Meet the founders of young, independent Scottish print studio Workhorse Press

When we were up at Graphic Design Festival Scotland last year we met two nice guys called Dominic Kesterton and Orlando Lloyd who were assisting people in their design dreams by showing them how to make their own riso prints. A fantastic illustrator and designer respectively, Dominic and Orlando started up a small printing press, Workhorse Press, during their time studying in Edinburgh. We wanted to talk to them about why they’re still at it, the difficulties they face, and why Scotland’s print, design and illustration scene would be lost without them. Here they are…

Tell us the story of Workhorse Press.

Whilst we were studying in Edinburgh we bought our first Risograph from a priest in rural Scotland because we wanted to make zines, and then we ended up facilitating the needs of a whole bunch of people in the art school. It was a much more lo-fi operation back then, running the machine from the hallway in our stinky flat. When we graduated, after a period of indecision and self loathing, we realised we wanted to keep trucking with Workhorse Press. 

What’s the hardest thing about what you do?

Risograph machines can be pretty precarious – sometimes the simplest job can end up throwing a real spanner in the works if the machine chokes. Generally things run smoothly but sometimes we end up pulling our hair out. Our studio is cold too.

Is there a good art scene and community in Edinburgh?

There is but we both feel it could do with a bit more impetus. There is a lot of potential. Hopefully we can contribute towards getting a thriving scene going. The fine arts scene here seems great, there are always exhibitions and interesting things going on. We want it to feel like a more powerful city for people doing graphics and illustration stuff.

You’re both freelancers as well as running Workhorse – are you both able to sustain your lifestyle from these jobs?

Yes. Our respective freelance work eats up a lot of our time and running the press alongside it lets us work from a studio and meet lots of great people. Obviously as a freelance illustrator or designer work ebbs and flows, so it’s nice to have Workhorse Press running so we can always work on personal projects alongside the printing work.

Why is it important that people like you do this?

We think fresh graduates from the creative Scottish institutions shouldn’t be afraid to take a shot at doing something fun and stimulating up here. 

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting a small printing press?

Just have a go. Start as soon as possible so you can iron out all the creases. Learn from the creases.