These companies may also be able to supply the cores and may have information on dimensions for both rollers and cores. Some companies specialize in recovering letterpress rollers. You will need to have the dimensions of the roller covering length and diameter. If you have the roller stock or cores, (the center rod around which the roller material is cast), you will still find suppliers who can cover this core with the rubber-like material necessary for printing. One of the parts that are fairly easy to replace are the rollers. The older the press, the more difficult it is to find parts, but for a price almost anything can be made.Ģ. It may be possible to find parts for the more common presses such as the late model Kelsey presses and the Chandler and Price Job presses, as there are collectors and dealers who save incomplete presses and sell them for parts.
The majority of letterpresses that are sold are not being made any more, so replacement parts are not readily available. The following photo of the popular Kelsey tabletop press identifies the basic parts of a press that are discussed below:ġ. You can find a lot of detailed information on the Internet, but for the beginner, here are some points to consider. Make sure to ask the seller plenty of questions. If you are new to letterpress printing and are not familiar with the parts of a press or what kind of press is suitable for your printing needs, it is best to do some research before your purchase. They push the lever down on the press or turn the flywheel, and if the parts move, they assume the press is working properly. Many sellers purchase presses at tag sales for resale, while acknowledging that they don’t know much about the presses they are selling. It is even more difficult to know what a press is worth. For a beginner, it is not always easy to know if a press is complete and usable. With the renewed interest in letterpress printing there are many people buying and selling these presses. What should I look for when buying a press? A better choice for long runs may be a treadle press or one adapted to use with a motor. Longer runs on a lever press will require more time and arm strength. Will you be doing many short runs or mostly longer runs? Short runs of 50 – 100 prints can be easily printed with a lever or proof press which are both manually operated. The desired size of the printed area should be smaller than the chase size as it is difficult to achieve an even impression if the printed area is too close to the edge of the chase.Ĥ. Although the desired printed area can be larger than the size of the chase, the paper will need to be run through twice, which may present problems for a beginner. How large an area will be printed? The size of a press is measured by the inside measurements of the chase. What type of projects do you wish to print? Cards, posters, stationery?ģ. How much space do you have for your print shop? Do you have room for a floor press or is a tabletop press more appropriate?Ģ. What press should I buy? A few questions to consider:ġ. Buying a letterpress involves some knowledge of the equipment and process, so I hope this basic guide will be of help. However, like any other field of interest, there is a lot to understand before starting to invest your time and money. If you are thinking of getting into letterpress printing or collecting antique printing equipment, congratulations. Here, founder Elizabeth Nevin explains to collectors the basic facts to consider when buying/selling/restoring an antique press.
Online since 1995, the Briar Press Museum (a member of our Hall of Fame) is dedicated to the history of the printing press.
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