One question that was frequently asked last year was what the deadline was for getting items in the bundle each month. When I inherited the role last January, we just continued sharing the inherited deadline of the 10th of each month without thinking much about it. The submission deadline isn’t spelled out in the bylaws, and, from what I have been able to ascertain, that inherited deadline of the 10th evolved from the section that says the mailer is responsible for “normally mailing the bundles between the 10th and 15th day of each month.” The problem is that the 10th is actually the opening window for the mailer’s deadline to send out the bundles, but it doesn’t take into account the work that still must be done after each member’s packet of 155 items is received. While we try to collate the items all month long as they arrive, there is always a significant stack to work through when it comes time to stuffing and labeling the envelopes.

Even with the help of friends, this means we have to carve a chunk of time from the weekend to complete the bundle assembly, which has meant that when the 10th landed early in the week, we had to wait until the following weekend for our “bundle stuffing party.” Yet still we had people calling and emailing on the 10th asking how much wiggle room they had to get items to us before we packed the bundles. Several times this meant we had things arriving on the Saturday morning or, more often, the Monday following when the bundles were packed.

The truth is the only truly hard deadline is for those members who neglect contributing their minimum four letterpress items to the bundle until November and December (remember you can only contribute 2 items to the December bundle). Any other month late, or very early, items simply go into the next month’s bundle and all rolls on. (Calendar, Treasure Gems, and Tube bundle submissions do not go to the mailer and each have their own hard deadlines.)

This year we will be packing and sealing the bundles on the weekend so that they can be mailed between the bylaw specified 10th and 15th of the month. Of course, getting your items printed and sent in early is highly preferable, and the easiest thing is to say that the deadline to assure items go out is the beginning of each month. For those who thrive on the adrenaline rush of seeing just how late they can send items to us and still have them arrive in time for the bundle, here are the actual dates for the 2022 weekend mailer bundle stuffing parties.

Your item(s) must be received prior to these dates, or they will be sent out in the following month’s bundle. Remember that postal services have, and will likely continue, to take longer than in previous years. There is plenty of work for the mailer (and team) to get all your wonderful items out each month; please don’t add your procrastination to their bundle of tasks in 2022.

Why not resolve in 2022 to get your 4 prints in early, so that you have time to leisurely print and share a few more items later in the year?

Your 2022 APA Mailer,
– TH Groves

Ok, per request, I have added a short form for just adding your Social Media Handles/IDs.  Please use this form only if you are sure all your current directory information is accurate and up to date…..

The form can be found listed on the left sidebar menu or directly at this link:

Update Your Social Media Handles/IDs Only…

I have just updated the online member update form to also include fields for entering your Social Media Handles/IDs for InstaGram, Twitter & Facebook if you wish to have them included in a future edition of the Member’s Directory.

I have not yet decided on how I will present this information in the directory. I am thinking either as added lines in everyone’s basic information in the first section, or as a whole new section listing just social media Handles/IDs for members that have included that information for the directory.

You can find the link in the left sidebar or you can just CLICK HERE to go directly to the form.

I’m a little late posting my Honor Roll for the March bundle due to a 3 week trip to New York for a rental of printing equipment from the Printing Museum for an HBO series, “The Gilded Age”; we set up a full 1880’s working newspaper shop. Look for on the small screen next spring!

My highlights of the bundle each month is purely personal and subjective, with the overall hope that all of us would reach out to fellow APA members whose printing impresses or inspires us, whether in a postcard or by email or by phone. If you don’t have the necessary contact information, just reach out to Katie Roeck, Secretary or by checking the online member database on the members-only group website

Click on any image for a larger view

1. Nils Young #537: 90th BIRTHDAY CARD Ornaments, borders and vintage type has always been a fast way to my heart. I can curl up in bed with bed with a BB&S Type Catalog while my wife looks at me puzzled with some novel in her hands! Nils did a great job with the use of the ornaments in a way not to overwhelm the design (look at those corners!), and the hierarchy of the information is maintained with the the other decorations and changes in type styles along with the subtle use of color (5 colors!). Excellent letterpress printing as well… great job Nils!
2. Rich Hopkins #226: WRONG FONTS Rich is one of our oldest APA members, now celebrating 60 years of active membership. Besides being an excellent letterpress printer, his design work and typography is always first-rate. And as the Godfather of ATF and all things Monotype, virtually everything he prints is from type he has cast himself at his Hill & Dale Type Foundry. This piece is no exception and is a beautiful and creative way to express a needed message to the membership; “Wrong Fonts” is full of history and wisdom from one of our letterpress elders. Thanks Rich, and I do love those ornaments!
3. Gregory Jackson Walters #777: ANNUS HORRIBILUS The simple but powerful design of Gregory’s piece made me stop and think about the year 2020 that we have all just experienced, with its emptiness on many levels reflected in his use of outline type. Now that we are in 2021 and things continue but with a bit more hope, maybe it will be shaded. Please take the time to read his card and his personal note inside. I know that 2021 continues to be a challenge for our dear printing friend. Gregory, you were able to say so much with so little, and without using the word COVID.
4. And for my Jim Daggs Refrigerator Award Jeff Walgren #975: LAZY PEOPLE COASTER This actually made it to my kitchen counter rather than my fridge, but I have entertained quite a few people with it… haven’t decided what drink to put on it (maybe I’m just being lazy about the decision!).

Mark Barbour
2021 APA President
714-529-1832
Email Mark Here

Note from Lance Williams, #785, Web Manager: As I keep posting these for Mark, I hope I am getting a little better each time…  Please let me know what you think with the changes in format from month to month and any suggestions for improvement….

Now that it is the time to honor St. Patrick, thought it would be a good time to give some presidential honor to the February bundle submissions. One of my goals as president is to recognize the letterpress efforts of our members and hopefully encourage a pursuit of excellence, or at least improvement, in our design, typography and printing. And that feeds into my other goal, which is to dialog with each other. These are my choices for the February Honor Roll and I admit they are subjective to my humble opinions, but don’t hesitate to reach out to a fellow APA-er that inspires you, with an email or a postcard or a call.

1. Carol Clifford, Orange House Press #948: For her striking 2-color Tomato Print. I really love the bold, rich red and the woodcut style of the overlapping black and red that gives the feel of a third red-tint color. Great job Carol getting a large solid red that makes this tomato so appetizing; it’s on my fridge now! And your ornamental Hope is a Good Thing was a runner-up… I’m a sucker for ornaments and filigree!
2. Chris Bayley #923: Every submission by Chris features his amazing wood engraving skills and deserves recognition. The smallest details in the stonework and the plants really pop with Chris’s excellent printing. Well composed design with my eye starting at the top of the columns heading left and down through the type to Chris’s name in the lower right then back up with the neck of the stork to the right; all of this adds subtle visual movement and meaning to the text.
3. Michael Grossman #958: Cease to Be A Drudge is a fun use of a rule form and used simply and creatively to graphicly illustrate the text. Nothing exciting about a rule form but printing it in four colors to create an interesting, vibrating but subtle background makes a great use of an otherwise useless cut! Michael, in the spirit of Mary McLeod Bethune, you are indeed an artist.
4. And for the Jim Daggs Refrigerator Award this month, I couldn’t stop laughing at Michael Addison’s #819 "Prayer in School" card. As I walked toward the fridge, I shared it with my wife Lori who also laughed with a smile. That’s a winner! I left it up for one night so that my 22-yr old daughter would enjoy it when she walked in around 2 am. Thank you, Michael!

Mark Barbour
APA President
Director and Curator,
International Printing Museum