Choosing Rollers, Paint, and Paper for Kelsey 5x8

Hey everyone! I have been getting my machine all cleaned up and organizing my newly purchased and sorted type and am looking to order rollers, paint and paper today. I guess i want some guidance as to where I can get high quality rollers for my Kelsey Model P. I also want to know what kind of paint that I should use for normal daily printing, as I learn. Are there better paints if I am using smaller point type (around 4-6pt)? The reason I ask is because I have a great desire to properly learn and then hopefully excel in type setting. I also have a similar question for paper choice. I know that because of the machine I am using, I am not going to get the deepest of impressions, but as far as paper is concerned, is there anything I can choose that may be a bit better at taking the impression a bit better? I am also interested if anyone has some good sources for these goods as from what I see, there are not that many options unless I already know, or were directed to a company online. Please help! :-D

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To save yourself from ridicule, printing happens with ink rather than paint, unless you are printing from woodblocks in the Japanese style. A Kelsey is not designed for giving a deep impression, nor are other presses except for embossing and hydraulic die stamping presses. I knew an elderly man who printed with Kelsey presses and actually broke the frame of a 6” x 10” by just overloading a form. You have three choices for ink - oil-based, rubber-based or soy-based. Please refer to the archives for discussions of the properties of each. The use of paper is determined by the job you are printing, as no one paper is right for every situation. You have choices between hand-made, mould-made and machine made. You should seek out samples of each; many of these papers are available online. For higher quality mould-mades I refer you to a swatch book that is sold by TALAS in New York City. You might want to talk to a local printer to find out where paper can be bought locally, and it is good to develop a relationship with someone who has a large paper cutter. For supplies related to the presses and typesetting NA Graphics in Silverton, Colorado is your best bet. If you would share where you are located, I’m sure other printers are in your area and could give you some good local tips.

Paul

Paul-

Thank you so much! Yes I know I am not going to get the deepest impressions from this machine, but I am just trying to optimize my results. Sorry about the terminology confusion as well. My main line of business is high volume commercial screen printing. Using the word paint just came as second nature to me. Thanks for the paper advice and the NA Graphics tip, I have been hearing more and more good things about the quality of their equipment. Gives me a greats taring point to start listing and comparing my options. Thank you again!

- Yasir

PS…I am in East Brunswick, NJ which is in central New Jersey.

in new jersey you have excelsior press, alan has a rather large collection of presses, type, ludlow and linotype, he gives lessons. look in the yellow pages on this site. good luck dick g.

Thanks Richard! You saved me again! I should just call you straight away when I have a question! Frenchtown is pretty far from me though, and I want to establish a solid base before I pay for lessons as I want to make best use of my time, and money asking questions that might arise after I start printing. I hope you are doing well! Take care :-)

when i first started printing my mother wanted to work with me, so we both learned together, we printed for about 20 years together. she always called the ink PAINT. dick g.

Haha well then I am in good company with the terminology. Can’t argue with mom can ya? :-D