Okay, so it a simple 2 color business cards. A newbie could do this is an hour. But Nooooo. Using polymer plates, we ran the black, then matched up the red plate PERFECTLY on the Boxcar Press base. And guess what? Nothing lines up. So we adjust the plate on the base and run another […]
MoreCategory: Impression Cylinder
Balancing the Cylinder on an SP-20
Is anyone familiar with balancing the cylinder on an SP-20? Our 20 never seems to print well and we’ve balanced the base & made sure the rollers are seated properly to no avail. I’ve asked around locally & balancing the cylinder came up. Any instruction would be greatly appreciated–a step-by-step breakdown would be even more so. […]
MoreNo. 1 Proof Press Cylinder Undercut / Registration
I have a No. 1 proof press, serial # 6327 that I picked up a while ago to print woodblock and linocuts on, plus I would love to do some small edition work, as I learn. Two questions- In reading through some posts and books, I see the impression cylinder has an under-cut. How do […]
MoreNo. 3 carriage ‘bounce’
I recently acquired a Vandercook No. 3. There is still a tremendous amount of cleaning to do, but I have it to a point where at least all the oil holes are un-clogged and the parts that are supposed to move, do so smoothly. I also have brand new rollers on the press. (Polishing all […]
MoreNo. 4 rear roller will not rotate
After much successful use, I had to move my Vandercook 4 proof press. In putting everything back where it is supposed to be, I have encountered a problem (actually several problems, but I fixed the sheared drift pin on the gripper foot lever as well as the sticking and bent grippers). After much scouring, I […]
MoreSP-15 new rollers/image problems
I just replaced the rollers on my SP-15 and am having trouble printing the first time out. The rollers were purchased from another press owner, but were new and unused, still in original NA Graphics packing and boxes. This was the first time I’d changed the rollers but didn’t encounter any difficulties with changing over […]
More325 Cylinder rack trip/print positions
Vanderblog stalwart Eric Holub sent these photos of the cylinder trip rack on his 325G to help Kyle van Horn solve his alignment problem. The first pair shows the rack in trip (whole assembly, then close-up) and the second pair shows it in print (whole assembly, then close-up).
More325 Mis-alignment question
Happy New Year all — I have a question for the masses – I’ll try to keep this concise. The shop I work in has a 325 that has forever seemed to have issues. We solved it various ways – extra packing being one, realizing it needed a bed plate was another (that helped!). We […]
MoreSP15 Cylinder Carriage–jammed!
Hello! I’m new to the wild world of Vandercook ownership…and am hesitant to take apart the cylinder without first getting advice. Here are the details: (1) I bought the press a little over a month ago, and noticed that the carriage was getting hung up (as if it had to scale a small hill) about […]
MoreReprex ll-No impression?
A couple of months back, I took off the gear racks, one side at a time and cleaned off 40 years of ink, grime and paper dust. All are back on in exactly the same position and tightened down with hex head screws. Nothing was dis-assembled from the roller carriage. Now, when the carriage in […]
MoreVandercook 4 cylinder carriage problem
I’ve been working on and off for several months cleaning a Vandercook 4 that I purchased this summer. The press had been unused and in an Iowa garage for 5 years. My problem: the cylinder carriage moves easily down the track in trip mode, but gets very tight in print mode once the cylinder trip […]
Moredepth of cylinder problem
The press? A Universal 1 manual. The problem? A severe case of an undercut cylinder. How sever you ask? Say your normal depth of cylinder on a Uni 1 is what? .040 inches? .070 inches? This Uni? .160 inches. What packing can fill it? What top sheet can hold it? What am I using for […]
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