I think of letterpress printing as a type of relief printmaking, which is printing from a raised surface, including carved blocks. IMHO, it’s a letterpress print when printed from a press specifically made for letterpress, but the finished print doesn’t necessarily have to include type. So, a block printed on a C&P is a letterpress print, but the…[Read more]

I painted a very dirty, greasy 12×18 Oldstyle C&P years ago. I used mineral spirits followed by lacquer thinner.

I’m still in but I would prefer the later date as well. If we could get a final count, that would be helpful. Otherwise International shipping for me.

Manual for a CP Pilot here: http://letterpresscommons.com/original-press-manuals/

I agree with Kimberly. WD40 is good for friction points, but not as a cleaning agent.I have restored several presses. Taking it apart is not a bad thing at all. You can clean the pieces with a good degreaser like simple green or greased lightning. Use a fine steel wool with some of that 30 weight oil to buff off any rusted spots. If you need new…[Read more]

So, I did some more research and learned that WD 40 is NOT what to use.  We did not take the press apart, but cleaned every surface carefully with compressed air and soft cotton, and then oiled her thoroughly with 30 weight oil.  The press looks great! My husband is not willing to share his garage with me so we are creating an interim space for th…[Read more]

Hey Angela, Thank you for organizing this and fielding so many questions.   And I have another one for you:Do we have a final number of participants or will there be a cut off date for people to participate?  Any idea when we’ll have a final number?   I think I need to order more tags (because it’s 6 per participant, right?) and I would like to p…[Read more]

Thanks so much to you both. This information is thorough and super helpful.Thanks!

Ren I think we could do a later deadline – lets see what other feed back we get.Angela

Yes there is still space! we are still signing up!!We have changed to note cards & gift tags – the alphabet didnt have a large enough turn out to complete it at this time.Angela

Everyone will send there submissions to me (I will provide the address info later) and  I will send out to everyone after they are all in. We can do a later deadline than like June 15th if that will work for everyone??the only cost will be shipping back to you – which I will figure once we have the submissions and then you can paypal the money to…[Read more]

Absolutely, Barbara is right. We do consider the proof presses to be the be all and end of cylinders now a days because they are the more commonly acquired for small shops. I worked for two years in the Minneapolis College of Art and Design print shop we had a Vandercook 219 and I studied the year before on a SP15. I’ve never run any of the larger…[Read more]

Hi Ladies,Couple things I forgot and remembered as I was reading Danielle’s response; when speaking of cylinders, most people now think of a Vandercook or some other proof press, but cylinders typically (in the press room, not composing) were large stop-cylinder or two-revolution machines, virtually all mechanically fed after the late 1920’s.…[Read more]

I’ve printed on both for years. They have advantages and disadvantages. Here is what I think:C&P:- Far more dangerous, you can lose a finger or badly damage your hand if you ‘chase’ a fallen print- Smaller print area, you can’t print all the way to the edges of the platen- Probably best to use deep relief plates which cost more and curl a lot over…[Read more]

A lot it feels like. Though to be honest, I lose more mid run than at the beginning. It may take me about 10 prints per color to get it all ready (sometimes less, as few as 2-3), but inevitably midway through the inking gets off (a light or dark spot forms and packing needs adjusting or more ink is needed) or I misfeed every once and while (not…[Read more]

If you are just looking for the liner production, an idea would be to see with a local printer who make die-cutting. Also you could do it with letterpress presses that are equiped for this technique, just need the punch. If it’s for standard envelopes, you will be able to reuse it as often as needed !—sorry for my english, I’m french 😉

I’m interesting to know if it’s easy to do it myself… I’ve seen lot of projects with these beautiful edge foiling but no ways to do it without using a hot foil machine like this one : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viPyAEAZOEsDoes anyone already tried ?___sorry for my english, I’m french… 😉

Hi there – I would love to participate in the swap and would appreciate a slightly later deadline (even June 15). I am based in Canada – will that be a problem? Also, I’m a little confused about how it works. Based on what you’ve written above I assume we send as many sets as the number of people who sign up to you, and then you mail complete sets…[Read more]

Hi Jane,I like to dampen paper and do it the way I learned in a Japanese woodblock class.  I cut down a big sheet of chip board/binder board/davey board (thinner BB  works best and NOT the acid free which is reluctant to take up the water) into sizes larger than my printing papers.  Then I take the stack of binder board/davey board and dip each on…[Read more]

Count me in!  I can make the June 1 deadline but am happy to extend it as well.  I’m excited, but must warn you that my offering will be humble!Thanks,Joy Ragland