Thanksgiving is over and now I am back in the swing of things. Today I recieved the Cranes Palette swatch book. Can I just say that the palette collection is simply fabulous! The colors are vibrant and best of all it is 100% cotton like Cranes Lettra so, it takes impressions beautifully. Even the presentation of the swatchbook is great (I cant help it, it’s the graphic designer in me). The palette collection has a 134# cover in a kid finish that seems to be the best for use on letterpress.

A while back I had ordered new rollers from NA Graphics. I haven’t had a chance to use them since my old rollers were still printing pretty well. Recently, my old rollers started to crap out on me so I decided to finally use my new rollers. So, what happens; I can’t get the trucks off my old rollers. I tried everything to get them off; put it in a vice, hammer it out, greased it up and nothing. So I ordered 4 delrin rollers trucks. Of course, I run into a problem with the trucks. The trucks are so slippery (delrin trucks are plastic), that they are not rolling on the rails. I did not have this problem with my old trucks since my old trucks were made of metal. So I post my problem to Letpress (I love this site) and get a reply within minutes. Daniel from The Arm NYC suggested I rough up the surface with a scotchbrite pad. How simple is that and why didn’t I think of it? I should have known, being a lover of shoes, whenever I get a new pair of high-heels, I always go outside and scuff up the bottoms so I don’t slip.

Thanks Daniel for the advice and to all the other people on Letpress who gave me advice on the roller trucks.

Today is the day I finally put some letterpress designs up on my products page!  So please indulge me and take a look at my hard work.

Please check back this weekend, I will be posting a small sampling of products (especially holiday cards) for purchase online.  Happy Letterpressing!

I think this is a question that does not have a definitive answer.  It’s all based on preference but after trying both types of plates I have found some pros and cons of both.  Lets start with photopolymer (pp).  If you have a design with fine lines (o.75 or less), the pp will not really hold a line that well.  Meaning if you intend for the line to be .5, once you print it it will turn into a .8 line.  That can really mess with ones design.  If you do not have fine details to your designs then you don’t have a problem.  Also, the sticky backing can be kind of a nuisance.  Either the pp slides or it is so sticky you cant get it off your base.  After repetitive pressing the pp can be quite tough to remove.  I have to say, since the pp is transparent, the registration is really a cinch.  That in itself may be the reason I might stick with the pp. 

Now the Magnesium.  Magnesuim will give you a crisp image at pretty much any resolution.  If you want a .25 line then that is what you shall get.  Also, (I might get some rebuttal to this) I feel I get a deeper impression with the magnesium plates although, Boxcar Press has addressed this problem by making a deep relief base as well as deep relief photopolymer (for more information regarding bases and plates read our post on Making your own base…).  Registration can be tough with the magnesium since they are mounted type high on wood and unlike pp it is not transparent.

I guess you might have to try both as well to see what you prefer to work with.  Happy letterpressing! 

I always wanted to know if there was a company out there making new table top presses. Recently, there has been a high demand for table top presses such as the C&P Pilot, Kelsey, Hohner, Sigwalt, Adana and the like. I know there is something nostalgic and sentimental with these old cast iron presses but, it would be kind of nice to have one that is sparkling and new and not to mention lighter. While searching the internet, I came across a company in Japan, who makes new Adana table top presses http://www.robundo.com/adana/news/018.html. I thought this was a beautiful machine and wanted to share it with other letterpress enthusiasts. (I think the price for this machine new is about $4000 US dollars).

Today was my “Christmas”, but instead of Santa bringing me packages it was the UPS delivery man.  I was so excited because now I am finally able to print.  I had received my rollers and california wash from NA Graphics www.nagraph.com/storefront.html and my 100% cotton Lettra paper from Cranes www.crane.com/CraneLettra/default.aspx.  In additon, I had received my ink from Kevin (the best ink guy ever!) at Superior www.superiorink.com/.  With all of this and the magnesium plates I had ordered last week from Hodgins Engraving, www.hodginsengraving.com, I am able to start my first run on the Chandler and Price.

     My First print on the C&P.

According to John Barrett of www.letterpressthings.com, I am running not walking. I have aquired 2 letterpresses within a one week period and I just filled out my application to exhibit at the National Stationery Show www.nationalstationeryshow.com in May 2008. John Barrett is another member of the letterpress community who was instrumental in getting me started. He has a great check list on his website about what you will need to get starting printing. Most of this stuff can be bought from him directly at his shop at 55 North Chicopee Street, Chicopee Massachussetts. Check out his open dates at www.letterpressthings.com/open_dates.htm. I just got a postcard from him announcing that he is having a Wood Type Sale October 20 and 21. He will have over 40 complete fonts and 100′s of “orphan” fonts which will be sold by weight. He also sells the machines so you should definately check it out.

Some pictures of my newly aquired presses.

My Chandler and Price Pilot.

My Poco No. 2.