So you’ve finally got a press, you’ve taken it apart, cleaned it, put it back together, and are finally printing on it. So what’s next?

Lubrication. Why?

Well when any surface moves against another surface, friction is generated which leads to heat, noise, and most importantly mechanical wear. Over time excessive wear can and most likely will damage the part and damage the machine. The lubrication helps to reduce the friction and thus reduce or eliminate wear. Just like you change the oil in your car regularly, you also need to oil your press.

What kind of oil do you use?

There are a lot of types of oil and even more opinion on what oil is best for you press. The type of oil that you use will depend heavily on your press and more specifically the amount of moving parts, the speed at which the parts move, and the types of surfaces that are in contact. For simplicity, the two presses we are going to consider are the Pilot and the C&P OS, although these guidelines apply to any similar machine.

A friend of mine once told me that the most important aspect when it comes to oil is to simply use enough. The grade of the oil is not as important as some think, after all any oil is better than no oil. Conventional motor oil contains additives specifically designed for internal combustion engines and none of which are really needed for a printing press. Simply put, the more additives a motor oil has, the less oil there is. Since you only need the oil for lubricating the moving parts, the cheapest kind of non-detergent oil can be used on your press.

Typical oils you will find in an automotive shop have three classifications:

1. API Service Rating
2. Viscosity Grade
3. Energy Conserving Indicator

We are primarily concerned with the viscosity grade but if you want more information I suggest starting with this article (HowStuffWorks: “What does the weight mean on a can of motor oil?”). The viscosity grade (for example: 20W-50) is a measure of the oils viscosity (thickness) as measured in centistokes and converted to grade using a SAE weight designation chart. Commonly, viscosity is measured in terms of the time it takes a standard amount of fluid at a specific temperature to flow through a standard orifice. A thin oil has a low viscosity grade and flows easily like water, while a thick oil has a high grade and is more resistant to flow like honey.

The viscosity grade on most modern (multi weight) oils is actually two numbers since the addition of polymers to the oil allows the viscosity to change depending on temperature. The first number in the grade indicates the weight of the oil when cold, while the second number indicates the viscosity at the higher temperature. The polymers resist the oils tendency to thin out at high temperature by uncoiling and stretching out (at cooler temperatures the polymers prefer to be coiled up and reduce viscosity). This additive allows the viscosity to be maintained at the same level over a greater temperature range.

So getting back to what oil is best to use on your press. Thinner oil is better suited to tighter clearances or for use on an old machine that hasn’t been oiled for a while and whose bearings are clogged. When you first set up a press it is best to run a thin oil through all of the oil spots until it runs clear. Once the bearings are clean, you can replace the oil with a heavier weight like 20W-50 that we use on both of our C&Ps. The easiest way to oil each one of the many holes is to use a pistol grip oiler, available at any local automotive or hardware store.

In some instances, grease may be more appropriate for lubrication since it will stick to parts that are exposed or hang upside down like the pinion and large gear cam wheel that are on the right side of your press. Grease is just oil with thickening agent added to vastly increase its viscosity. You can find grease at any automotive or hardware store.

Where do I oil?

This is pretty straightforward and luckily C&P provided an oil chart with the press. Below are the pages scanned from the manual which show you all of the important parts of the press to oil.

One last important tip I was told by an experienced printer and teacher was to label all of the oil spots on the press using a bright paint like yellow or red and to oil the press by starting at one side and working around until you get back to where you started. You should oil your press by topping off all oil holes before printing each time and replenish all oil for every 8 hours of machine use, though this might vary depending on the type of oil you use and your climate.

Thanks to the Internet we get to work with people from across the world on a daily basis so when Julie from Six Chancery Lane based in Hong Kong contacted us to print business cards we were glad to hear that word of our letterpress craft had spread so far around the globe.

Here are some pictures of the card:

For more information, read our previous post on Letterpress Business Cards.

If you’re going to be in NYC May 18th-21st, please make sure to stop by booth #1955 at the National Stationery Show in the Javitz Center.

We get so happy when we receive new letterpress stuff, so when we got a new set of Kort Adjustable Quad Guides we had to take some pictures of them and share them with you. Printing in the shop has changed quite a bit over the past year. When we first started out, we used photo corners or paper flaps to hold paper on the tympan when printing. This can be a quick/cheap solution and can be useful if the design your printing has a bleed on multiple sides.

A while ago we switched to Megill Spring Tongue Gauge Pins (below). These gauge pins have adjustable tongues and attach to the tympan much like a paper clip. The pointed side is used to create a slit in the tympan to secure the gauge pin. Once secured, the gauge pin can be slid up/down or left/right to register the print properly on the paper. For most applications, the gauge pins will stay in place while printing however sealing wax can be melted around the gauge pin to secure it further to the tympan. Here are some pictures of the Megill Gauge Pins we use in the shop:

The new Quad Guides we got from John Barrett’s Letterpress Things are much higher quality and will be perfect for feeding heavier stock such as 220# Lettra. A set of three quad guides plus extra tongues cost $26 plus shipping. To attach a Kort Adjustable Guide to the tympan:

1. Use a make-ready knife (X-Acto knife) to cut a slit in the tympan 18 points below and parallel to the guide line.
2. Unlock the guide, grip it with your thumb and forefinger and squeeze together inserting the bottom of the guide on an angle into the slit in the tympan.
3. Slide the guide in as far as it will go and make a second slit at the rear of the guide. Insert the tip of the make-ready knife in the rear slit on the right side of the guide to open the slit. Slide the guide back so that the bottom steel base slips under the tympan and the front of the guide lines up with the guide line. To secure the guide, press the release lever down.The quad guide is firm enough to feed light stock to 10-ply board without slipping.No sealing wax is needed to secure the guide to the tympan.

Here are some pictures of the quad guides and the packaging:

Since these guides are much more expensive than the Megill Gauge Pins, you want to be extra careful not to smash the guide against your plate, base, or gripper bars. If you have any question about these guides/gauge pins, please feel free to ask.

Even after carefully storing your photpolymer plates, you still get a few that stiffen up and curl on you. The solution to this is to dampen a paper towel and place it in a zip lock bag with the photopolymer plate that needs to be flatened. Leave the plate and the paper towel in the sealed zip lock for approx 20-30 mins. If you leave it in too long, it will start to curl the other way. If that happens, simply take the photopolymer out of the plastic bag and let sit out for a bit.

Here are a few nice examples of business cards we printed recently. These cards were printed with hand set type or custom magnesium plates using both stock and custom mixed inks on 110# 100% cotton paper. The double-sided card was printed with a kiss impression on the back to minimize push through.

If you’re interested in placing a business card order, please email (contact@dolcepress.com) or call us with the details of the card (size, number of colors, quantity, and any other specifics) as well as the design in Illustrator, PDF, or JPEG format. We can also work with you to fine tune your design or create a logo and layout from scratch that will accentuate the beauty of letterpress printing.

If you’re wondering if letterpress is right for you, give us a call and we can discuss all of the ins and outs of letterpress printing and how it can give your project a unique look and feel.

I thought everyone would enjoy this printing related comic strip by John Forgetta and L. A. Rose.

This comic strip from April 2nd, 2008 can be found here.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a posting for a Sigwalt Ideal #5 which is a tabletop press similar to a pilot. I love my pilot but, what I really like about the Sigwalt is that the platen has open sides so there isn’t a paper size restriction as on the pilot. This also makes it easy to add and remove packing without prying the bars open. The press is also in great condition, with all visible gold painted embellishments. There are several tabletop Sigwalts in the “Ideal” series and can get confusing to which one you might have so I have compiled a list that will help you. The Sigwalt company made presses from the 1900’s to around 1962.

Ideal No. 2, 3×5
Ideal No. 3, 4×6 (60lbs)
Ideal No. 4, 5×7.5 (90lbs)
Ideal No. 5, 6×9 (125lbs)

I wasn’t able to take a picture of my new press but as soon as I do, I will be sure to post it. In the meantime, here is a “stand in” picture from Oriscus.

 A few days ago, I did a post Are you getting Married which showed the new wedding invitation designs available at Dolce Press.  I since then, had ordered the plates and printed some samples and they came out great.  It’s always nice to see the whole process from conception to design to the final print. If anyone is interested in samples please feel free to contact us.  Hope you all are enjoying the Blog. 

I’m always looking online for letterpress equipment for sale.  I think it’s a sickness all letterpress printers have.  I was searching my local Craigslist, and happened to find this book press listed for $200.  Since I don’t “need” a book press, I just let it go and did not purchase it.  A week later, it was listed at $50 (the man selling it was moving out of the country and didn’t want to ship it, who can blame him?) and at that price who can say no?  I definitely could not so, to my collection I now have a book press.  This will come in handy when I am gilding.

First, I’d like to apologize for the lack of posts lately. We have been busy printing all week long and I can honestly say that this is the first time this week that the presses have had a chance to rest. If things keep going this way we might have to acquire another press. Who can resist buying more letterpress equipment? I sure can’t!

Here are pictures of some of the business cards that were printed this week.

Due to the overwhelming response to our letterpress business card sale, we have decided to extend the sale. We have really enjoyed delivering affordable quality letterpress cards to everyone who placed their order. While the sale covers 1-color text only letterpress cards, custom plates and multiple colors can be added for an additional fee. Samples are always available upon request.

If you have questions about the sale or would like to place an order, please email or call (516-353-9284) us.