Homemade Press Troubleshooting

I am trying to learn how to make invitations and not go bankrupt in the process. I created a letterpress similar to the guy on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pTri90JoE, but much smaller and it uses moveable type from M & H Type Foundry.

Now the type cost so much money that I thought I would experiment with cheaper alternatives before investing in extremely expensive papers or inks.

I’ve tried SpeedballOil Based Block Print Ink straight out of the tube, then tried thinning it with linseed oil I had from a painting class.

I have a hard rubber brayer.

And the papers I’ve tried are basic craft cardstock, watercolor paper, calligraphy parchment paper, pastel paper, and index cards.

The problems with all of these is that I get very extreme variants of registration (I hope I’m using that term correctly). Sometimes all of the letters are blotchy and look bold, then other times, the letters in the middle of a word don’t show up on the imprint.

In your opinions, what should I replace? Should I scrap the homemade press and get a vintage one, but use these other papers and ink? Do you think the ink and/or papers are the problem(s)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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I haven’t looked at the link, but use a soft rubber brayer, and different ink. Dave Robison on this list sells printing ink in tubes. Also, adding linseed oil may slow down the drying of the ink, and smearing can result.

The Speedball Block Printing inks are much too low in viscosity for good detail rendition with letterpress using metal type. I use them occasionally for touching up a color or for thinning other inks a bit, but from my experience you won’t get good typographic reproduction with them. I use various inks, but they all are very paste-like and have greater viscosity than the Speedball Inks. The ink change would be good place to start. Try Dave Robison’s ink or buy some from NA graphics or similar graphic arts supply house.

The impression problem may be uneven surface under the paper, or simply not enough pressure evenly distributed using the press you have.

I’d say start with the ink and go from there.

Um, it’s a homemade press people. Why not start there?

Gerald
http://BielerPress.blogspot.com

uummm oh horse-hockey! There is nothing intrinsically wrong with home-made presses. I won two prizes in London this last year with work from a home-made wooden press, handset type, traditional oil-based inks, and hand-bound using a wooden press and plough. (If you know fine printing, certainly you know that London is probably the most quality conscious competition in the world.) Also, a friend of mine’s work was recently featured in a special show at the Fine Arts Museum of the South… and every piece was produced on a home-made wooden press.

It is not the machine that produces the quality, but the man who operates it.

Like ALL presses, even your vaulted Vandercooks, a home-made press takes a bit of time to learn to use, and depends on proper set-up. Until you take the time to learn your press, and how to set it up, the results will be less than optimal.

Kkor…. I haven’t watched the You-Tube video, so I can’t comment on your particular press, but reading your post you probably have three problems going: uneven set-up with your type, inconsistent inking, and papers that are not best suited to your work. (I’m assuming it’s a platen press, since most of the current crop of home-made presses are platen machines.)

You can’t solve these problems all at once. Instead I’d approach them in a step by step manner…. like this:

First, I’d make sure that your forme is set perfectly flat, and that the type is not moving around in the chase. Set a ruler across the type, and look for any high or low letters. If you find high type, then you must loosen the quions, plane down the letters with a block, and then retighten the quoins. If you have low letters, then build up under them with paper or tape. This is common make-ready for handset type….. you have to do this no matter what kind of press you are using. Do this VERY carefully, as it is critical for good printing.

Next… make sure that the letters are not moving at all. If they are, then it will not print well. You might have to re-set your furniture a few times before you get it set so it will stay tight. Again, this is a function of handset type, not of a home-made press.

Now look at your press’s platen and tympan set up. It MUST contact the forme square and even across the entire type area. If it doesn’t, it won’t print right. To correct this, you need to adjust your platen somehow. If it’s not adjustable, you’ll have to build up under the tympan with paper until it evenly contacts the type. This CAN be a function of it being a home-made press….. but it’s not a big deal.

Now that your type is right, look at your inking. First, ditch the hard rubber brayer. Get a medium soft Speedball rubber one. It’ll cover your type much better, and make your life easier. Also make sure thta your inking slab is really flat. You’d be amazed at how many problems that a bowed or pitted slab will cause. I use a piece of glass for a slab.

While inking, make sure that you do not use too much ink. Just put a pea-sized dot onto your slab, and roll it to a smooth layer. If it makes a pronounced “sizzle” sound as you roll it, you probably have too much. After a few days, you’ll know the right amount.

Speedball oil based ink should work fine for what you are doing. Heavier inks like rubber-based are hard for a newbie to master hand-inking with. I wouldn’t try thinning it, either….. it should work fine right from the tube. It’s not great ink, but it’s not the cause of your problems. (Don’t use the water-based, though. It’s not suitable at all)

Now…. about your paper: it’s probably too hard. Most home-made presses have limited pressure available, so hard papers should be avoided since they take more pressure to make a good conforming contact with the type….. and poor set-ups make the problem worse. That’s the reason most newbies use Crane’s Lettra: it’s very soft, and thus forgiving of less than optimal set-ups.

Go to your local art supply house, and buy a few sheets of Canson’s Edition, or some other softer paper…. or buy some Crane’s “Resume Paper” at office depot. It doesn’t matter which brand of paper you use, as long as it’s smooth and soft.

The other thing you can do to improve the quality with on presses with lower pressures, is to dampen the paper slightly. There are a number of posts here on Briar Press about the technique. What it does is to soften the paper slightly so it will make better contact with the forme. I dampen most of the paper that I use on handpresses, and it makes a BIG difference.

If you do the above items, then your quality should go up dramatically.

Finally, don’t get discouraged. Not matter WHAT press you start out on, you’ll have problems at first. Contrary to what some folks will tell you, the most important part of printing is not the press, or the ink, or the paper. Actually, you don’t even have to use a press. I’ve seen some quite beautiful work that was done using a hand-baren on metal type. The most important part of printing is YOU….. and how carefully you go about your work.