C&P old style vs new

what is the significant different between the 2 presses? does one print better than the other? is the older style worth more to purchase? Can you still get parts for it? eg. trucks and rollers etc?

Thank you in advance,

Meaghan

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The castings used on the Old Series press are more ornate — for instance, the spokes of the flywheel are curved, whereas the New Series flywheel spokes are straight. The Old Series presses are less “industrial” looking, more decorative, and tend to bring more money, especially those that still have their foot treadles. I don’t know if there is any difference in the rollers and trucks used on the two models — I doubt it. NA Graphics has everything you might need.

The most visible difference is that the OS (old series), introduced in 1886, has soft curved flywheel spokes while on the NS, introduced in 1911, the spokes are straight. They both are capable of printing well. But, small improvements were made over the years, so I would look for as late a model NS as possible – latest features, less wear etc. Finding one with a Kluge feeder would allow you to hand feed or auto feed. With the Kluge feeder you can have zero or minus left margin, and bleed left as well as right. Yes, trucks and rollers are readily available.

The New Series C&P is a bit more robust, but isn’t as cute as an Old Style. Regardless of the age of the press you should take care to make sure that it isn’t really worn out. Checking for wear in places like the inside of the roller hooks can give an easy indication of how much use a press has seen and whether it was kept properly oiled.

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY