B.Grauel & Co. Model R1-H

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My guess would be that it is an inkmaker’s offset proof press. The ink disc is self-explanatory. The two smaller blue rollers are the form rollers. The form rollers ink the plate which is the lighter colored piece between the two smaller blue rollers and the larger blue roller. The plate would be a relief plate (i.e. a letterpress plate). The larger blue roller is what would be the blanket cylinder in an offset litho press (but this is not a litho press because there is no dampening system). The square platform to the right of the larger blue cylinder is where the substrate (paper) which you are printing on, would be placed.

In operation, a piece of paper would be attached to the square platform first. As the carriage is moved to the left, the form rollers pick up ink from the ink disc. When the carriage is moved to the right, the form rollers ink the plate. When the carriage is moved to the left again, the image from the plate is transferred to the larger blue roller. When the carriage is moved to the right again, the image from the large blue roller is transferred (or “offset”) to the paper. And so on, and so on.

When the inkmakers use this press, the plate is usually mostly a solid, because their purpose is to show customers what the ink color looks like. They may have their name and/or other images engraved into the plate, however. The ink makers probably place a measured amount of ink on the ink disc, so that the color will be repeatable, and correlated to the ink film thickness which a customer’s offset press would use.

Basically, this an offset letterpress, because the image is “offset” onto the larger blue roller before it is transferred to the paper. Because of this, the image would have to be right reading rather than wrong reading. Also, it would not be possible to get a deep impression (or any impression), because you would be transferring the image to the paper from the flat surface of the larger blue roller.

I think there might be a way that the larger blue roller can be taken “off impression,” but I’m not sure. It may even come off impression automatically, and only go “on” impression when the carriage goes in one direction, so the image is only transferred to the large blue cylinder when the carriage is going in one direction. This would be to eliminate the chance that the image would be transferred from the plate to the blue cylinder in a different place when the carriage was going in two different directions, due to play in the gear system, which could cause a blurred image.

Geoff- That machine is indeed an offset lettrepress. It’s the second one I’ve seen for sale in the last few years. They are quite well-made machines, used for a variety of purposes…. one of which is ink testing.

If you look at the photos, you’ll see that there is a trip that allows you to take the blanket off of impression.

Thanks, Winking Cat Press, for your further information on this press, and clarification of some points which I did not have knowledge of. Regards, Geoff

Thanks folks. I was able to gather some further information from the USA distributor of the press. It was made in 1966 and was used for marking gauges and dials in an industrial setting. We have been able to modify it to do small block prints.

Winking Cat - where did you see the other one you mentioned?