Meet Jon Lybrook | Owner and Lead Printmaker, Intaglio Editions LLC
We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Lybrook and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jon, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It helps to have some steady income already when starting a new line of work. I had been doing custom web application development for companies independently for about 5 years, starting in 2001, before starting my other business: helping artists and photographers to edition and publish intaglio prints, on a traditional printing press. That company is called Intaglio Editions (https://intaglioeditions.com) and was founded in 2006, though I registered the business as an LLC only recently.
Offering flexibility in project scope made it possible for me to take on larger jobs, both in printmaking and web development, by hiring expert help from people I’ve worked with on projects before. I continue to offer custom, legacy web application maintenance, development, and hosting through WSW3 Networks at https://WSW3.com, but the printmaking has become a bigger business in recent years due taking on some noteworthy artists and publishing their work with them at https://timeless-prints.com. One of those artists is Tony Levin (https://tonylevinprints.com), bass player for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. Another is Jerry LoFaro, legendary airbrush artist who has done alot of recent character work for Celestial Seasonings Tea. )https://timeless-prints.com/
We edition inkjet prints as well as traditional fine art intaglio prints, on a variety of high-quality papers and inks. Having a background in Information Technology makes alot of the web development and printer hardware management much more cost-effective. It’s a part of all good business practices I’ve been building upon for over two decades in total, but finding contagious projects that dovetail, can be a challenge.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business model is I team up with photographers and artists, one-on-one, and help them to plan and edition their work, or create the printmaking plates needed to let them edition the work themselves, on a traditional printing press. Mainly, I’ve developed a custom way to make old-fashioned, archive-quality intaglio prints for artists that can fetch a higher price than standard inkjet prints.
Why do I specialize in more expensive, custom intaglio prints instead of just printing inkjet prints? It is the next logical question. The quick answer is longevity. Unlike all the chemicals and coatings used in inkjet printing, our intaglio photogravure prints are made under high-pressure using simple, archive-quality paper and oil-based etching ink. These same materials have been used for hundreds of years by artists and printmakers around the world.
Another reason we do this work is there is nothing more satisfying than looking at a finished, traditional print, with the knowledge of the deliberate, hands-on work that went into creating it perfectly. There is a richness, and softness in the ink, and knowing in your bones when it is “right” in every way is gratifying. Every artist knows that feeling, or ought to. My reward as a creative professional comes from decades assisting other creative professionals to realize their vision in a genuinely rewarding and practical way.
Designing, printing, and marketing art work with a busy artist who has an existing following is much easier than building a following from scratch while developing a new body of work. It is never too soon to start building a social media brand for your work and business, no matter what it is!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Since my home studio is closer to Boulder, than Denver, I would probably suggest breakfast at the Dushanbe Tea House, followed by a quick visit to BMOCA, The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.
From there we might go to Denver’s Santa Fe artist district to see what galleries are open, before hitting up the fascinating Pre-Columbian Exhibit permanently on display at the Denver Art Museum.
Then drinks outdoors someplace not too busy or popular, before heading back home early to bed! My workday usually starts at 5am.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Paul Richards of the music group California Guitar Trio (https://cgtrio.com) is one of the most prolific artists and collaborators I know. I was one of the band’s first webmasters, and we have been friends and supporters of each others projects for over twenty years. His group travels the world performing very complex arrangements for 3 or 6 guitars for their fans, old and new.
In 2018 when I asked Paul if I could publish some of his photographs as fine art color and black and white prints, he was completely dedicated to the project from the beginning. We now offer many colorful landscape photographs, from his 30-year career as a globe-trotting musician who is still performing many concerts a year.
Most recently we published a collection of three color prints by Paul called the Broad Chalke Collection (https://timeless-prints.com/
It was also Paul who introduced me to his friend Tony Levin, the bass player for King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, when they stayed at our house during a concert tour back in 2000. Fast-forward twenty-two years, I am now the exclusive publisher of Tony’s newest collection of limited edition, King Crimson, commemorative, photogravure prints, which are available at https://tonylevinprints.com This new print collection is of film and digital photos made between 1981 and 2019 of King Crimson — behind the scenes and from the stage, by the amazing and prolific bass player, and photographer for the band, Tony Levin.
We are very fortunate to have an exclusive, 20 year contract with each of our artists to publish their art and photography work for the foreseeable future! Tony Levin has said his fans can look forward to our doing new photogravure editions of his vintage and recent photographs of his friend and legendary musician Peter Gabriel later this year, in time for the holiday season 2022!
This will keep me busy for the foreseeable future, but I am always interested in talking with artists about how we can help them publish and sell their work in a more traditional manner.
Website: https://intaglioeditions.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intaglio_editions/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonlybrook/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IntaglioEdition
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhotogravurePlatesPrints
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmiX3QxSeQUnP5tmIox5IUQ
Other: https://tonylevinprints.com https://timeless-prints.com http://artrockprints.com http://photogravure.intaglioeditions.com http://jon.lybrook.com https://wsw3.com
Image Credits
Photos of Jon Lybrook with Tony Levin are by Bonnie Lybrook. More of Bonnie’s work will be available for sale soon on https://timeless-prints.com
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
