Table Top Etching Press, and how I use mine.

This is a video showing you around a Fome school etching press, a budget etching press, and a demonstration of me using it to print an intaglio plate.
Check out my new video, looking at a great technique for using this press!
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Find me on Instagram for regular updates about my work @alisonsloggett
Thanks!

[@starvingartistscollective]

Good video. I have one of these presses and the same problems with the press bed sliding or the plate getting stuck. Solved my issue by removing the metal press bed and getting a piece of 12mm/0.5in thick plywood cut to the same size . The bottom roller can grip the wood much better and the plywood is very cheap to replace if it warps. TFS!!

[@whiskeypaintersartproducts]

great video, i love these presses, they work really well for home use.

[@margaretmarshall6041]

Excellent down-to-earth presentation. Congratulations. I am starting to follow your footsteps this coming week having purchased a polymetaal. Many thanks.

[@TheYellowjim]

Thanks and have fun with your polymetal 😁

[@barbwatchesyt4084]

I love the little guide that you made to adjust the height of the top roller. I guess you need it real tight for etchings. I use it for lino and it's not that tight still good results. I also use a silicone baking mat on the metal base board to keep the lino block in place because the metal is slippery. It's not bad value, for my first ever printing press!

[@elfy60]

Beautiful print. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheYellowjim]

Thanks and thanks for watching 😁

[@gerdpelgidium]

I bought this press today and oh boy, iam excited

[@TheYellowjim]

Good luck with it, hope you have fun 👍

[@armellequeguinerpiriou8637]

Thank you so much !! I received my press yesterday. Fortunately I used one once last week during a workshop, but your video provides me most of the information I need to start on my own. I said "to start" ... I will have to start and start again, and have a look to your web site and other videos to progress. Best regards from France

[@tryggviedwald1542]

I have the same device. It kept slipping - both the base plate against the roller, and the print plate against the base. I glued non-slip materials on both sides of the base plate, and now it sort of works as expected. BTW I don’t crank it all the way through, so the last bit of the felt remains caught between the base plate and the top roller, ready for the next print.

[@GabdeVue]

thank you so much for this video. i am despairing over this press (but also a beginner with printing.) But it's really hard to troubleshoot if there are sooo many things i don't know yet. "is this a pressure issue or did i apply the color wrong?" Right now i am batteling my lino plate moving around. I made a sturdy cardboard frame that the linoprint fits in perfectly and tried to really hold the cardboard down - but its about 2mm lower than the print and i cannot get the press to roll over the print without everything moving again. Aaaah, but i will figure this out. Your video helps a great deal in knowing that it IS possible and what else i could try. It amazes me that there are videos for almost everything available : )

[@TheYellowjim]

You probably don't need the pressure very hard for printing lino on it, and yes bit of a tricky press for the beginner ! Good luck and persevere 😁

[@GabdeVue]

@@TheYellowjim Thank you!! With the help of the internet i figured out that i did not apply the color correctly but also your video helped me to improve my setup! Thanks a lot and it was a joy to watch you work : )

[@blazerbarrel2]

Use longer blankets and you can keep the pressure at a set roller distance . Step the packing .

[@susannaheathfineart]

Thanks for that. I’ve been scared to use it! What height do you have it for the different prints? And what varnish did you use for your ‘etching there?

[@TheYellowjim]

because I bring the roller down onto the plate whatever it might be , that sets the height, and I use shellac for the collograph plates i make :) thanks for watching

[@JaraArts]

If you have long scraps of the cardboard left you can make those longer than the plate so they go underneath the roller before the plate gets to it. Put pressure on the roller. That way the jump between the plate en the cardboard is not as high (since that is causing the cardboard to shift out of place. It litterally cannot get underneath the roller. Make the hight difference smaller by adding cardboard of similar height and your problem should be solved, i hope. Good luck! I just bought the same press for my etching.

[@TheYellowjim]

Thank you yes, that is a technique I should try 👍

[@sokkoart]

Great informative video for beginners with a press like me. I wonder if the paper should always be wet because I have been using regular cheap paper for testing and when it passes through the roller it wrinkles.

[@TheYellowjim]

you definitely always want damp paper when doing something like a dry point or collagraph on a press like this, otherwise it will crease rather than form to the image. thanks

[@sokkoart]

@@TheYellowjim thanks to you for your answer. Have a good day

[@gabiIglesias1]

Once you bolted it down it worked? I have the same one and once my plate gets to the roller it doesn’t pass through

[@TheYellowjim]

Bolting it down is necessary, as for certain prints you need as much pressure as you can, which makes the handle hard to turn especially if it is not bolted down . The problem you are describing i have gotten around by bringing the roller down onto the edge of my plate , it is not a perfect system but for anything thicker thank ceral box card its the only way ive found to stop the plate just being pushed away .. hope that helps.

[@avicohen122]

Where I can buy parts

[@AquaMerleau]

Thanks for this demo - shows me that the press will actually work if you know what you are doing. I have yet to get mine to work. I am trying collagraph plates but I haven't managed to get the pressure right yet - it's either too light or the roller just shoves the whole plate along the bed :-( Any suggestions please?

[@TheYellowjim]

make sure your paper is damp ... bevel the edges of your plate.. make runners for the sides of the press out of the same material your plate is made from.. or like me start the roller on the plate, and tighten it till wont easily tighten any more and try that. you also might have trouble if you plate has too much difference in height . just some suggestions to try , but i think with these presses its a lot of trial and error. hope that helps.

[@AquaMerleau]

Ty so much for the info

[@AquaMerleau]

Thank you - that suggestion for bringing the roller down onto the edge of the plate sounds really useful!

[@caroldawson2658]

I have the same problem, it sticks when it gets to the plate! I too start the roller on the plate but hoping for a better solution!

[@TheYellowjim]

@@caroldawson2658 another thing to try is runners on the edge of the bed of the press made of the same material as your plate (but longer) so you bring it down onto those and it should be the right height, I have tried that with this press and i still had problem of shoving plate away though....

[@portugalinbox4313]

Thank you for sharing. Is it possible to use metal sheets on it or only lino? Thank you ;)

[@TheYellowjim]

You can print linos and etched metal plates , it would just take a bit of fiddling to find right pressure .

[@jamiestryker5898]

TheYellowjim so it could be appropriate for lino? I can't find an affordable block printing press, and it would be great if these intaglio presses could work.

[@TheYellowjim]

@@jamiestryker5898 hiya, yes u could print linos on it, i haven't done much of that myself, but again a bit of experimenting with set up and pressure and i think it would do a good job at it though. 👍

[@molleisak]

Mine just spins?? Not getting traction enough from the bottom roller to drive the metal (table) plate. Any suggestions??

[@TheYellowjim]

Yes this is a problem with it, there are a couple of ways of dealing with it- either try a thinner plate something like thin card or plastic (depending on what your making) you could try reducing the pressure a bit, starting the roller on the plate so it pinches it and cant slide away. or using something like runners of the same materials either side , or making a frame of card that your plate sits in so it cant escape. hope that helps.

[@MrResomaker]

I recently got one of these and was having the same issues with the plate not going under the roller. I've found another solution to this is to place the plate at a slight diagonal to the roller (assuming your plate and paper are not too large). This gives the roller less surface area to initially roll over. Can I ask what your are using as a "cardboard plate" for your etching? Is this masonite or similar hardboard material? Thanks for the vid.

[@MrResomaker]

I just watched your other video so now I understand the type of cardboard. Are you shellacking that and then scratching your design into the shellac? Thx.

[@TheYellowjim]

Thats a good idea, the card i used for this print is grey board ( the card you get on the back of pads of paper and the like.) :)

[@oldjapanesephotos3684]

look up vevor etching press. Itțs the same press FOME buys from the Chinese, selling it for 4x its price

[@jennifercunningham631]

Hi, nice prints and video. Can you use this press for intaglio drypoints. I'm hoping to get my students to score into perpex. Can you get away with adjusting it once if all plates I use are the same thickness. I've only ever used geared presses before but hoping this would be fine for students work as I'm hoping to travel into schools.

[@TheYellowjim]

Hiya, yes think you could, as long as the perspex the students are using isn't thick, if it is like the 1mm stuff think you could set the press up for all of them 😊

[@juljos9343]

Where did you buy it from?

[@TheYellowjim]

Jacksons art , online retailer.

[@TERRYBIGGENDEN]

A delightful print (etching?) :-)

[@TheYellowjim]

kind of, the image is scratched into greyboard :)

[@anakkampung79]

oke mantap

[@arinoori2869]

What is its dimensions?

[@TheYellowjim]

about 30 cm wide , not including the handle, and the base plate is approx 40 cm long. thanks

[@arinoori2869]

@@TheYellowjim Thank you brother

[@hanestetico]

That's the made in italy quality. The best Italian press is made by Bendini

[@avicohen122]

Can u make me one I will. Pay. I need it. For press.

[@TheYellowjim]

Hiya, Make you one of what sorry ?

[@TheYellowjim]

www.fome.it/contatto2.php# here is a link to the company website, if you need spare parts they may be able to help you. it is an Italian company . thanks