Printing Colour

The project is to print & play with the word "colour" using large wooden type. The largest letters (C & U) are about 38 cm tall. I don't have complete alphabets.

Once I've decided which size to use, I will draw the missing letters at the required size in Illustrator for use with a laser-cutter.
Wooden type was traditionally made from end-grain maple. I will need to decide whether to use wood (other than maple), MDF, lino or another material.
For printing, the beds of the 2 Vandercook proofing presses at UWE are too small to print the whole word. I can get 3 letters at a time on a Colombian press bed, or I could hand-burnish the letters.
I can split the word into 2 lines:

COL

OUR

I want to print on the same large sheet of paper, so need to investigate the largest paper sizes, or experiment with joining sheets together by sewing or folding (rather than just sticking).