I’m having trouble getting my Adana 8x5 to emboss.

You don’t say what kind of card stock you are using — soft papers will show the impression better than hard ones. You also didn’t say how large an image area — if bigger than about 2x3 inches you are going to have trouble. If you use all soft packing behind the stock (you could even try facial tissue, very soft and resilient) and pack it enough so there is significant resistance when you close the press, you should get the “emboss” (actually “deboss” or deep impression) you’re looking for, but beware — those little presses are under more stress than they were designed for when you’re trying to get such a heavy impression. Something could break.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thank you so much for your advice.

I haven’t tried it with cotton paper yet but I have just ordered some. I have tried using regular paper and 120gsm cardstock. The image area I am tying to print is 2” x 4”.

I’m realizing now that the problem may be the fact that my Boxcar base is 8” x 5”. I got this size because I want to print 5” x 7” wedding invitations.

The Adana 8 x 5 was the largest letterpress machine I could get my hands on. I didn’t realize that the size of the base would matter so much.

I will try using the tissue paper and see if I can get a light deboss by being gentle. Thank you again.

Rebecca

Rebecca,

You won’t get any impression on the paper you are trying it with, particularly using an 8x5, the effect you want, like you see on all the invites on places like Etsy comes from using the rag cotton paper which is soft and thick - it has room in the depth of the sheet to deboss. The 90gsm paper or 120gsm card you say you are using is too hard and too thin to make an impression in.

Alistair

Thank you Alistair.
I am just ordering some cotton paper now. Hopefully it will work.

Will I have to invest in a bigger machine if I want to print 5” x 7”?

Thank you everyone for helping by the way.

Rebecca

Rebecca, figure that you should be able to get a decent surface print of an image that is no more than half the size of your chase — in your case that would be 4x5 inches — and that for deep impression, regardless of the paper, a much smaller image area. You will need a bigger and stronger press for deep impression of larger images like 5x7. The size of the base has nothing to do with it — it’s the image area of the photopolymer mounted on the base that counts. You also have to use the base wisely — the image needs to be at the center of the impression area — the platen — for best results, on any press. If you have a large base that may limit where you can place the image on a small sheet because of the gauge pin location potentially colliding with the base.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thank you again. I think I may be able to stick with this press if I print the invitations in two halves or in thirds.

If I stick to printing 2”x 3” will it be okay? I don’t want to damage the machine.

Should I get the Boxcar base cut down 3.5” x 6.5”?

Thank you everyone for helping.

Rebecca

Printing in sections is an excellent way to get large work out of a small press. The key to avoiding damage is to not have to exert too much force on the handle to get the effect you want. If it takes a lot of force to close the press you may be close to the breaking, or at least excessive wear, point. Also if it takes a lot of force to close the press it will be a bit of strain to open it again.

If you can place your plates on the base to print at the center of the platen without having a problem with positioning gauge pins to get the printing where you want it on the sheet without hitting the base with them, then you don’t need to cut it down. But printing very far off the center will add stress to the mechanism that will cause wear and possible breakage. You can lock the base up in one corner of the chase and place your plates at the center of the bed and platen and gain clearance for the gauge pins.

It’s all in working within the limitations of the equipment. Best of luck — you can achieve what you want to do that way.

Bob

That’s great advice. This is what I’m going to try now.

The only things is that I cannot lock the base in the corner of the chase because it actually fills up the whole chase. Would it be better to cut it down so that it’s small enough to place in the corner of the chase?

Thank you Bob,

Rebecca

Rebecca,

You’ll need to decide what you are going to print and what size paper you want to use, and what kind of gauge pins you will use. Most regular gauge pins are thick enough to hit the base when you close the press, damaging the base and the pins, so you want to avoid that. I would say that you could decide the largest area of printing coverage you expect to use with that press and cut the base to that size — probably not larger than 4x5 for a 5x8 press, even though you can’t actually print with deep impression over that large an area. That way you can position the base to avoid conflict with the gauge pins and still have some flexibility of placement of the image plate to keep the image area centered.

I’ve included a diagram to show how I’d suggest doing it. The small blue rectangles are the gauge pins and the pink is the paper. Obviously the paper and gauge pins go on the platen, but in the relative positions shown.

Hope that helps!

Bob

Lockup diagram.jpg

Hello everyone,

I took your advice. I used cotton paper, supported with tissue paper but am still using the photopolymer plate that measures 2” x 4”.

There was the slightest sign of embossing, barely visible.

Is the surface area I am trying to print too large? The photopolymer plate is quite detailed also.

I haven’t tried it with a smaller plate yet as I only have one plate.

Regards,

Rebecca

Rebecca,

You may be pushing it if the plate is very detailed and has much surface area. The square inch area overall isn’t so much of a problem as the actual amount of area of printing surface — that’s where the resistance comes from.

If there is an antique/junk store near you, or an old letterpress print shop, snoop around and see if you can find an old small wood-mounted line cut, maybe 1x2 inches. Try printing that locked in your chase without the Boxcar base and see if you can get a deeper impression with it. You can tell by the feel of the press whether you have to strain it to get the result you’re looking for. If you can with a small cut, work up slowly until you can’t get the result any more and that’s your max size. It’s going to take some trial and error to find out what you Adana can do.

Bob