Operating a Table-Top Platen Press

Operating a British-made Adana 8X5 table-top platen press. This press is currently for sale. It can be collected from York in the UK, or delivered within a 100-mile radius. Please leave a comment here if you are interested, bearing in mind the geographical restrictions.

[@huckster66]

Nice how to video. I just purchased an older model of what you have there.

[@HeyPatch]

Thanks, this is great, very informative. I just got an Adana printing press from a secondhand shop, I plan on restoring it and hopefully getting it printing again.

[@thomascook3813]

First press I ever printed on was a Heidelberg 10x15 red ball platen doing 4 colour bags for the food industry. Amount of ink and impression pressure is easy to figure out. Rub your finger lightly over printed area, if it easily smuges than you have way to much ink. If the image is low in places build up ONLY those low spots. Last thing you want to do is ruin your plate. Once it's "F'd" it's "F'd"! Letterpress is to me the easiest form of print.

[@syedaamirhussain6111]

Great 🎉 thanks for sharing 🎉

[@Metaltype]

I bought the machine in 1977. I've looked after it well. Unfortunately they don't make them new any more. Excellent advice on picking up a second-hand table-top press can be found in "First Steps in Letterpress"

[@poorbuthonest]

David Hughes they do make again now - Caslon.co.uk

[@ChandraMCraft]

Amazing

[@ronnieg6358]

I was given one of these machines and as a time served letterpress printer found it impossible to get proper ink application to the type. There is an inherent design fault in the roller bearers being of a larger diameter form the rollers themselves. This gave a skid across the type and produced a 'wipe' which is the professional term. The reason for this design is so that a piece of paper larger than the forme can be printed without two black lines being printed at the same time, the forme bearers being below type height.

[@ProtonOne11]

This is interesting. I just got an old used Adana that i'm restoring/cleaning now. It came with new rubber inking rollers, but the nylon roller runners are missing. I was planning to 3D print these, just to try the machine out. I have found the original diameters on the internet. I guess if i see some smearing issues i could just try smaller diameters and add some shims to the rolling surface of the frame to get the rubber rollers to the right distance from the type bed and hopefully eliminate any smearing/skidding issues. I'll try the default factory diameter roller runners first tho, just to see how it works.

[@ronnieg6358]

@@ProtonOne11 The roller runners must be the same diameter as the rubber part. Also the bearers which they run on must be exactly "tipe high" or you will get a skid. Best of luck I hope it works.

[@相声精选-i5j]

thank you very much.It helps me a lot in my homework.

[@logicalnotes5007]

Are you getting a lot of fumes from the ink? And how’s the registration? Can you feed single business cards 3.5” X 2.0” or 8.4 cm X 5.5 cm? Finally, what’s the cost of just the machine alone?

[@dakansamake321]

très très impressionnant

[@ainulhaque6651]

প্লব

[@dakansamake321]

cool

[@Metaltype]

"First Steps in Letterpress" is an ebook. There are links to it in the description of this video.

[@mechyaustin9767]

Excellent... Is this machine available for sale... ??? Please help me

[@asmrcalligraphy4133]

Thanks for the video! Iv been looking at getting a press of my own but not sure if you can get a great impression from the presses? Have you had any experience with this?!

[@tsaras2838]

hi, what if someone wants to print long texts ? is there a trick in it or you just have to build patience? thanks for your video

[@mauriciocalizaya5319]

Que hermoso donde concigo

[@chithrashiva8031]

Super very nice

[@richardcaslon3954]

These machines are still being made by Caslon Limited who purchased the Adana Company back in the 1980's .... our new HD Rollers produce perfect results and will not melt in the heat. Check out www.caslon.co.uk for more information.

[@ilanbm1]

hi i'm very intrested by the letterpress i want to know where i can buy a little press like yours?

[@barbarachurchill5304]

Poilâne Morel I think that’s an Adana Press made in the U.K. I believe they are still making and selling a variety of presses. As well as replacement parts, inks, etc. Google and see if they are still manufacturing these.I bought a smaller press there about 5 years ago.

[@roberttrimbach]

what is that press and where would you get one?

[@redblade43]

It would have been much better and easier if you had used a hand roller to put the ink on the Adana machine.

[@ronnieg6358]

Yes I agree. I had one of these machines and as an ex letterpress printer it was impossible to get a smooth application of ink onto the type without getting a 'wipe'. The bearers on the end of the rollers were larger than the surface of the roller and so skidded over the type. It seemed to me that the geometry was all wrong but they must have sold thousands of them.

[@RajaSekar-tu8no]

Adana 5x8 machine wanted

[@jamesmccarter1737]

Good luck doing a 5000 run

[@modularbliss]

In case you are interested in attending an actual (physical) letterpress class near you, you can find a list of workshops here: weloveletterpress.sharetribe.com

[@redblade43]

And those gelatin rollers he is putting on the machine are crap and a false economy. I bought a second-hand flatbed Adana many years ago and it came with gelatin rollers and after one use, I put the machine away for a couple of weeks in a cupboard. When I wanted to use the machine again, the rollers had melted all over the machine and on the floor (afterwards I bought rubber rollers).

[@theplatenprinter]

They look very much like Elli Evans ones, no longer in business. They turned sticky very quickly

[@chithrashiva8031]

Thanks very much my home please elme

[@salseritojuanchito]

if you apply it with a spatula think fast inking jajaajajajja

[@mdrakibhossain737]

Pires

[@lauriemcmullan500]

Ok for students at school 11-15 years old not for commercial use! Waste of time and money!