Blind pressing for small business cards: Question

First, I want to say this is such a wonderful website and forum. I’ve been lurking off and on here for years.

My question is would anyone have any advice about which is an economical/”correct”/best practices way achieve the blind press effect on a small business card (600 gsm cotton)?

I’ve considered just using my wood shop skills and rigging a vice but I would like something more purpose built and efficient if possible. Is there an ideal, smallish, quicker, perhaps lever operated, type of device or specific device for this scenario (perhaps also suited for small medium sizes) where inking isn’t needed (so not necessarily a letter press)? Or is a table top letterpress still the way to go here even though I won’t be inking?

Not looking for the embossed effect either, just a reliable indent that does not distort the opposite side of the paper (doable on 600gsm cotton from what I understand).

I apologize for any incorrect use of terms or errors in understandings. I differ to people here with any experience.

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When I was young my Dad printed Christmas cards from a linoleum block mounted on a flange on small pipe and chucked up in his drill press. He used the quill feed for impression. (I don’t remember how he maintained square and register, though.) If you had a similar way to mount a wood-mounted mag or PP plate of the image on your drill press that would probably do the trick.

Bob

Thats not a bad idea. I’m still hoping for a more elegant solution that could be in my office studio and not workshop though.

Thanks for the reply and thoughts Bob.

The words that are about to come out of my mouth will be considered sacrilegious….but have you tried the L Letterpress? Yes…it is a plastic, fake flatbed press…but for blind impressions of small runs….it actually doesn’t work bad at all. [enter firing squad] Here’s the truth, its a scrapbookers die cutter, paired with two pieces of plexi-glass on a hinge that you mount your plate to one side, and your paper to the other, sandwich them together, and running them thru this plastic machine with two rollers in it. I would never print anything with ink, but it actually gives a damn good blind impression with even pressure. I blind printed a pattern on the backs of a 5x7 invitation suite, and it gave me a deep crisp impression. For your situation, it honestly sounds like it might work perfectly. http://lifestylecrafts.com/epic-6-tool-letterpress-combo.html . You can now all shoot me.

“You can now all shoot me.”

Oh no. I save all my ammo for those who break up perfectly good fonts of wood type to try and sell single characters on eBay.

Whatever works I say !