Speedball Professional Relief Ink
Hi, have some Speedball Professional Relief Ink, and I’ve been trying to run my letterpress on it.
It seems not really tacky enough and the transfer to paper is pretty crap, especially on a smaller font.
Is this just terrible ink? I have some Lawson I am going to try once my guides show up (sick of stickying to my tympan).
My type is all in good shape, all type height, locked into chase firmly and upright (leaves a good impression in the paper stock on all letters, full faced, not angle).
So I can’t figure anything else out as the issue (yes I have tympan, backing, decent rollers). I have narrowed it down to Paper (maybe coated?) or to bad ink for this usage. I can’t think of anything else.
I haven’t tried the Speedball ink. I would recommend Vanson oil based ink the Oldham Group ink.
Sorry, Vanson is the other I have gotten, not Lawson (my brain got mixed up).
So that’s superior?
Years ago, we used Speedball water cleanup ink at the museum where I volunteer and it didn’t work well. When you say the transfer to paper is pretty crap, the printing industry term is that it has poor printability, which it did in our case. It also piled on the brayer roller which we used, which means the ink tends to build up on the roller rather than transferring to the plate, and to the paper, efficiently.
You will find that your Van Son ink will work much, much, much better!
With the Van Son ink, start with just a small amount, and add ink slowly, until the print looks good. If your 3rd or 4th prints are already very dark, you might be starting out with too much ink.
Yes, the Vonson ink is MUCH better. Too bad it’s only in black for letterpress.
Follow up on that, I have neoprene rollers and they get god awful sticky when cleaning up after a run using Alcohol. Any better things to use?
Robert: I use Varn A-230 wash. It is made for all types of roller materials including synthetic. It is expensive but a 5 gallon pail will last you a long time. And, if it saves you from having your rollers recovered one time, it will pay for itself. That is my experience with it, but of course I can’t be 100% sure that it will work for you.
https://stargraphicsupplies.com/ic/varn-free-shipping/varn-a-230-press-w...
Duplicate post, disregard.
Thanks!