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Megan Zettlemoyer, owner of Typothecary Letterpress on Grant Street, started the first print crawl in 2017, after attending a similar event in Nashville. Here, she poses with posters from previous years' events. This year's design will be revealed to participants as they visit various locations on the crawl. 

Megan Zettlemoyer, owner of Typothecary Letterpress on Grant Street, started the first print crawl in 2017, after attending a similar event in Nashville. Here, she poses with posters from previous years' events. This year's design will be revealed to participants as they visit various locations on the crawl. 

Lack artistic talent? No problem. Perhaps creativity is your middle name? Also great.

Anyone can fashion a frameable work of art Friday — no skills required. Just join the fifth annual Lancaster Print Crawl, which will offer participants a chance to learn about the local printing scene while making a handprinted color poster suitable for display.

“It’s for everybody or anybody,” says Megan Zettlemoyer, who owns Typothecary Letterpress on Grant Street. “It’s so much fun.” The Lancaster resident, who also teaches graphic design at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, started the first print crawl in 2017, after attending a similar event in Nashville. She brought the concept to Lancaster, recruiting fellow businesses to participate. The event paused in 2020 because of the pandemic.

“I like the idea that it’s a community event, and you don’t have to have an interest in printing,” Zettlemoyer says.

The crawl, from 5-9 p.m., features a one-way walk through downtown Lancaster with stops at eight local businesses over three quarters of a mile. Each venue adds knowledge and a hands-on step in the printing process. Experiences include screen printing, letterpress printing, stamping, laser cutting and vinyl graphics.

Personal involvement is not a requirement, though. Participants may choose to have printing volunteers complete each step in the crawl, Zettlemoyer says.

What: Fifth annual Lancaster Print Crawl.

Where: See box of participating locations.

When: 5-9 p.m. Friday.

Cost: $5 with additional donations accepted at FORCEpkg for scholarships.

More info: lanc.news/printcrawl2022.

Dan Flynn says he is “beyond honored” that Zettlemoyer asked him to participate in the print crawl. Flynn owns A Day In the Life Records on Walnut Street. Technically, Flynn’s business doesn’t offer print services, but volunteers will provide a stamp participants may add to their posters.

“We love the work that (Zettlemoyer) does,” Flynn says. “We’re fans of the print crawl.”

FORCEpkg, a Lancaster design agency, has participated in the crawl from the beginning, says owner Tom Newmaster. The Queen Street company will offer crawlers a choice of a decal to add to their poster. “They can make their poster unique,” he says.

Decals will have special effects like foil or be embossed. Newmaster also likes the crawl because it gives participants an inside look at downtown. “You get to shops you wouldn’t normally go to,” he says. “It’s a neat way to explore.”

Participants don’t have to follow any set order when visiting shops, says Rebecca Wood, who owns graphic design company Foxduck with husband Ryan Keates and brother Jos Wood. The King Street business focuses on silk-screen printing and sells T-shirts in its retail space.

“People can jump in anywhere, but you have to hit all the stops,” she says. Wood describes the print crawl process as adding a layer to a design at each business. For instance, Foxduck will offer black ink this year.

“This is my favorite event of the year,” Wood says, because the “easy access” aspect of the event draws participants. “This is a win on so many levels.”

Zettlemoyer hired an illustrator to design the poster, and the finished product will remain a secret until Friday. Each blank canvas, 13-by-19 inches, will cost $5, with proceeds and any donations going toward two graphic design scholarships – one at Thaddeus Stevens and one at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. College students who show an ID may print for free.

Despite an abundance of cutting-edge home printers and online design, professional printing and graphic design thrive in Lancaster, Zettlemoyer says. Her company combines lead letters, numbers and symbols with digital design. “It’s a combination of modern and vintage technology.”

Zettlemoyer urges participants to start early because the popular event has drawn lines of customers in past years. She expects between 400-500 posters to sell this year. Anyone interested may order a poster in advance to speed up the process at lancasterprintcrawl.com.

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