 2.

Jacques Bidon, master printer and owner of Bidon Studio in South Providence. Photo credit: Ifan Lewis

Relief plates. Photo credit: Ifan Lewis

Rebecca Grunkenmeyer, contributor, Jacques Bidon, master printer, and Anna Amoiradaki, Khiton's editor. Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Anna Amoiradaki, Editor and Publisher of Khiton with Jacques Bidon observing recent work. Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Movable Type: Individual raised metal or wooden letters arranged by hand. Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Also known as "Super Heidelberg", Jacques Bidon operates his father's original Heidelberg Platen Press, to the great relief of letterpress enthusiasts. Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Movable type fonts that have retained their place at the top of classics Garamond, Bodoni and Cooper in multiple sizes -measured as points and denoted as "pt". Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Jacques showing us samples of work from his youth workshops where young participants set the type, make the finished layout, and press and let try to produce bespoke posters usually with quotes and aphorisms from historical figures. Photo Credit: Ifan Lewis

Holding up a striking Pantone Blue print, Jacques Bidon recounts a favorite memory from the pressroom: replicating an exact Pantone spot color using standard four-color CMYK inks entirely by eye. It was an ability born in his father’s shop, where mixing color began as an everyday duty and evolved into one of his signature talents.

In the letterpress shop, reading happens backward. Movable type is set in reverse so the inked impression lands right-side-up on paper—a delicate puzzle verified by holding a hand mirror to the lead to catch any misplaced letter before printing begins.

Jacques Bidon holds up a lithograph plate.