Custom Prints and Design
What We Do
If you follow music, art, and culture of the American South, sooner or later you’re bound to run into the letters, images, and unmistakable “look” of Hatch Show Print. We’re one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, and over the years our posters have featured a host of entertainers, including the early stars of the Grand Ole Opry like Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and Minnie Pearl, and continuing into this century, with artists such as Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash and Guns N’ Roses, to name just a few.
The shop carries on the tradition that put it on the map: At Hatch Show Print, the printer is the designer, and the designer is the printer. This meant large hand-carved wood blocks with iconic imagery printed in bold colors designed by Will T. Hatch and his staff in the 20th century, and in the 21st century, the designer-printers on staff at Hatch Show Print draw upon and continue to contribute to the ever-expanding image archive, by carving new blocks, out of wood or linoleum when a poster job calls for it, or by using an old block in a new way.
The irresistible appeal of those turn-of-the-century posters, which were used to promote vaudeville, circus, and minstrel shows across the country, carries through in the work the shop produces today. There’s a reason why music lovers, Americana buffs, graphic designers, poster collectors, and a wide range of businesses continue to turn to Hatch Show Print. The work the shop turns out is, indeed, a tonic for the digital age.
“Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms.”
Custom Designs
Hatch Show Print designs and prints 500 to 600 posters per year, for entertainers on tour, venues around the world, and businesses and organizations interested in using a Hatch Show Print poster to promote their products and services.
Poster Design and Ordering Information:
- Design and Layout: We use the shop’s wood and metal type, along with hand-carved imagery—from pieces created a hundred years ago to those made just last week.
- Pricing: Custom-designed poster pricing is based on the number of colors used in the poster. Please see our price guide and order form for details.
- Turnaround time: Typically ten weeks or longer; this may vary.
- Order Placement: We do not accept orders electronically (including email), or via telephone. To place an order, fill out our order form, then turn into our team via one of the methods below:
- Fax: Send to (615) 254-5202.
- Mail: Send to the shop.
- Drop off: Bring it to the shop in person.
- Order Form: includes an area for you to enter the copy that is to appear on the poster (the text), along with the quantity of posters needed, the number of colors to be printed, and your contact information.
- Including a Logo or Photograph: You will need to provide a black-and-white, high-resolution digital file (pdf or jpeg), from which we will have a photoplate made for the production of the poster. There is an additional fee to cover the cost of the photoplate that varies depending on the size of the image or logo.
- Note: We are currently focusing on developing educational programming and maintaining our retail inventory. Therefore, we have temporarily suspended custom-designed work for personal events like weddings and birthdays.