Hello,
I was wondering if anybody had any tips for removing a single coat of paint off of the rails of a vandercook #3. Would a solution such as Citristrip do the job without damaging the rails?

Thanks!

Kirk
Sycamore Street Press

G’day Folks;

I’m fairly new to press operation, and I’ve heard/read various things about clean-up and what solvents to use. I’m a little scared about it all. My question is, what is being used out there? Types, brand names, etc. Thanks for any comments and suggestions……cheers….db

Hello All,
I own a custom invitation business and have been sending my work out to a press. I would like to purchase my own press and begin doing my own printing. I have a fairly large studio so I am not really worried about size. I do mostly short runs of 100-200 invitations, printing the envelope, invitation, rsvp card, info card, and save the date for each one. I am mostly interested in quality, spot on registration, and even ink distribution. I have been researching Chandler and Price clamshell presses but recently read on this site that a Vandercook could offer a higher quality print. As for cleaning, maintenance, and printing, is there one or two models that are better than others? Thank you for your time.
Courtney

I have used an SP-15 and enjoyed it. I would like to get my own press.

However, I’m overwhelmed by the number of types of Vandercook presses available.

I would like a self-inking model.

Which models could people suggest? My space is not really limited.

In the Vandercook sp-15 manual it states the press should be set on synthetic rubber pads – with packing in order to correct any unevenness. Does anyone use these pads, if so what are they like – their depth for example – I can envisage something like a mouse mat.

John Christopher

I have just done a very quick drawing of the inking system for my Vandercook 215/4. This is for my upcoming book, “Print It Yourself” which is to be published late next year by F&W Publications. The diagram is a very simplified attempt to visually explain (along with a verbal explanation) how the ink gets from the top vibrator roller to the ink rollers on the bottom. I would appreciate it very much if you see anything erroneous here that you let me know. Thanks!

Towson University in Towson , Maryland (outside Baltimore) is looking for a Vandercook Letterpress SP 15 or 20 for the university print studio. If anyone knows of such a press for sale near the Baltimore area, any information would be greatly appriciated.
Thank You.

My attention has been diverted from the Vanderblog and related as of late as we get into putting up our new building for NA Graphics and a move in a couple of months of all the Vandercook records, parts, and related stuff for the business. I’ll have Paul massage a photo of how the structure looked today after we put up the beams that will support the second floor. The entire structure is just over 9000 sq. feet on 2 floors, about a mile out of town right next to the Animas River. As our companion business of construction, we are doing all our own work except for electrical, plumbing and earth work. We are in a new industrial park that has its focal point being the 1906 brick substation built for the Animas Power and Water Co., one of the very early AC power companies in the world.

I’m afraid I got Paul hooked on The Inland Printer while he was here back in August. They are a fantastic source of information on printing, and letterpress in particular. The Vandercooks were often mentioned in this publicaton, and both being based in Chicago, the ties were strong. My collection runs from 1897 to the late 1970s and is comprised of both individual copies and close to 80 bound volumes. In my zeal to get these, I finally did an inventory and found a couple of duplicates of bound volumes.

R. O. Vandercook, and later his son E. O., both preached precision in materials for letterpress. In volume after volume of the Inland Printer, the need to lower makeready time pops up constantly, with references to the testing and measuring equipment available through Hacker and then Vandercook. Many factors caused letterpress’s downfall, but excessive makeready time, measured in hours into days on some presses, served as much as anything to create a stampede to offset. Vandercook tried to stem the tide, but their efforts were for naught and their prosperity of the 1960s was because typesetting was still dominated by hot metal and there was a need for repro proofs. Many of the national magazines had heavy investments in letterpress equipment and continued into the 70s until such time as they could justify the change to web offset, and in some cases, gravure. When I look at the party pictures Paul has posted, and the rest he hasn’t, it is with a certain sadness that I see these happy people unaware that their part of the world will soon change and printing will never be the same.

Not the most technical of posts here, but I just wanted to give mention to the Vandercook Press Flickr photo page for those who may not have seen it yet. This page now has over a hundred pictures of Vandercook presses. If you have any images of the Vandercooks in your shop/studio maybe think about adding them…

Vandercook Press Flickr

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY