Category: Letterpress for beginners
Later topic: noob question on illustrator files for die's
Earlier topic: name of emboss part for Heidelberg windmill

Any specific rag or towel for cleaning the press and roller?

Hi,

I am trying to get all the supplies before I start to print. Many people recommend California Wash or Veggie Oil+Simple Green. How about the rag? Any specific rag or towel for cleaning the press and roller?

Thanks!

Log in to reply   5 replies so far

As long as it is lint-free. I use old t-shirts and other cast-off clothes.

I use the yellow microfiber rags from Costco.

While I love teaching newbies what I’ve learned through the years….. it pains me to do so as long as you are thinking of using a veggie oil - simple green concoction for cleaning your rollers. Please reconsider.

While you are learning to print, you should take the advice of the more experienced printers, and learn to clean your rollers right. This means using an appropriate roller wash…. and not some of the alternative concoctions that you see posted on the Internet. Of all the e-mails I answer, about a fourth are related to using veggie-oil or some other inappropriate cleaner….. and then the newbie discovering that his or her rollers will not ink well, or have started breaking down. Save yourself the trouble, and use the right stuff.

First, learn to clean your rollers correctly with roller-wash and THEN start experimenting with alternative goops after you know what you need to achieve. IF you are concerned about solvent odors and so forth, then purchase some of the water-miscible roller washes on the market. Some of them are odor free, safe, and good to your rollers. If not, then use mineral spirits. But please…. stay away from veggie-oil concoctions.

About the rags…. I use Scott blue shop towels from the car parts store. They work well, and are lint free.

You can get a box of t-shirt scraps from most hardware or home improvement stores. Look in the painting section. One box should last quite some time. Expect to spend 10-20 dollars depending on the size of the box.

  • Lammy
  • on 13 Mar 09 (09:23)

For rollers and ink disks I use cotton rags. What I have currently I’ve gotten from the print shop I work for but most any rag from a hardware or auto store will work.

For washing type I use pieces of an old sheet. They are lint free and the weave is tight enough to not “catch” on any of the type.

This is what the press guys at the shop I work at have done for decades.