Hi! One of Virginia Book Arts’ Vandercooks (a Universal I AB P that was converted to hand-crank) has always had a difficult-to-clean ink drum* that would appear to be successfully cleaned by a printer post-printing session, but then randomly introduce bits of ink from past print sessions into future printing sessions (e.g. you’re printing with […]
MoreCategory: Inking System
Understanding hand-cranked rollers
Hello! I’m trying to understand non-electric/non-motorized cylinder press that still have inked rollers (for cylinder presses, I’ve only printed with ones that have power ink distribution, or handinked with a brayer). For cylinder presses that instead use non-motorized handwheel ink distribution (like the Vandercook 3 or similar Challenge models), does anyone know how often you […]
MoreVandercook 4 cornucopia of press noises – rider roller and belt issues maybe?
One of the rider rollers on my Vandercook 4 is loose, rattles when the press is running and seems to be inking slightly unevenly as a result. I can’t find anything in the manual about a part that may be missing or broken, does the rider roller use nyliners also? The motor is pretty loud […]
MoreRiders Not Riding!
The rider rollers on my newly acquired Model 4 aren’t making even contact with the forms. On the front roller I can pass a piece of 12 pt card stock between halfway across the roller’s length. The back one is better but still light on the same (operators) side. The forms are accurately adjusted to […]
MoreInking Issue with Challenge 15-MP
I’m having an issue with my 15-MP, and it’s done this nearly the entire time I’ve had it. When inking, the rider doesn’t evenly get inked. I took the rollers off and checked to see if the rollers were swelling on the ends, and if they are, it’s only a .0005″–.001″ difference. Has anyone seen […]
MoreSP20 Roller height changing as carriage travels end-to-end
Hello! I’m having a challenge with our SP20. When checking / setting the roller height at different points (as the carriage travels from end-to-end), when the press is in ‘Print,’ the roller height changes. Specifically, when the carriage is closest to the feedboard and moving forward for about 10 – 12 inches, the roller height […]
MoreImbalance of Ink of Drum and Rollers of SP-15
I noticed that the ink on the drum and rollers on my SP-15 bunch to one side, so I get uneven ink coverage when printing. I’m attaching a couple of photos. You’ll see that on the right side is where it’s light and almost translucent, and the ink tends to bunch on the left side […]
MoreSP-20 Taper pins in ink system lever bar
I’m in the process of putting back together a heavily desconstructed SP-20 #29569. I suspect (pictured top) these are taper pins that connect through the rod (picturesed 2nd) that raises and lowers the ink system. The pins are pretty stuck in place, so before I put a ton effort into trying to loose them, I […]
MoreVandercook 425 ink fountain missing part?
I’ve been running a Vandercook 425 for a little under a year and am finding that I would really like to get the ink fountain working. However, I think I’m missing a part. The 425 Manual that I have (thank you Paul!) shows an ink fountain system that looks very different from mine, so I […]
MoreVandercook SP15, lowering gear side of rear form roller
The gear side of the rear roller on our SP15 will not lower enough to hit a roller-setting gauge. It does have a range of motion, just will not descend low enough to contact the gauge on the gear side. The roller measures about 1/8″ less than 2 1/2″ in diameter. The tip diameter of […]
MoreMystery assembly adjustment on Vandercook 320
I’m fixing up a filthy Vandercook 320 press, and I’ve just been cleaning up the carrier mechanism for the form rollers. I stripped everything off the carriage including the LN-19 Ink Frame Brackets (one on each side). The parts have been cleaned and now it’s time to reassemble things. Reattaching the LN-19’s leaves me with […]
MoreSP15 issue – uneven inking along length of bed
Not sure why I always run into issues when on deadlines… Having an issue where I get an impression but there just isn’t any ink on the form and would love to hear any thoughts on what the problem/solution might be. The uneven inking is happening for the length of the press bed. Was printing […]
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