Category: Letterpress for beginners
Later topic: what base/pad use for die cutting ?
Earlier topic: Where to get paper cut

Deeper Impression

I ran my first few jobs yesterday and everything went well. The image looks crisp, I wish the impression was more evident. Any tips on how I might achieve this?

-Rob

image: 1469765_395630183903382_665736562_n.jpg

1469765_395630183903382_665736562_n.jpg

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Please let us know:

Type of Press

Paper stock

Packing on Press

I’m printing on a 10 X 15 Challenge Gordon.
I’m using 140lb cover stock.
There is a good amount of packing on the press some cover stock, some lighter weight paper. The throw off lever is broken, cracked down at the base of the machine. I think it may have broke in the off position, which would be a good reason why it needs so much packing.

Are you saying your press is always on impression?

I think he’s saying it’s always OFF impression, which- if that is true- is a terrible way to be running the press if you ask me.

You have to sometimes ‘work with what you’ve got’ but that is not a reliable way to do quality work if I take your description to mean your throw off lever is stuck so that the press is never in “print” always “tripped”.

dear rtbyrd21

fix your press
then work on print quality

yours truly
mac

You should be able to set the press to impression by manipulating the throw-off through the linkage (if the throw-off mechanism itself isn’t broken) which will basically lock it on impression until you get the lever and linkage fixed. If you do that remove all packing before turning the press over and check carefully how much there should be for good impression.

Bob

I was able to lift the lever up by hand without too much effort. It has a clean break down by the base which shouldn’t be too hard to weld together.

I was wrong, the press had been “on impression” the entire time. My current packing is 6 140lb cover sheets. It seems like a lot, but that’s the packing it took to make a clean impression, the one pictured.

Your press is not on impression from the photo I see.

You have made it work with the packing.

A press like you have will push the image through the paper if you are on impression.

It just hit me, you press is running backwards. Check your motor.

I had this problem when I started in the 60s. The press looks like it running correct, but it not push with force on impression, that why it not printing sharp.