Ink, Paper & Pressure Restoration of a 1925 Vandercook Press & Renewed Printmaking Research

Professor Sandra Starck and Jessie Pautsch Department of Art and Design
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Restoration of the printing cylinder
A thin film of viscous, sticky printer’s ink is applied to the type (whist Letterpress Printing proved challenging; years of neglect had locked up in the chase) with a brayer or bodkin . A sheet of paper is resulted in frozen joints and missing carefully placed upon the inked type. To transfer (print) the ink onto paper,
The advent of the printing press, widely screws. The tympan paper (a thick the cylinder is rolled down the pressbed and pressure is thus applied to attributed to a 15 th century German, waxed paper which protects the rubber the forms within the chase. Johannes Gutenberg , revolutionized the skin of the roller) needed replacement, distribution of both written media and art. and the very heavy printing cylinder had
Once printed, the sheet ( proof ) is checked for any errors (grammar, For the first time in history, an inexpensive to be removed and re-centered onto the spelling etc.). If discrepancies of ink coverage are discovered, the and easily repeatable process (printing) tracks so that the cylinder could exert process of makeready’ ensues. To ensure even inking, all height made it possible for the commoner to uniform pressure upon the length of the discrepancies within the form is corrected with packing material (thin access literature and art. entire pressbed. Soaking all bolts with papers laid beneath forms, the purpose of which is to adjust printing penetrating oil successfully loosened height). All forms must be type high meaning exactly .914 inches in height years of grime and dried grease and thus in order to print correctly.
In the following centuries, letterpress allowed us to lift the trusses and place printing became the standard method of the cylinder into optimal position for
Traditionally, ink kissed off onto the paper gently; nowadays, new-to- information (text) dissemination. From the printing. 15 th century through the 19 th century this letterpress aficionados seem to prefer heavier, embossed (indented) pressure. To kiss or to bite is the contemporary aesthetic question. monopoly would continue, but by
Much to our surprise, in refastening the the1960’s many presses and fonts of type trusses we discovered, that due to a were abandoned, often sold as scrap slight error in Vandercook’s original metal, considered to be outdated and casting of the vertical piers, that they Conclusions obsolete, and were replaced by the ‘new were not of matching heights, causing
The restoration of this press inspired and kid in town’ called Offset Lithography. the cylinder to seize (not roll) when the challenged us to research and conduct pier bolts were tightened. The problem work across multiple disciplines. Before was remedied by equalizing the heights physical restoration of the machine could with shims of paper selectively placed The Vandercook Press begin, we needed to become familiar with between trusses and piers.
The press we restored is a Double Truss Proofing Press historical and mechanical letterpress made in 1925 by Vandercook and Sons of Chicago, Illinois. issues . Afterwards, in-depth research into
After a final waxing, polishing, and traditional typesetting rules and installation of new tympan paper, the techniques, followed by hours of trial &
The ‘double truss’ refers to the paired rails which assist in the stabilization press was ready to print for the first time error processing ensued. In an age of and tracking of the printing cylinder as it is rolled down the press bed. The in many years. chronic consumer discard, it has been designation of ‘ proofing press ’ comes from the machine’s use as a exceptionally satisfying to take an beta-testing ground for designs; the uncomplicated, hand-powered design of abandoned machine and coax it back into such a press provided the ability to quickly proofread and make any beautiful working order. necessary adjustments of layout so that critical errors would not make their Creating a Broadside Print way into a final publication.
To create a broadside, one first needs to
Along the way, our project piqued the compose the type upon a metal galley interest of fellow students & faculty and (tray). An entire set of alphabetic letters raised awareness of printmaking. We and numbers, and special characters also curated an exhibition of letterpress (called ligatures ), and punctuation is broadsides and type specimens; this called the font ; the shape and style of exhibit was held February 20 - March 13, any font is termed the typeface . 2014 in UWEC Foster Gallery. The artifacts were from the Hamilton Wood
To print a broadside , one first needs to Type & Printing Museum’s collection. compose wood and/or lead type upon a As well, Museum Director Jim Moran was metal galley tray. Once arranged, this invited to conduct a letterpress printing typeset form is moved into a chase (a demonstration in Foster Gallery on the metal frame which provides counter- refurbished press, and present a lecture pressure to type and spacing elements on the subject of Hamilton Museum’s Restoration of the Press whilst printing). Sentences and words history and the art of letterpress printing. are interspaced with leading and slugs ,
Our project began with attendance at an educational conference at while wood furniture and quoins brace
From a working printmaker’s perspective, restoration of this press and Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum ’s Wayzgoose in Two Rivers, the composition against the frame of the the ensuing accession of letterpress knowledge facilitated a stronger Wisconsin, November 7 -10, 2014. The Wayzgoose featured keynote chase . The ultimate goal is to have a symbiosis between the art we produce and the tools we use to create it. speakers on all things typography plus multiple hands-on letterpress solid arrangement of type locked into the With the refurbishment of this Vandercook press, and donations of workshops where we learned the basics of letterpress printing. chase so that it cannot wiggle nor shift various letterpress items, the stage has been set for future UWEC art whilst being printed. The secured design, students to explore the ever- evolving potential of printer’s ink and the
Our cast iron, antique Vandercook press required extensive restoration chase and all, is then moved to the written word. before we could attempt any printing. The press was disassembled so pressbed for proofing. that decades of grime and rust could be removed. The pressbed and trusses were scrubbed clean with steel wool and carnauba wax; wire Acknowledgements grill brushes were used to clean the lower rail gear teeth. Jessie Professor Starck and Jessie Pautsch sincerely wish to thank ORSP, Hamilton Wood assisted Gallery Director Tom Wagener in the construction of a mobile Type and Printing Museum & Director Jim Moran, Foster Gallery Director Tom Wagner, and UWEC Department of Art and Design. cart to house the newly restored press and its numerous essential accoutrements.