Hi Tiffany! I realize this is months late….but I figured I’d share.

I did purchase new rollers. That was probably 80% of the problem. I’ve made notes on certain types of fonts that are causing me problems too. After I put in my new rollers, I’ve had to adjust the roller height a good bit, so clearly, the old rollers were pretty worn. I’m still getting some unevenness at times, but I think it’s partly the design, partly the limitations of my press.

…and thanks for the props on the 4 color run. Those were fun!! =))

I use Legion most of the time. They are pretty great and the most affordable I’ve found, for most papers at least. 

Paperworks just started offering precut papers for Crane Lettra. Every once in a while, I’ll come across one or two pieces with the cutter’s indention, but rare.

I have a deep relief base / K152 plates. I don’t have a roller gauge or platen leveling tool (not any that are made for letterpress), but I certainly need to invest in such.

I’ve adjusted my platen a couple of times. What doesn’t make since to me is that I pressed a piece yesterday and it looks perfect. It was a smaller area, so perhaps the longer lines of type/plate are in fact getting inked by a less worn place of the rollers. When I run the plate with no ink, the impression seems fine, so it’s got to be the rollers!

I’ve tried running the plates both parallel and perpendicular to the rollers and I get the same result. 

I uploaded some photos to the last reply (a bad one and a good one). 

Thanks for your help!

I acquired my press about two years ago and have never purchased new rolllers. I can’t see any physical wear on the rollers, but that doesn’t mean anything!

When I purchased the press, the rollers were about 1-3 years old; I’m not positive actually. I’ve printed a LOT for this little press over the last couple of years, so that could very well be the problem. Here’s a photo of what’s happening. It’s not a great photo (iphone), but as you can see, there is an overall unevenness, but particularly, the edges are over inked, where the middle is lighter. The second image I uploaded seems fine. I pressed that piece yesterday. I know certain designs press better than others. Do you think it’s that script font? I’ve used that script font before and had a similar issue. The piece was also the same size and layout as the problem file, so maybe it’s just a coincidence. 

Thank you for replying!! 

That’s a good idea to designate type for both letterpress and foil stamping. I would imagine putting any wood mount into a hot foil press would not be smart. ^_^

I LOVE the medium and think it’s absolutely beautiful. I’ve read a bit about foil and letterpress and it appears to be a lot of labor when investing in a hot foil stamp such as the Kingsley seems worth it in the end.

Thanks for your reply!

OH WOW. I love how things just work out when they’re supposed to! 

OHHH this makes me happy. I looked at the facebook page you sent me at least 100 times. =))

I have a small collection of type but would love to invest in some fresh type! I can imagine how nice it is to not have to change out random letterpress because the “o” is smushed or something!

Do you know if the magnesium or brass dies are inexpensive? …such as getting a plate made with boxcar press for letterpress? I’ll have to do some research! 

I can’t wait to get started! Thanks for your help.

OHHH that’s a lovely hot foil machine! So you just use regular set type? I absolutely love the way it turns out on paper!! I wonder if you can get dies made for this type of machine. 

Thanks for your response. I’ll be looking into a Kingsley. I’ve heard the name before. Hopefully I can find what I’m looking for! 

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