Printing on a Letterpress

A few months ago I did my first demo on Samson. Here is a little documentation of what is soon to be my fun "print and design" shop in down town Moscow, ID.

Above is a piece of photopolymer after a controlled exposure to ultra violet light.

I used this piece of mat board as the stencil for the exposure. This was a temporary solution as I patiently wait for my thermal negative film to arrive.

This gridded chunk of metal is my Boxcar Base. It is just shy of "type high" so that when a piece of photopolymer is on top of it the height is perfect for an impression on the letter press.

The metal "teeth" next to the base are called quoins. These are used to tighten the base into the chase which is then put into the machine.

This handy dandy adhesive must first be applied to the photopolymer plate before it is secure on the base.

The shop is mostly functional but there are a few aesthetic loose ends I'd like to tie up.

The metal lollypop you see here is actually a roller gauge. The roller gauge helps monitor the rollers height so as to ink only the photopolymer and not the entire base.

Pantone swatches help me mix my rubber based inks.

This popping red is a delightful color.

And if printing ever gets a little too hot. My buddy Austin has lent me this vintage metal fan to help cool the situation down.

The vacuum on the press is working quite well.

Now to replace the vacuum nozzles.

The rollers looked pretty good on their maiden voyage, but you'll have to wait and see what they helped produce.