I picked up a 1960′s Vandercook 22 from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. It had be sitting in storage for a very long time, but it is in excellent condition.

It is a very strange machine, but will be useful for large jobs. The ink rollers (3) and the impression roller move in a continuous loop on a chain drive.  When you engage the inking drum the press turns on and then you control the speed with a foot pedal.

The speed is the amazing part. You can go at an impossible speed, or super slow. After the inking rollers pass your set up you drop a sheet on bed, then the impression roller zooms by, you lift off the sheet with one hand and drop down another with the other hand.

If theory in front of the impression roller and the inking rollers is a bar that will stop the machine if you didn’t get out of the way fast enough … haven’t tried this idea yet.

I will be posting a video soon on the 22 in action.