Anyone know about Lutz table top proof press?

I am looking at a Lutz table top proof press for purchase, and am trying to get a little information on it. I will be printing cards and posters for an artspace, and in the future want to do small runs of poetry books. I want to know if this would be a good starter press to do these tasks. I have had a hard time tracking down info on this model.

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I have been collecting and using type and presses for over 30 years, but I am totally unfamiliar with a Lutz table top proof press. I don’t think I have ever seen or heard of one. If you could post a picture of the critter, people would be in a much better position to offer you advice as to what its capabilities might be. Proof presses can run the gamut as far as their capabilities are concerned.

Rick

Just noticed your request for information. I think the Lutz proof press you are referring to is an Atlantic Proof Press. There is a short description on the Vandercook website [http://vandercookpress.info/atlantic.html] that will give you a bit of background. I have some additional instructions I received from Grant Wilkins of Grunge Papers Press that I can provide if you are interested.

The Atlantic is a basic tabletop flatbed proof press available in three sizes [14 x 18, 17 x 23, and 20 x 27) designated KAS21, KAS22, and KAS23. The form sizes are a half inch narrower than the paper size. The press weigh in the 200lb range, so it is transportable by a couple of people with strong backs. They were made in Germany in the early 1960s and distributed in the US by the Lutz Machinery Corp [60 Bayard St, Brooklyn, NY11222; telephone 212.388.4244], which is where the Lutz designation came from.

You manually move the feed table back and forth, so initial inking requires a bit of work.. The controls are simple with three settings: INK, FREE and PRINT. The Atlantic is adjustable to print your form from a galley or off the bed and has a simple, but accurate adjustment guage.

The Atlantic may not have all the bells and whistles of a Vandercook, but if the price is right and you are not interested in high volumes, it is a a good press. SHQ