Meet the Team

 Hank "The Beast"

 

Hank is a 1920 Chandler & Price New Series 12x18 Platen. He is our very first press, brought to our workshop from  Central Printing in North York. This machine is very, very good at what he does and mesmerizing to watch in action as we print our wedding invitations, stationery, and even shopping bags by hand. 

Fun fact! This style of press was advertised with a steam engine add-on in 1923. While ours now works on an electrical motor, it uses the original components from the steam setup. 

 

Otto "Doc Ock"

Otto hails from General Press in Scarborough. He is a Heidelberg 10x15 Windmill black ball from the 1930s. While he has the full ink assembly and capacity for print, his main role in the shop is diecutting custom shapes. He is part of a fleet of windmills that AKP utilizes for our projects on-house and offsite.

 

Mighty Bruce
 

Bruce is a lean, green printing machine - a 5x8 Kelsey Tabletop press. The newest addition to the workshop, he is completely hand operated and so easy to use that even a 4-year-old can do it!*
(NOTE: no 4-year-olds run this press, no matter how much she asks to do so.)

 

Samson

 

One half of the Sam & Max duo (shopcat refuses to be photographed), Samson loves having naps by the presses, checking the sturdiness of steel toe boots by stepping or sitting on them, and looking handsome as all get out to inspire us.

 

Alissa Sokolski

 

Alissa Sokolski is the owner and operator of Any Key Press. She hails from St. Petersburg, Russia, spent her childhood in Estonia, and has called Toronto home since the age of 9.
She began working in print in 2007 as a Copy Center Associate at a big box store in downtown Kingston, dedicating nearly 3 years to the position while completing her BA in Classics at Queen's University. Upon graduating and returning to Toronto,
 Alissa continued her career in the print industry, going from working in boutique print shops and as part of a design team back at the big box store, until moving on to work full-time in her own shop in 2013. 

From humble beginnings as a dabbler in illustration, Alissa has discovered a deep love for all things paper and print, focusing more and more on techniques and technologies of yesteryear. While Any Key Press does offer modern print solutions, the main focus is on utilizing antique printing presses, some over 100 years old, and working with veteran pressmen hailing from the golden age of print in order to preserve the art form for future generations.