How to know if my rollers are clean?

Ok, I just kept wiping them over with a rag soaked in California Wash until there was no more ink coming off on the ink disk. Fingers crossed that I’ve got it right!

I would suggest removing the rollers to make sure you have them cleaned. It sounds like you may have gotten them clean, but you may want to take them off and double-check since this is the first time you have used them.

Pepperinapress,

I use a 3 rag cleaning process. One rag for the first clean then another for the next clean and the third rag for the last clean which usually the rag is practically ink free.

If you use a metallic ink you’ll need to run an Opaque White after cleaning the rollers because of the residue metallic ink seems to leave. Then clean up the white ink and the rollers should be good to go.

Thank you both! I will remove them tomorrow and make sure… and the three-rag process sounds like a great idea.

Side question – how do you clean the rags for re-use? Washing machine … or is that asking for trouble?

Cleaning rollers is not rocket science. While I certainly don’t advocate leaving ink on one’s rollers, I also think there is a point where overcleaning becomes rather silly. No matter how much effort you put into it, your white rollers will turn grey or purple, or pink or some other color with use…. and it will not make a bit of difference on your finished products.

I typically clean my press by using a technique simialr to CMCGarr, except that I use a few sheets of newsprint to roll off the excess ink instead of the first rag. If the ink is really sticky, I might use a little presswash at this stage. Then I take the rest of it off with press wash and a rag. Finally, I use a clean rag with a little press wash to finish it up. And that’s about all I do.

The one thing that I’m particular about is to not leave ink on the ends of the rollers. If anything is going to turn your opaque white ink some other color, that’s where it’s going to come from.

As far as cleaning of the rags goes… it’s not a real good idea. It’ll gunk up your washing machine and/or sink, and then your next load through the machine will have ink spots on it.

I bought a 5 gallon plastic bucket with a lid from Home Depot that I keep the used rags in. I buy a bundle of rags from Sams Club. Every month when the rags get a wet from mineral spirits I set them in my back yard on a sunny day to DRY out (all day). Then I put them back in the bucket. The rags will last a good long time. Make sure you buy some good Chemical Resistant Gloves to protect your hands when cleaning the press. I clean with mineral spirits. When a few of the rags turn black from being ink soiled DRY them out in the sun and throw them away.

Do Not Wash Them In The Washing Machine.

Although a plastic bucket with lid is good, from the safety standpoint, a metal bucket with tight-fitting lid is better. Fortunately most of us use so little solvent for our small presses and occasional runs that the chance of spontaneous combustion in the solvent-soaked rags is small, but still, it can happen, so a nonflammable container with lid is recommended.

Thanks everyone! I’m making a list of things I’ll need so I can do everything properly next time. I kind of jumped in to my first run because I was heartily sick of making/having excuses about how I wasn’t reeeeeally ready to print yet. After 16 months of owning the press but not using it, it was getting silly. (Admittedly I was pregnant for nine of those months, so that *was* a decent excuse.)

Anyway, now that I’ve got my feet wet and overcome my fear of failure (although not my fear of the press itself) I’ll be able to approach everything more methodically. Lots more rags, chemical-resistant gloves, metal bucket with tight-fitting lid. Check.

And I’m going to re-clean the ends of the rollers. I hope it’s not too late! (It’s almost 24 hours since I first used and cleaned them.)

Thanks again.

Helen