Heidelberg Windmill

[PricelineNegotiator]

Hey there,

We are playing with the idea of getting a letterpress as we live in a resort town where weddings are rather prevalent. Printing embossed or stamped invites would be awesome to do in house. The owner is quite against getting any sort of letterpress, as he claims it is very very dangerous and our insurance rates would skyrocket. Is there any one that could confirm or deny these claims? Looking at the machines in person, I can see that they might not be very safe, but there is a lot of money to be made on each job. Just looking for your general impression of them.

 

[dabob]

Your owner is right . . . letterpress can be very dangerous . . . but not any more than offset machines they will both crush hands and fingers very well . . but I have been running both since high school and still have 10 fingers . . . and I don't think the insurance rates will "skyrocket" if you already have offest machines . . . but if your just a copy shop with toner/inkjet machines I just don't know. But learning how to foil and emboss is a whole new world . . . good luck

 

[old guy]

we have two kluges that foil stamp, emboss, score, perf and die cut but dont print with ink. we have a windmill and a meihle verticle that we can print and number with. couldnt live without them.
the modern kluges have osha standard safety features but like dabob said any machine can get you.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

That's what I figured. We currently have 5 single or 2-color presses on the floor with a mix or digital machines. Have been wanting to get into it pretty bad. I've heard of a Windmill that has a foil add-on? And what is the difference between the redball and blackball models? Anything I should be looking for before I buy?

 

[old guy]

redballs are newer machines, after 1955 i think, black ball machines would have been production machines in their day so probably more wear. they do have some with foil attachments that work real well. lots of youtube videos on several machines so you can see how they work.

 

[dabob]

Not to be too cynical . . . but the first thing would be someone to teach you . . . this is your fathers printing machine . . .

but seriously you can get a foil unit for either the windmill or the kluge - I think the red ball is a newer mode than the black ball and on the windmills make sure the arms are not bent . . .

 

[old guy]

the people that run these machines are craftsmen, and ladies. finding someone to run them or train you is a must. we have apprenticed a couple of youngsters here and its allways a challenge to find the right mind set.
these machines top out at around 2500 impressions an hour compared to our offset machines that max at 15000. can be tedious to set up but i love running them.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

I don't have any question to my ability to run these machines. I have a sound mechanical approach, and can operate every piece of equipment in our shop sans the offset presses, which I haven't attempted yet. The hard part is convincing the owner to get one.

 

[dabob]

This isn't the offset machines . . . like I said before . . . this is you fathers printing machine . . . its a craft and you will burn a lot of jobs before you teach yourself the "right" way to do it . . . good luck ")

 

[kyprinter]

I would just like to mention that the skill and craftsmanship of letterpress printing like my father taught me won't please the modern designer. I was taught to use the lightest pressure possible to achieve a good image and it was never acceptable to be able to see or feel an impression on the back of the sheet. That deep imprint on the front and impression on the back is the exact thing that most of today's designers are looking for (to quote one…"It makes it easy for people to see that it was printed on a letterpress"). You don't need a lot of training or experience to get that kind of print.

 

[dabob]

I would just like to mention that the skill and craftsmanship of letterpress printing like my father taught me won't please the modern designer. I was taught to use the lightest pressure possible to achieve a good image and it was never acceptable to be able to see or feel an impression on the back of the sheet. That deep imprint on the front and impression on the back is the exact thing that most of today's designers are looking for (to quote one…"It makes it easy for people to see that it was printed on a letterpress"). You don't need a lot of training or experience to get that kind of print.

kyprinter . .. your'e exactly right . . I once had another print shop owner in and he said that the thing about letterpress is the impression it leaves behind . . . I went and dug out my old linotype instruction manuals and asked him if he could find any "impressions" in it . . . needless to say but he couldn't . .. I figured that the iino book was probably printed letterpress by skilled craftsmen who knew their trade . .. he tried to argue with me and I told him that you might as well print it offset and then get a debossing die and do it correctly instead of smashing the job

and Priceline, while you might be able to get paper to run through the machine and leave a mark . . . you want to foil and emboss . . . well you might be able to shoot a bow and arrow when you first pick it up . . . but it will be a while until you can hit a bullseye from 125 feet . . .

 

[oscarl2154]

If a designer wants to be able to see or feel the impression, they do not know what real letterpress is. They can go to anyone who does run and smash letterpress. A true letterpress quality piece is a delicate work of art. Very few of those left.

 

[old guy]

http://www.metalmagic.com/#brass-dies
watch the videos some of the dies they make cost 1000's. they have hand sculpted die engravers on staff still. a small mistake in set up and one of these dies is scrap. start with the little stuff. good luck priceline i hope you guys go for it I'll be here if you need any tips.