About Facilities Artists

About Us

East London Printmakers is a not-for-profit, artist run studio based in Mile End. Our aim is to provide professional and affordable printmaking facilities for artists and designers and to create opportunities for them to discuss and exhibit their work. We offer Open Access for screen printing on paper and fabric, etching and relief and run a variety of courses and residency schemes.

East London Printmakers supports forty-seven key-holders, represents over 200 Associate Members and attracts over one thousand visitors annually.

Studio Coordinator – Susan Clarke

Technicians – Thom Igwe-Walker and Fungai Marima

Marketing Coordinator – Evangeline Morris

Board of Directors – Lorraine Botbol (Chair), Caroline Whitehead (Company Secretary, ex officio), & Andrew Childs (Treasurer, ex officio), Bob Johnstone (Secretary), Jody Tableporter, Jon Mayers, Tanaka Mazivanhanga, Lorena Herrero, Tony Heaton, Zoltan Marfy and Rachael Ashley

Our Story

East London Printmakers started with a group of printmaking artists exhibiting together and hoping to eventually create an affordable print studio in East London. For a short period, an interim studio was set up in a sublet half-room at Bow Arts. When Space Studios were opening a new building near London Fields, It was negotiated that in return for Space paying for a few basic pieces of equipment, ELP would rent a studio and provide Open Access facilities for the community. There were about ten in the group at that time, and through working hard collectively, building work benches, sourcing equipment, they established a functioning studio which was available for Open Access in 2003. These were facilities that the individual artists could not afford on their own but could manage to acquire communally.

The group grew to between 15 and 20 people and expanded into a second room. Studio maintenance was carried out collectively, so everyone had to know how to look after the studio. Administration was carried out voluntarily. The cost of the equipment initially bought by Space was repaid gradually through profits from Open Access, and as the group expanded Wednesday courses began to ensure more printmakers continued to attend Open Access.

By 2010 a one-day-a-week technician was hired. Around 2012 a paid administrator became a necessity, which in turn meant the studio’s cash flow became crucial, to ensure wages were paid. Consequently, the range of voluntary tasks for keyholders widened, enabling more activities to take place. The studio grew further, to about 35 keyholders and a third room was taken on as a clean space. Despite this growth, the cooperative ethos of the studio meant rents for keyholders could be kept as low as possible: this was the driver.

However, in 2016 a massive increase in rent at Space Studios, meant that to maintain these affordable keyholder rents, new premises needed to be found. Fortuitously for ELP, three rooms became available in ACME’s Mile End location, our current site. It was a mammoth task to relocate such an established print studio – but thanks to everyone’s efforts, dismantling, packing, transporting, and rebuilding were completed in 14 weeks.

There are now around 47 keyholders, a part-time studio coordinator, a part-time technician, and a part time marketing coordinator. The shared cooperative ethos that was the foundation stone of ELP is now its bedrock. The active participation of all keyholders working voluntarily and contributing as much as they can, keeps the studio running smoothly and enables many events and activities to take place. Crucially it keeps costs as low as possible, ensuring maximum accessibility for all levels of creative activity.

Keyholders

At present, there are forty seven keyholders at ELP.

Keyholders pay a monthly fee of £103 and have 24-hour access to the studio outside of open access and workshop times.

The keyholders form the core collective that run the studio, and joining as a keyholder brings some responsibilities. Each keyholder is required to cover around four open access sessions a year, attend at least two keyholder meetings a year, and take care of one other allocated studio task which amounts to approximately 5 hours per month. When printmakers join as key holders, they become an active member of the group, contributing to events and to the smooth running of the studio.

Keyholders forming the basis of the studio creates such a fantastic environment. Artists from a variety of backgrounds and with different ideas come together and support each other and their work.

To join the waiting list to become a keyholder you need to join as an Associate first. Please visit our ‘Join Us‘ page for more information.

Join us

Find Us

East London Printmakers

42 Copperfield rd
Mile End
London
E3 4RR

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Facilities

We welcome everyone to use the studio. If you are starting out on your printmaking journey, or refreshing old skills, you can book into a course in your chosen process. If you have completed a course with East London Printmakers or are similarly qualified, and wish to develop and consolidate your skills, then booking some Open Access sessions is the next stage.

Scroll down for further details about our Open Access sessions.

The printmaking studio has equipment for water-based screen-printing, etching/intaglio, relief printing, fabric printing and photo-etching. For a more detailed list of what we supply and sell, please refer to our shop list.

Screenprinting

Large exposure unit for photo-silkscreens (130 × 180cm)
Six vacuum tables (max print size 110 x 80cm)
Various sized squeegees and coating troughs
Various sized screens (for hire – max size 125 × 85cm)
Back-lit wash-out unit for screens
Drying racks

Fabric Printing

PVC topped fabric table 3.6m × 1m print width (123cm table top) with registration bar & 7 repeat stops. Three 49T screens 130 x 105cm with registration fittings available to hire.
Largest usable area 88 x 100cm
Gum Arabic is supplied
Users must provide their own backing cloth

Etching

Rochat Etching Press – bed size 81 x 137cm
French American Tool Press – bed size 102 x 187cm
Henderson Press – bed size 76 x 153cm
Tofko Press – bed size 100 x 180cm
Ferric chloride for etching copper
Edinburgh Ferric for etching copper
Copper Sulphate for etching Zinc
Rosin aquatint box
Hotplate
Exposure unit for photogravure/photo-etching (60 × 70cm)
Guillotine for cutting metal plate (max width 77cm)
Large and small rollers
Spatulas and ink knives

Relief

Rochat Albion Press – platen size 40 x 55cm Maximum Paper Size 56cm wide
Columbian Press – platen size 40 x 55cm Maximum Paper Size 56cm wide
Book Press – 25 x 30cm
Large and small rollers
Spatulas and ink knives

General

Electric Guillotine – max cutting width 65cm
Lightbox (100 × 150cm)
Cutting mats and rulers
Goggles, masks, gloves and ear protectors

Shop Materials

We sell a small range of materials from the studio during our Open Access hours, which is only accessible by our Open Access users. For a full list of whats available and our prices, please see the following link.

Shop Materials