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General Information:
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What products do you carry?
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Do you buy and/or trade?
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Can I put a link on your site?
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Can you suggest an
ideal first press for a hobbyist?
We are a small, family owned and operated business which
has been selling all kinds of graphic arts equipment for over 35 years. We
specialize in letterpress, bindery and hot metal equipment.
Don is the owner and founder of the company. He has been
in the printing business for many years, once working as a Linotype
Mechanic. For a more complete story of who Don is, please check out an
article published called Mr. B.
There are 3 people who you would normally talk to on the
phone or see in person if you come for a visit. There is, of course Don,
but also Don's wife Ruth who is the cheery voice you hear answering the
phone, and looking after the office. Don and Ruth's son, Craig is often
out in the warehouse keeping things organized, maintaining equipment, and
is out of the shop arranging for new acquisitions. Often times when you
come in, you will see at least one additional person helping out in the
warehouse since there is always lots to do in our busy shop.
Click here to see pictures of Don, Ruth and
Craig.
We are in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You may have noticed
that our website used to say "Scarborough" - we didn't move, it is just
that Scarborough is a suburb of Toronto, but has now been rolled into make
Toronto the 7th largest city in North America.
Scarborough is on the east side of Toronto and is easily accessible from
highway 401 - the major highway running across the bottom of Ontario.
We are approximately a 1 hour drive from Niagara Falls/Buffalo area. Also
approximately 4 hour drive from Detroit. If you were flying into see us,
we are about a 30 minute drive from the Toronto International Airport.
If you are driving along highway 401, exit at Kennedy Road and go south
(towards Lake Ontario). The second major intersection is Ellsemere, turn
left. Go up over the hill and turn right at Midland. Take the first right
which is Midwest. We are located at 120 Midwest Road, Unit 5.
If you would like to see a map, click here.
We really look forward to having you come for a visit.
Any office related questions can be directed towards Ruth.
If you have questions about equipment, type, selling your shop etc., you
can talk to either Don or Craig.
We are open normal business hours - 8:00 to 5:00 Monday to
Friday. We can be assured that we will be there those hours. We are often
at the shop earlier and later, so if needed, try giving us a call before
or after hours.
We can't guarantee that we will be around on the weekends, but if that is
the only time you can come, let us know in advance and we can try to make
suitable arrangements. If you would like to see the equipment, it is NECESSARY to phone for an appointment.
Yes, yes, yes! We are a friendly place with a very
organized shop. We have been in this business for over 30 years, we know
how to find what we have. We have lists and catalogs of all of our type,
mats and equipment. We would be happy to give you a tour, show you
anything you want and then if you want to wander for a while, we will give
you a coffee and set you loose! Take as long as you want and if you have
questions, come and grab us - there is no rush, have fun looking at our
huge selection of goodies, which are literally stacked to the rafters.
As you can imagine, when dealing with a product which is
no longer made, supply and demand come into play. Our inventory is large
and it changes daily. If, on the day you call, we have lots of something -
you get a good deal. If we are down to our last one and the item is hard
to get, the price may be different. We often find that people don't want
just one item, but rather they need lots of different items. In that case,
we like to make up package deals for a better price. Let us know what you
want and we can quickly give you a price over the phone, by fax or email.
We don't mind, whatever is easiest for you. We can quote
you a price in either Canadian or US dollars and then you can send along a
cheque or bring cash.
Not right now, although we are looking into offering
credit card services. If this would be of major benefit to you, please
email us and let us know.
Yes. However, as you can imagine with the letterpress
field, everything is typically heavy and/or bulky. Anything can be shipped
anywhere in the world. If you need something shipped, we will give you a
quote on the shipping charges. Obviously, if we have to crate up your
purchase or make other arrangements, we will have to charge accordingly.
Be assured that if you want an item shipped, we will ship
it ASAP. We are organized and operate quickly to serve you.
We are also thrilled if you come to our shop and pick up your order by
yourself. We will be happy to assist you to loading up your vehicle. We
have two loading docks which are easily accessible, with open aisles so we
can use our forklift for loading and unloading.
In case you were getting worried, we are not also in the
carpet business. 'Mat' is short for 'Matrix' which is defined as
'something within which something else originates or develops', 'a mold
from which a relief surface (as a piece of type) is made'. The plural of
the term is 'matrices'.
In other words, these are the molds that are used for making pieces of
type.
We carry the mats for Linotype/Intertype, Monotype and Ludlow.
If you want to see the lists of mats that we carry, simply select which
type: Linotype/Intertype,
Monotype, Ludlow.
Lots! We carry a large assortment of small presses such as
Kelsey, C&P Pilot presses, proof presses and Vandercooks. We also
carry small paper cutters, hot foil stamping equipment and all of the
letterpress supplies that you need to get going.
For example, if you didn't have anything when you walked
in to our shop, you could leave with everything that you need to start
printing. That would include the press, quoins, quoin keys, a chase
or two, type - new or used, spaces, leads, slugs, strip material,
composing stick etc.
To see a more complete list of our equipment, see our
equipment list.
Again, lots! We can service the small hobbyist and
the larger commercial print shops. Perhaps you need a large paper
cutter - no problem, we usually have a good selection in stock.
Perhaps a multiple head paper drill - no problem there either.
We also carry joggers, staplers, corner rounders as well as large presses
such as Heidelbergs. If you need type, lead pigs, high speed quoins
or are even wanting to sell off some of your used equipment, you have come
to the right place!
To see a more complete list of our equipment, see our
equipment list.
We carry letterpress, hot metal, hot foil and bindery
equipment. From time to time you may find something that wouldn't
fit into these categories, but we really don't deal with offset or other
related equipment.
To see a more complete list of our equipment, see our
equipment list.
Yes, we get new shipments all the time - it is hard to be
definite as to when we might get certain items, however we are always
quoting on buying more goods from other shops.
If you would like to place a request for something, we can
keep our eyes open for it and inform you when we get a suitable product in
stock. Simply use our 'Items You Want' Form.
Not really. We sell equipment, type, mats etc. We also
carry the smaller items like furniture, composing sticks, spaces, strip
material etc. However, we really don't sell consumables, but we do often
have some in stock and we might just have what you are looking to get.
Feel free to ask, if we have it, we would be happy to provide it to you.
Yes. Over the years, we have purchased hundreds of entire
shops or just letterpress departments. We would be happy to hear about any
shop which has goods for sale - whether large or small. We are an
equipment dealer, but we also LOVE letterpress printing - we love to save
what we can and pass it along to others who want these products.
Yes. Simply let us know what you have and we'll let you
know if we are interested.
Yes, we are always interested in finding out about various
shops for sale. We often times hear about these shops, but certainly give
us a call or send us an email.
Quite likely. We are happy to have links to sites that we
like, and in particular sites that are run by our customers. If you have a
private press or are somehow letterpress related, please email our
webmaster with your website
address (URL) and we'll see about getting you added to our links list.
Yes, we have an article written by John Horn - an experienced and enthusiastic supporter of letterpress.
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