Back At It

You know you're you're done with your website if...a) you can spend all day printing and b) you can write 2 blog posts in 2 days. Woohoo! So, I think I realized that the last time I actually ran a big print job really was several months ago. I was trying to improve upon some business cards I had printed on the Pilot, but the big C&P was giving me quite a bit of inking agida. Many of you, loyal readers, wrote in with suggestions for how I could fix the mysterious inking issues. Even though before I had time to adequately respond to you I was sucked into the time vortex that was my website, I truly appreciated all your ideas. The truth is, I was so frustrated almost to the point of tears that I think part of what I needed was a big break.

When I went back in yesterday to print the corrugated postcards, I initially had some of the same problems I did a few months ago. Mysterious uneven vertical inking, sometimes even leaving out whole spots in the middle of the plate:


Weird, right? The only thing I've been able to determine so far is that how the base is sitting in the chase seems to be affecting inking. I'm not sure if my Chase is a little uneven (as I'm pretty sure is the case with my Pilot) or the surface I'm using to lockup isn't completely flat, but I seem to be able to achieve some success by gently knocking various corners around once locked up, to compensate for the uneven inking. Whatever I did seemed to work for the moment, which THRILLED me. I mixed up a nice deep orange color for the cards (appropriate, given the date), using some of my Van Son VS Zero Ink for the first time. I was disappointed to find out, earlier this year, that the VS Zero (zero volitle organic compounds) ink would only be released in CMYK colors instead of Pantone mixing colors. I went ahead and ordered some anyway, though, figuring I would eventually get up the courage to put my preschool color mixing knowledge to the test.

So, these tubs I have are HUGE. I think 10 pounds each. When I finally cracked them open today, the ink looked a little runny. I was concerned that I'd have a similar spoogy effect that the Braden Sutphin Earth Pride ink was giving me a few months back, but actually once it was on press it was a little on the tacky side. It printed very nicely on the corrugated, and eventually came off the press with just vegetable oil. Overall, I'm really pleased with how the VS Zero performed. The only thing that's vexing me a bit is that now, 24 hours later, the ink still isn't dry. I'm not exactly sure why this would be the case, but when I touch one of the cards it's still tacky and comes off on my fingers. This isn't a good sign - particularly since I need to go back in on Sunday to print some more cards and they have to be ready to mail out on Monday. If the cards aren't completely dry by tomorrow I'm pretty screwed - because I already printed about 150 cards using this ink and don't have any extra. :: sigh :: I guess I'll see what happens. At least they look nice:


And now to show a little love for my big press, some artsy images:


Sure is a beauty. Now I just have to get up the courage to start using it with the motor on so I don't have to turn the wheel with my left arm the whole time - I woke up in the middle of last night with my wrists throbbing. Hopefully I'll be able to get the hang of it using regular paper - the cardboard was tricky because I had to actually secure it pushing the gauge pins through the middle of the fluting. I wonder how much it would cost to "downgrade" to a foot treadle instead of a motor. I get nervous when the thing is at speed 2 - and it goes all the way up to 15!

Maybe I would feel more comfortable if I had more secure gauge pins. The ones I have are a bit old and rusty, so perhaps I should just get some new ones. Yeah, I'm off to order some right now. Word.

Pulp & Press Soundtrack 10/31/09 (Happy Halloween!): Starblood (Cranes).

And So It Begins...

The water based inks don't come in Pantone mixable colors, so I decided just to pick 4 basic colors to test with. There could be some issues with post-drying smearage, if the prints are handled by anyone with "sweaty hands," so I didn't want to invest too much in a lot of the stuff just yet.





I finally sent in my Dead Things artwork for film and plates, and picked it all up from The Evanston Print & Paper Shop today! They look great of course. I cut up one of the beast bones stationery for test printing on my Pilot, and stuck it to my brand new Boxcar base. I did a quick first lockup in the chase, but realized after it was in the press that it needed to be shifted so that the base and plate were in the upper right hand corner. I'm still not quite used to the idea of printing with a platen press where I'll need to use gague pins to hold my paper in place, as I've got much more "real" experience on a Vandercook. I'm taking things really slowly because I do NOT want to dent my base.

Anyway, so finally I got the lock looking good so that the gague pins could sit in the lower left hand corner of the tympan paper and not hit the base, which is in the upper right hand corner of the chase. I started to realize it was going to be hard to get everything exact with this particular print because I've only got about 1/4" between the print end and the edge of the page. Also at 5.5" x 8.5", this size paper is really pushing what the Pilot can do - so this stationery might be better left for my 8 x 12.

Regardless of whether I continue with this big print or test something smaller, I've still got to figure out how to prevent my grippers from smashing into the base. Supposedly I ought to be able to turn the little cranks to loosen the gripper arms and adjust them, but they're in a really awkward position and extremely tight. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to loosen them, so I posted on Briar Press and will hopefully get some suggestions.

Brad suggested that it also seems like my new rollers may be a bit oversized. They're even being lifted off the rails as they pass over the chase, so I may have to investigate taping up the rails to prevent over-inking and roller sticking. Oh, the troubleshooting begins!

In more successful news, the other day I went about trying to make some paper that remained consistent in color and thickness. I decided to stick with mostly black and white junk mail like credit card offers (though they are fewer these days...), and it actually tured out pretty well. After following some drying advice from a group of paper makers, my press bar / sponge time was greatly reduced and I came out with fairly flat, nice sheets.

My favorite thing about recycling paper is that if you don't blend it up TOO much, you're left with a few letters scattered here and there.

Along With The Pilot...

I acquired a whole bunch of nifty items to get me up and printing. I bought a "Letterpress Starter Kit" from Paul Aken at The Platen Press Museum. Paul is a great guy and a collector of all types of printing equipment, but mainly platen presses. I took photos of all the things I brought home with me:




The opened package of gauge pins








What the package of gauge pins looks like on the outside








The first line of type I intend on printing, locked up in the chase








Another shot of the type locked up








Yeah, a closeup of the locked up type








Spaces for the font I got








My first font, 14 pt. Typo Upright, is a nice serif








A tiny tin of black ink








Tympan paper








Furniture! I love furniture. It sounds like Lincoln Logs when it clinks together







Leads and slugs








Reglets and nonpareil








Wedge quoins and quoin key








Composing stick








Planer







Line gauge






Also gotten was some pressboard and an imposing surface. Oh! And Paul also gave me an awesome old cut of a rooster. Even though I need new rollers for the Pilot, I should be able to run a few prints of this line of type soon. Maybe tomorrow!