Some time ago, we acquired a Vandercook 320 proof press in need of some repair. So far, about all I’ve done is clean off years of dried ink under the location of the inkplate and chase out the mouse nest…
Category: Things we have
Challenge Proof Press dead-bar stops
As with most proof presses, for quick printing jobs where absolute alignment is not essential the type on the bed of our Challenge MA-15 press is usually locked up lengthwise using the quick lockup bar supplied with the press. This…
Repairing our old Ironer (Mangle)
We have a near-antique Easy brand ironer (also known as a mangle). This has a cloth-covered roller and a heated platen that presses against it, and it would have originally been used for ironing (typically) large items like bedsheets. We…
A Pump Stroke Counter for the Monotype Caster
I recently installed a pump stroke counter on my Monotype Composition caster, which will prove very useful when casting spacing and fonts of display type (fonts of composition type can be produced using the paper ribbon or computer interface). The…
Monotype Computer Control: Diagnosing Air Flow Problems 2
After about a year and a half of ignoring the project, I’m starting again to work on my computer-driven interface for the Monotype Composition Caster. When I left off I was diagnosing problems with the ports having inconsistent air flow…
Yes! Another Press!
We recently acquired a Vandercook 320 in somewhat rough shape. I plan on fixing it up and we will probably sell it because it is bigger than what we need (we think). Alternatively we might sell our Challenge MA-15 instead.
the Papertrail on local TV (again!)
A month or two ago we were featured on the local CTV station’s Made Right Here segment. I guess they found us so photogenic they sent another crew (well, just two people, actually) over and this week we appeared on…
A Chase for our Sigwalt Press
We received our Sigwalt Chicago No. 11 press with no chase so it has been sitting collecting dust for a while. I recently cobbled together a chase from a scrap of the ¾″-thick high-density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet we use to…
the Papertrail on local TV
CKCO-TV (aka CTV Southwestern Ontario) recently did an item on the Papertrail for their Made Right Here series which features area businesses that have interesting products or services. The 3-minute item was broadcast April 28th 2018, but is also available…
Estimating Dry Weight of Composition Material
While trying to remelt some old composition rollers recently, I found that some of the material wouldn’t melt. Neither higher temperatures nor additional water helped. All I ended up with was a lumpy soup, from which I strained the lumps…
Top