Thanks for posting your plans and video. I've been building my own etching press here in Canada. I'm a woodworker and am struggling with all the metal work needed for my press. I'm going to follow some of your ideas. Thanks for posting.
Excellent design and execution. You solved a few of my problems in moving assemblies. Now I can finish my printing press. Although I am building my machine for linocut, it would be interesting to experiment with other methods like woodblock or steel plate etc. Thank you for sharing this detailed step by step build.
Wow. Good low cost entry to intaglio at home. I'm surprised that PVC pipe is strong enough. I'd had in mind repurposing rolling pins for baking. It is also good to know that friction drive will work. Gearing it would be a chore and raise the expense. I'm looking for something to print 8x10 paper with 3/4" border or 6.5x8x.5" (in photography that image size is "whole plate"). I'm also glad that 2 inch rollers work reasonably well, I'd been thinking larger for those.
Instead of pvc with concrete, could you use a machined steel roller? Did you choose this route because its more cost effective? This is amazing. Thanks for sharing. I don't have the tools. So i need to find a friend who does! 😁
Machined steel rollers would be ideal. Sadly, I don’t have the resources to produce them. The reason I went this route is because I could fabricate everything with more readily accessible tools and materials.
Interesting effort but the print appears weak. So I have to conclude that this design and these materials does not produce sufficient pressure. Still, I enjoyed the video. Actually, very good regular steel etching presses can be acquired for just a few hundred dollars. I have several.
Can pressure be made adjustable on this press? Asking because I print mostly linocuts and woodcuts (wood panels being around 1/2 inch thick) and wonder how I could possibly adjust for those..
Yes, the pressure is adjustable. The springs pull up the top roller and the screws on either side are what push it down to tighten the pressure. As it’s designed, you can fit a 3/4” thick piece of material with room for a blanket or a backing board / tympan. You could always tweak the construction to accommodate whatever thickness of material you want, but the idea was to fit the thickness of most common matrices (unmounted linoleum, etching plates, various types of relief blocks, etc.).
You can definitely print linos! You could argue that relief prints are a little easier because they don’t require as much pressure as intaglio/ drypoints.
The roller is 15 inches wide and the press bed is 15x24”. So, 15x24” is the maximum paper size. I wouldn’t go larger than 14x23” for the plate size to allow for greater ease of printing. BUT 15x24” is the absolute maximum dimension possible.
