Help in NZ Reqd, Please - Re:Farley Letterpress 25, Croydon, England

Hello, We are artists in New Zealand, just starting out with our Farley Letterpress 25 (Deck 24 and a half inches wide x 42 and a half inches long), and are looking for any information, either on our press or about Farley in Croydon, England. Also any information on operational requirements and equipment we will need to acquire to run this press, we are mature novices and eager to learn. Thankyou.

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That is a nice little proofing press. You may want to try posting on the Vanderblog which covers discussions of all proof presses, not just Vandercooks.
http://vandercookpress.info/vanderblog

Thankyou for your comments and help. Appreciated. Xavier, New Zealand.

Hey Xavier, did you ever find any further information on your Farley? On a similar mission!

Cheers,
Rich

Having had a few minutes playing with one of these i can add it is a nice bit of kit ,not particularly strong but a good machine to print with if used as it should be ,with respect .
The quick lift calibrated lever for the cylinder height makes it quick and relatively simple for proofing all the random blocks you may have ,.

Oops .

Had one of these a long time ago, bought with redundancy money, along with Monotype plant!!! BUT well the usual score, To my eternal shame??? But did take a little on board, e.g. most of its life it was used to proof (galley proof) typeset ex Monotype Caster product, and for I know not what reason the proofing was nearly always done in the centre of the bed??? Consequently and eventually the impression roller took a beating dead centre (ish) and was not conducive for good impression beyond that, but it seems that Roller Recoverers/Reconditioners (at that time) could, within certain limits grind it back, to acceptable standard!!!>>>Plus as “time was of the essence” blah blah blah, because litho was crucifying us all, (and succeeded) sadly!!! the press got a good battering and frequently the Bump Stop springs at each end, broke on a regular basis, (normally no problem because they were ordered in @ 8 or 16 per time, but occasionally the system broke down, but still no problem!! The firm ran a Sulby Minor Binder, (precurser to/or poor substitute for Heidelberg, or Muller binding line) which just by chance, employed in one position at least, the same springs!!!>>Well of course, I felt obliged to repair the press whenever required, which meant fairly frequent visits to the bindery/finishing dept, “well One would, wouldnt One” apart from the Grouchy old Clicker, the others generally had nice 36 point (“) characteristics and didnt take snuff??>> “I rest my case Your Honour”

just got these out of a specification manual, if you google the patents they should give you more information about farley, if the pictures turn out too small i will try to put bigger one on but it would not upload original size.
John.

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