letterpress prototype
Several of you may have read the thread I posted previously about the idea of launching a newly manufactured letterpress on kickstarter. Your responses were immensely helpful. I realize that the most important part of the press is its functionality, so I’ve made a couple of videos to demonstrate the prototype I have so far. It’s not complete by any means, but I would love some feedback from letterpress enthusiasts and users so I can know if I’m on the right track with this new development.
Here’s the link to the videos I have so far: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfDE1uXYGr3jleNpYa9Kaew
Thanks so much for your time and input.
The press looks nice, but two points of critique: The action is not as smooth as it should be for printing a quantity of pieces in one run — that may be a function of the press being lighter than other similar ones because of the material. The second point is that the ink rollers do not run far enough up on the ink disc — the bottom roller should just pass the center of the disc, to optimize ink distribution. You might also consider making the roller rails adjustable, as due to the material the press appears to be made of — aluminum — they will wear rapidly and require adjusting often.
Bob
Nice looking. Are you the metal worker who has done the castings and machine work at no cost other than your time and the metal?
Have you done the numbers and determined the cost per machine if you go into production? There is probably a small and regular market, but nothing to make you wealthy. You can find the current cost of nicely restored Craftsmen and Pilot presses. Yours will have to compete with these.
You would do well to carefully inspect the mechanics and motion of either of the above presses and imitate them as best possible. Not copy the press, but imitate the mechanics. Those presses were the state of the art when they were last made. You might also look into the status of the patents and who owns them.
Others have looked into producing the benchtop platen press, but it hasn’t been done, yet.
I agree with the comments of AdLibPress.
You have already noted that the rollers apply ink to other than just the letters of the form and this unwanted ink area has printed on the paper.
Nice work. I wish you well.
Thanks for your help and comments. I certainly do need to get the rollers to cover more of the ink disc. I also need some more clearance for the rollers between the plattens. There are several other aspects that still need adjustment like that.
As for the sticky movement, I’ve taken the press apart and re-assembled it a lot of times and haven’t applied any new lubricant. The bearings just need a little silicon to get them moving smoothly again. By the way, there is no aluminum-on-aluminum contact - there are nylon bushings inside each joint which prevent wear on the metal.
The weight of the press certainly hasn’t hampered its ability to apply pressure, although the outrigger foot on the left side needs to be adjusted to prevent the press from tipping slightly (as noticed in the video).
Assuming I can find funding, the price point I can reach with this particular design is $499 USD. It’s a 5x7 print area and weighs about 25 lbs. It does also have rubber pads on the feet and holes to bolt it to a desk or workstation.
Any other thoughts are appreciated. Thanks so much!