Showcard Impression Roller

I need to find a source that can refurbish the hard plastic impression roller on a Showcard Press. The one I picked up has cracks. Anyone, ever replace one of these?

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This seems to be stumping people. I’ve received some feed back from other inquiries. But I’m very interested to see if anyone here has been through this process.Hope someone can shed some light. Really hope this project doesn’t end up a boat anchor. Here is a pic.

image: Showcard Cracked Roller

Showcard Cracked Roller

Depending on the size and material of your roller, Ramco out of San Dimas might be able recover it. I’m in the same boat as you - looking to recover a 4” x 30” roller from a big old Showcard that has a bunch of cracking. I’m considering midamericanrubber.com since they’re fairly local to me, but I probably won’t get around to doing it until next spring sometime. The first obstacle is getting the roller out of the press…

What about just wrapping it in tympan? From what I remember using a showcard, it wasn’t imperative to have super smooth evenness on the cylinder. I remember we used red press board directly on the back of the paper/type to disperse the pressure. You could maybe try sanding down some of the bumpy parts or filling in the cracks with epoxy in the meantime and then wrapping it in tympan paper to try and even it out.

I suppose it depends how light of an impression you want. If you need really smooth light impression my method may not work.

I should mention the prints we did on the showcard didn’t require too much accuracy, they were a bit more free form and many were done with very beat up type.

izzomac, I hope your Showcard doesn’t end up a boat anchor. If it does, you could first sell me one cover plate assembly mechanism that attaches to the impression roller. One of mine had been shattered when I bought my model MA 350 Showcard press. I need an assembly that matches the photo below, if anyone has one for sale. I believe these are interchangeable and one from either side of a press would fit.

image: IMG_0904.jpg

IMG_0904.jpg