La Platine is an artisanal print shop based in Marseille, founded nearly 25 years ago by Odile Coulange . A traditional, old-fashioned print shop, a craftsman's art where digital technology has never had a place, thanks to its creator. A print shop where the smell of ink is king, where the clatter of machines fills the space and where the materials used must be of the highest quality. A small print shop with two employees, which had to close its doors overnight.
The print shop's clientele is made up of private individuals and professionals, but above all artists. Art prints are the showcase of this small business, with notably the Dernier Cri editions, a house specializing in singular art. In recognition of its expertise, Imprimerie La Platine was awarded the Artisan d'Art label in 2017. Odile Coulange launches an art association in 2018 and integrates into his studio a space for exhibiting his work, a space where, thanks to Piergiuseppe Molinar's quadrifluox process, prints of works by Elvisdead, Alfons ALT, Pakito Bolino and many others are illuminated and sublimated.
La Platine's patron disappears...
In 2020, Odile Coulange told us: "Today we have work to do, but we don't know what tomorrow will bring." Two years ago, in order to preserve the know-how and heritage of the printing works, Odile saw only one solution: to transform La Platine into an association, but her status as Artisan d'Art was not enough for the municipality, which advised her to find a patron. The latter was found. For the next two years, the printing works continued to operate. The association's future public is there, and Odile has done her utmost to attract it, in particular by capturing the interest of young people through workshops and visits.
In March, a month ago, the patron unexpectedly withdrew his support for the association's project. This was the end of Imprimerie La Platine, which without this investor could not meet its debts. Odile Coulange decided to turn the page and announced on social networks "La Platine is dead. Everything is for sale" . The Ofmi Garamont platens, the Kord and KSB presses from Heidelberg, which she recognized by the sound of the clattering, and all the rest of the equipment are now looking for their future owners...
