Were always trying to come up with inventive ways to get a tight registration on multi color jobs.  I find it quite annoying to be constantly adjusting my gauge pins, moving the plate, taking apart the chase, adjusting furniture etc, etc, (you all know the drill).  The closest way I found was using transparencies which I wrote about in an earlier post Multicolor Registration, but we have something in the works that might be alot easier when using photopolymer plates. 

We are using something called a translation stage which consist of a base and a platform and the platform moves in extremely small and precise increments, I’m talking microns.  What we came up with is to mount a piece of .25 inch aluminum to the platform of a translation stage, thus making it ”type high” when a sticky back photopolymer plate is added. You can actually take the whole translation stage and lock that up in your chase.  When you need to make fine adjustments you need to turn the dial on the translation stage and you can move the platform right to left without ever adjusting your gauge pins.

When we finalize the details to this, I will be sure to share it with everyone.  In the meantime, if you have no idea what a translation stage is or what I’m talking about, here is a picture for your reference.  For those who have an idea of what I’m talking about, I would love to hear your ideas on this.  If anyone is interested in this please contact us at contact@dolcepress.com.

Gilding as defined in Wikipedia is the art of applying a thin layer of gold, simulated gold, or other metal to a surface. Products employed may be real gold leaf ranging in karats from 9 up to 24; imitation leaf–composition gold, Dutch metal leaf, aluminum leaf, copper leaf; variegated leaf, mica powders; etc.

Lately, I have been getting some requests for wedding invitaions edged in gold or silver.  Since this is quite new to me, I did some research online and this is what I came up with.  First, sandwich 100 (or however many) invitations together, using a book press or any 2 flat heavy objects.  Make sure you put a scrap piece of paper on top of the stack and one on the bottom.  Next, with a paint brush, brush glue to the edges of the paper. Once glue is applied, and almost dry I add the gold or silver leaf to the edges and lightly push down with a clean paint brush or some glassine paper if you have any.  Once dry,  remove the remaining leaf from the paper.

Here is an interesting video from Crane’s and about 4/5 way thorugh the video is a nice clip on how Crane’s creates gold edging to their paper. 

I have also heard of people painting or applying gold powder to the edges of the paper. If anyone else could share how they get gold edging on paper, that would be great!  I am always interested in learning new techniques. 

The title is pretty strange but as odd as it seems it’s very true.  I had some type that was cast “shallow” and when printing on really soft paper it was actually printing the lead as well as the type.  I know you all might be thinking ; I have to adjust my rails, I am over inking, etc etc, but that wasn’t the case because it just happened to be the letter “h” in this particular set of type (10 pt. Lydian and the defect in the type was obvious).  To solve this problem, I used a nail file to actually shave down the part of the lead that was uneven and it turned out to be a perfect solution (warning: be careful because it is easy to damage the type).  You can use sand paper, but I like the stiffness of a nail file and frankly I think it works a whole lot easier.  Plus nail files come in different diameters and shapes so im sure you can find the right one for the job.    Pictures below will show the print before and after the filing.

BEFORE FILING

 
AFTER FILING

**UPDATE 2009…Our minimum is now 200 business cards. Please email for current pricing**

We’re now offering special pricing on 1-color letterpress text only business cards printed on 100% white cotton paper (weight: 110#) in the following quantities:

50 cards – $50
100 cards – $80
200 cards – $130

Extras such as logos, custom artwork, or multiple colors can be added for an additional fee. Make sure to mention this post when you place your order. Please call (516-353-9284) or email for exact pricing. Shipping not included.

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We came across this scan of the original operating instructions and parts list for the Chandler & Price Pilot Press (New Style). While the Pilot and other tabletop presses are simple in design and operation as compared to other presses, the manual can be helpful is you are looking for missing parts or trying to assemble/disassemble the press.

The manual contains detailed instructions on the assembly of the Pilot and also how to set the press up to print. In addition, there are also several detailed schematics of the press that label every part with an identification number and name.

You can download the file here: C&P Pilot Manual

If you’ve got a Pilot, good luck with it, its a great machine! Even if you don’t have a Pilot, the manual is an interesting read.

I finally got around to sorting some of my pied type yesterday and noticed I had these cool vintage cuts in a box.  What I found interesting was that alot of them were company logos such as Chevrolet, Roebuck & Co. (before it became Sears), Beechnut, etc.  Here are a few from the box.

Update: You can now purchase DELTA Clean Max online at TersusDirect.com. More information is below.

Peter at Tersus Chemical had sent me some samples of their new product Delta Clean Max which is a press wash that has low Volatile Organic Compounds (V.O.C.s) and the scent is not as strong as most commerical blanket washes.

I was happy to get my small sample of Delta Clean Max the other day, and had some printing to do today so I figured I’d give it a try. Currently I am using Varn’s California Wash, which is another low V.O.C. wash. Below is a picture of the ink disk from my C&P Pilot. On the left I used California wash and on the right I used Delta Max wash. After directly applying the chemicals I wipped each side once. The Delta Max did a great job of removing the black ink and only a few more swipes removed the ink completely from the right side of the disk.

I can’t wait for the wash to be on the market, once I get more information from Peter about pricing and distribution I’ll be sure to post about it.

Update:  Tersus Chemical is now selling DELTA Clean Max online. For a limited time only, they are selling 1 pint containers for $8 plus shipping. In addition, when you purchase the pint size bottle, you also get a 10% discount on all subsequent orders of gallon quantities or more. They also plan to start selling a 1 gallon container beginning March 2008 for $28.