We pride ourselves on a well stocked Letterpress shop.
Our letterpress shop offers the following:
2 Vandercook Letterpresses
1-Vandercook No. 4. Max paper size: 14-3/4″ x 20″.
1-Vandercook SP 20. Maximum paper size: 19-1/2″ x 28″
2 Pilot-style Platen Presses
1 Chandler and Price Pilot Press New Style. Chase size: 6×10″.
1 Craftsman Superior New Style (Pilot copy). Chase size 6×10″.
Equipment and accessories:
-A variety of Boxcar Base sizes. We can accommodate almost any polymer plate size. If you have any concerns about this before you order, don’t hesitate to contact us first.
-47 fonts of metal type. We will list faces and sizes as they are catalogued.
-Approximately 10 fonts of wood type.
-All sizes of leading, furniture, and quoins.
-A variety of oil-based ink. All of our ink is available for studio use, but there is no guarantee we will have your color. If you need something specific, we recommend you bring it with you. Look for either a “Litho” or “Relief” ink.
-Roller wash. We use 2 different solvents to clean our presses. Gamsol is an odorless mineral spirit manufactured by Gamblin. We use this for cleaning palettes, tools, and for the initial roller-cleaning. We also use a water miscible Naptha based roller wash to finish cleaning our presses. We require you to bring your own gloves to clean the presses. Blue disposable nitrile gloves are ideal.
Also available in the shop:
A Challenge Model 265 Guillotine. This is a stack-paper cutter, designed to cut bulk paper down to your desired size. We will train you to use this safely. The maximum cut length is 26″ across.
A 4×10′ work-table with self-healing cut mat. Spread out and work! We usually have rulers, pencils, and sundry other bits and pieces to make your visit go smoothly too.
WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
PAPER. We do not sell or supply any paper. You must bring your own. Please keep in mind that you cannot print to the edge of a sheet. Vandercooks require at least 1″ of unprinted area on the leading edge where the press holds the paper. This can be cut off later, but keep this in mind when designing and cutting paper.
SPECIFIC INK COLORS. Boxcar Press will sell you inks. We prefer the oil-based variety.
POLYMER PLATES. Again, Boxcar Press will produce plates for you. We use Standard Bases at BPS, and prefer the KF95 Plates. They have a really great FAQ about platemaking.
GLOVES. Any art supply store will sell them to you, and so will Odorite on Maryland Ave, and Uline.com. Only nitrile gloves are solvent proof. Do not bring vinyl or latex.
We also recommend you bring an apron and comfortable shoes.