Dropped $200 on a vintage letterpress and the ink ruined every single print

I got obsessed with letterpress printing after watching a YouTube video (big mistake) and bought a beat-up 1950s tabletop press off eBay for $200. Turns out the old ink I bought separately was dried out and actually corroded the rollers, leaving orange gunk all over my first 50 prints. Plus the type itself was all mismatched and I spent 3 hours just trying to get a single word to line up straight. Has anyone else gotten burned by buying old print gear, or is it just me being impatient?

3 comments

3 Comments

logan_young2922d ago

Had a buddy sink $300 into an old platen press from a barn sale, only to discover the flywheel was cracked and it threw the timing off with every pull. He spent two weekends cleaning rust out of the ink disk with a wire brush and solvent before getting one clean sheet. That first print that actually worked was the ugliest business card you ever saw, but he framed it anyway.

elizabeths5122d ago

You really think framing that ugly card is that deep, @logan_young29? I mean, it's a piece of paper with some ink on it, not a Picasso. I bet his buddy spent all that time and money just to hang a crooked, smudged business card on his wall like it's some kind of major life achievement. Is it really that serious, or is it just something to hang next to the fridge?

wendyg4322d ago

That framed ugly card probably means more than any perfect one ever will...