Dear colleagues, I need your help. Vandercook drawings.

Good day, I really need help in a big project.

I am an engineer and letterpress my passion. But since I live in Moscow so it does not seem possible to buy the proof press like Vandercook 4 or SP-15, including for financial reasons.
So I’ve started developing my own press and I want to build it on the base of Vandercook ones.
But the information I could find on these presses is very poor and it’s not quite enough.
In particular, I could not find any really useful drawings on them. (except some on boxcarpress.com)

If you have any drawing documentation, manuals etc. I would be very grateful if you can share it with me.
Also I open for any effective cooperation on this project.

I am fully committed to success at this project and I promise that a minimal of gratitude will be engraving of the names of all people who have been very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Mika Raiph

If you have documentation in the files (pdf, drw, doc, ..) you can send it directly to my mail: mikaraiph at gmail.com

Log in to reply   5 replies so far

It is my understanding that Fritz Klinke at NA Graphics actually owns the rights to all things Vandercook. I believe he bought the company from Hal Sterne after Hal had purchased the name and rights when the original Vandercook company was folded.

If you want the drawings you’d likely have to purchase them from Fritz. I imagine he spent a fair amount of money to acquire the Vandercook name and rights and is now, understandably, trying to make some of that back by selling and fabricating parts based on the blueprints he has.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Brad.

Mika

Have you tried searching Google patents? There are a number of older versions of patents for Vandercooks and a few other presses from pre-1960 or so. Although they are not the most up-to-date, they include nice drawings and detailed descriptions. Since you are an engineer they shouldn’t be as cryptic to you as they are to me. Желаю Вам всего хорошего!

Denis

From what I gather, Fritz could potentially produce a new press. That would obviously fall in the big bucks. But theoretically it could be achieved.
That would be swell, wouldn’t it?
A brand new SP-15 or some press of the sort.

Mika,

rather than trying to re-invent the wheel by building a new Vandercook press, my advice would be to try and find a secondhand proofpress in Germany, put it on a pallet and transport it back to Moscow! I reckon it would be a cheaper and more rapid option. Unless, of course, you are keen to build a press.

Thank you my friends.

Brad, I will try to write to Fritz with request to sell me some of drawings and then write back here his answer.

Denis, thank you for your great advice, shame on me that I didn’t guess about it by myself.:)

Enrique, I think it would be swell! We’ll see what Fritz answers.

Thomas, your idea is very reasonable but it associated with couple of troubles. When I have made a rough calculation I became very sad. Price of the press and it transportation to Moscow isn’t all. I need certificate of origin for customs office and this certificate must confirm that this isn’t offset press or another printing industry press for massprinting. With this certificate it will be only 18% of taxes (from value of press plus it’s delivery). Without this certificate it will be 48% of taxes! Thank you anyway.

I’m still open for any other advices.)

Yours truly,
Mika