Plates made in Australia?

Poppy

Google your needs. Photopolymer plate processing is international.

Gerald

I have been meaning to contact you. Just today I got in contact with a company that supplies photopolymer sheets here in Melbourne. They mostly sell their product to stamp makers, they said they don’t make the plates but could put me in contact with someone who does - am waiting for this phonecall. I know we are in different states but this could help, when I get a couple of numbers I will forward them to you. I had a copper plate made by Owosso and it arrived yesterday. First one is free and shipping was a little costly, so I am not sure how profitable this can be. You can contact any local engravers and see what they charge, there is one here in Melbourne called DI engravers (google will give you the number) Ummm I also recently bought a boxcar base and some plates from them also - this is affordable as their shipping is cheaper but it can take up to 10 days to arrive - I am still waiting for this to arrive. I will let you know more as I go… good luck

Have you tested out your copper plate yet? Let me know how it goes. I’m trying to justify getting a boxcar base and plates made, very costly, but might be worth it. Boxcar will ship to Australia for US$40 flat, so I’m happy to hear that DI Engravers sells them. Would love to hear what you think of the boxcar base and plates.

I’ve found a couple of places that make photopolymer plates in NSW, but they’re unsure of how good the quality will be, so they’re running some testers for me. Have no idea on price for them yet, though.

I recieved my boxcar base and plates today - so wrapped with them. I ganged up some ideas for printing on an A3 and A4 sheet total cost was around $200.00 AUS so quite good really and all arrived within a week.

I had a magnesium plate DL size made by DI engravers for $500 - it is just not profitable, I think because there is not a huge demand for the work. So I will probably not use them again. Let me know how you go with this company in NSW.

I am still waiting for the arrival of some parts from heidelberg and some packing from NA graphics - so printing will begin very soon. I will post some photos should I have any success :).

Poppy, I think I spoke to you over the phone regarding this the other week. Did you have any luck with George? If you still can’t find anyone to help, I’ll make you a few plates to help get you started. How do you plan to mount your plates? Do you have a boxcar base? What depth of relief do you require? The base required will depend on the thickness of the plate material to get you to type high.

Russell - are you an Aussie letterpress person?

Yes, Hi Russell, I remember talking to you. I think I did end up ringing George, but last week I found someone that can help me in my city, which is fantastic news. Not a commercial operation, so I’m very thankful they’ve offered help.

The files for my first plates were sent to be converted to film this afternoon, so hopefully I’ll be printing from them later in the week. I don’t have a base yet, as I’m not sure how deep the relief will be — that’s the next step.

Thanks so much for your help. It’s so wonderful to find a community of people so willing to help out newbies, I wouldn’t be able to get started at all without this help.

Poppy - I printed with my copper plate over the weekend with great results. Now I just need to practice practice - good luck with your plates. I will let you know how I go with the boxcar base when I test it.

Good luck!

Hello, I would love to hear how you go with sourcing Australian polymer plates. Im shortly about to order a base from boxcarpress and would be interested to hear if we can get polymer plates made cheaper here in Aus. Im in Brisbane, but I think anywhere in Australia would be fine as shipping wouldn’t be as expensive compared to buying from the US!

Hi ScreamingCactus - I met a lady who can make plates for me but it’s not a commercial business, so sorry I can’t send you any suppliers, but I’ll keep an ear out still. Magnesium plates are easier to find but more expensive. DI Engravers in Melbourne do have them but price wise was beyond my budget. Perhaps contact a local printmaker/artist and see if they know where to find polymers? The contacts that I found in NSW couldn’t produce clean enough plates, with broken lines and relief not deep enough. Not something I could use.

I’m just about to get a metal supplier to machine a base for me, as I don’t want to spend $200+ getting a boxcar base shipped from the US. If you have the money though, it might be worth it. Depends how often you’ll be making new plates.

Googling photopolymer plates doesn’t get you much in Australia, by the way.