I’m pleased to learn that proofpress.ch is back online. A sister site to vandercookpress.info, launched in 2012 by Swiss printer Dafi Kühne, it is dedicated to the Swiss proof press FAG (Fournitures pour les Arts Graphiques: tr. Supplies for the Graphic Arts).
MoreAuthor: Paul Moxon, Moderator
Warped Trip Rack Replacement
Among the things that can fail on these decades-old presses are the trip racks on early Vandercook Universal Is (before s/n 24219). These machines have the X-14854 Trip Rack with (2) 7/8″ diameter bushings, meaning wide slots and narrow side walls relative to the width of the rack, which can warp and eventually prevent carriage […]
More4th Edition of Vandercook Presses: Maintenance, History and Resources Now Available
The essential Vandercook proof press repair manual, based on the author’s workshop, featuring over 400 drawings, photographs, and data tables. With notes on significant models and other brands, bibliography, and index. 7¼ × 10″, 230 pp, letterpress printed cover, and twin loop wire binding. Order
MoreA Two-color Vandercook‽
Just when I thought there wasn’t much more to be learned about Vandercook history, I saw this circa 1943, full-page display ad in a trade journal on ebay for a ink manufacturer touting their two-color Vandercook. The running footer on the back of this page reads “Packaging Catalog” (WorldCat). The carriage looks similar to the […]
MoreFaster, better, stronger
This site has completed the migration to a new hosting service. I’m striving to make it more responsive on your browser, tablet, and phone, and I welcome your input.
MorePublic Letterpress Organizations Page
I have added a new page with a data table listing public letterpress organizations that have flatbed cylinder proof presses. I welcome the addition of new entries: Public Workshops
MoreLarge Showcard Available in Chicago
Spudnik Press in Chicago is selling letterpress items from a late artist’s studio at the printmaking collective, including a Showcard with a 25½” × 34″ bed. $3,000 with the items shown in the photos. Catalog of materials for sale (Google doc) Contact ccreasman@saic.edu
MoreReprex Carriage Back Side
These Reprex No. 1 photos are posted in reply to Cranky Sue’s Briar Press post, where image views can’t be enlarged.
MoreCensuses Updated
Dutch designer, printer, and press mechanic Thomas Gravemaker recently supplied a list of European-made cylinder proof presses known to him. This has allowed me to increase and update the Asbern, Korrex, and Vandercook censuses and to add two new censuses for Eickhoff and Grafix presses. Please review and let me know if you have any […]
MoreA New Collection of Articles by R.O. Vandercook
Fameorshame Press is pleased to announce the publication of Growth of an Idea, Selected Writings on the Modern Proof Press by R.O. Vandercook. Edited and with a Foreword by Paul Moxon. It is a collection of articles published between 1925–38 in the trade journals, The Inland Printer, Photoengravers Bulletin, and Printing Equipment Engineer, illuminating his thinking on developing his machines. […]
MoreUniversal I Dust Cover Fabrication
On a recent trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, I met Cameron Nobile, the Digital Fabrication Lab Manager at Lesley University’s College of Art and Design, who helped me repair a Universal I. With the resources at his disposal, we discussed his replacing the cracked clear acrylic dust cover. From the photo, one can see the […]
MoreUniversal I Ink Drum Repair
I traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, earlier this month to make press repairs at four print shops. At Lesley University, the main concern was an unlevel ink drum. I had anticipated that one of the ink drum bushings (F-760) had broken or slipped into the drum’s hollow. After removing the drum, my assistant, Chris Bradford (a […]
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