Hello I’m the new owner of a Universal III P which arrived less the carriage drive motor/gearbox/clutch assembly. I have a very good machinist/electrician who has suggested he could adapt a small variable speed motor gearbox combination to fit. Trouble is he has no idea about motor hp, gear ratios, whether the motor would have [...]

  Good morning, I am binder in France and last week I bought this vandercook press. I do not find informations on this model so I therefore need of your help a lot. Thank you

hello! i am visiting san francisco this week, and want to take a gander at a universal 1. i have one in mexico, and it has several very strange quirks that i can’t seem to get figured out. i’m hoping that seeing one in good condition (and meeting with a fellow printer) will help illuminate [...]

In response to the recent post regarding an SP- 15 needing a replacement motor, I thought I’d add my experience this week with our Universal I. This press had been hesitating at start-up for some time. On start-up, the drive roller would need a little nudge to get it going. (I believe the capacitor was [...]

We are having some trouble with our Vandercook Universal III Automatic. We THINK it is in the relays. It will sometimes not start moving when it should. Switching the forward / reverse back and forth will sometimes help. It helps to set the press speed faster which is what makes us believe the problem is [...]

Hello I’m a graphic designer in Spain. I’m planning on setting a press here. I’ve been offered an Asbern AD1 and a Vandercook Universal I. The Asbern is cheaper but I don’t really know if the Vandercook is much better, if it’s really worth paying more. As you can see, I have no experience in [...]

Don’t know if everyone’s seen this. Looks nice! http://www.wiredbids.com/auctions/december-printing-bindery-packaging-equipment-auction/lots/vandercook-universal-i-power-pro Barbara

Hello All, I recently brought my Uni I motor to be recoiled / rebuilt.  It started to smoke and eventually burnt out. The motor had previously been working and turning the cylinder (a bit slower than normal, but functioning). I received a call from my machinist, who after taking it apart told me the internal [...]

Folks, I noticed that the Universal Parts manual shows a “Frisket Frame” unit for a Uni-I.  Is this frisket only for the motorized Uni or would it also work on a manual (hand-cranked) Uni-I ? Thanks. /thomas/    

I’ve read up on all the relevant old post I could find, and I still have a few questions about this. I’ve adjusted the clutch, and it’s still hitting at both ends on the lowest speed. Not very hard (yet), but enough to bounce of an inch or two. Sometimes the breaking dial helps, sometimes [...]

In cleaning up our new Universal 1 at OCAC, we discovered a missing piece that keeps the ink drum from having side to side play. It’s this “keeper”, or collar as I’ve been calling it, that fits around the ink drum core that sticks out on the outside of the non-operator side of the frame. [...]

Hello again, I think I’ve narrowed my trip problem down to a lever on the back of the press that isn’t fully engaging. When in trip mode, this lever is coming only halfway up to it’s destination. I figured a spring must be broken, but I couldn’t find one on the opposite side of the [...]