This site is is undergoing a system upgrade and reorganization. Please use search field if you cannot find what your looking for, or contact me and I will do my best to direct you to the information you need. The dust will settle shortly. Thank you for your patience. Pjm

Call for Entries: The Vandercook Cocktail To honor the Vandercook Proof Press, it’s history and significance, and it’s place in our lives, a competition has been created for the design of the specialty cocktail to carry its name. “The Vandercook Cocktail” will be chosen from recipe submissions gathered throughout the letterpress community. Testing/tasting will take [...]

On November 11, we installed the newly rewound motor into the SP-15. It is not as noisy as it was, but still noisier than our other press. Questions: 1. is there any way to dampen the noise? I was tempted to put some insulation in the chamber, but don’t want to cut down on heat [...]

I’m looking for a printer with a press that can handle a  29″ x 29″ letterpress plate in order to print on thick sheets of calfskin parchment. I am not a printer and I’m confused by all of the various machines. It looks to me like Vandercook didn’t make a press large enough for my [...]

Here’s a link to a fun take on a Vandercook as pinewood derby car. http://www.jeremyslagle.com/blog/2011/8/11/one-fast-letterpress.html

I’m looking at buying an SP-25 and so I’m hoping someone out there might have a digital copy of the manual. Please let me know if anyone out there has the manual for this model. Thanks.

It was posted a year or so ago that 40 wt oil is recommended for the #4 speed reducer. I presume you are talking about gear oil rather than motor oil. I have not found a source for 40 wt gear oil, but I can get 75/80 wt. Would that present a problem? Alternatively, would [...]

Posted for the benefit of our European friends: http://riviera.angloinfo.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=215488  

Hello All, In a few days we’ll be sending out the cores for our SP15 and SP20 form rollers to be recast. Would it be a good idea to have them recast at a slightly larger diameter (perhaps 2.51 inches for the SP15 and 3.01 inches for the SP20) to make them last a little [...]

I’m cleaning up a Uni-I AB, and there is quite a bit of hard, dry ink build up around the ink drum. I tried chipping at it, but I don’t want to accidentally scrape the drum. Is the best course of action to remove the drum? Is that tricky? I don’t see an easy way [...]

I’m wondering if the following sequence of events seems unreasonable to get a very, very clean print on a Universal III. The project is an important certificate for a major university signed by the president and all. This is essentially for the text part of the certificate, not including the recipient’s name. Printing area is [...]

If given the chance, would you prefer: Challenge Proof Press Model 1418E or 1926 Vandercook Model 21 Roller Series ???