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Roller Mania

letterpress_rollers

Rollers might not be the most exciting topic to many people, but they surely are an essential component of a good letterpress. They can make the difference between a beautifully inked impression and  muddled, sloppy, printing frustrations. Recently I purchased new rollers for Rowley Press’s Chandler & Price Old Style Letterpress, aka The Scholar. I happened to be down by the factory where they were made, so I stopped by to say hello and to check out their operation. More after the jump…

The lobby was full of odd little antique printers that they had on display. Of course I asked if I could buy one. I have this sickness where I have to try and buy all of the old equipment that I can get my hands on. I should collect stamps rather than antique cast iron beasts. The roller factory was mainly a various assortment of mechanical lathes and a very large oven. I was surprised at how they make the rollers. I thought that they would cast them (some manufacturers do), but they actually roll a rubber sheet around the roller core until they build them up to approximately the correct height. Next, they put a shrink wrap around the rubber and roller cores and throw them in the huge pressurized oven. When the temperature increases, the rubber melts and the shrink wrap pulls tight around the roller to create one cohesive mass of rubber surrounding the core. After they cool. they are taken out of the oven and put on a lathe to be turned down to the exact measurements for the machine that they will be going on. I am always amazed to see something produced because of all the little tricks that are trade specific and are quite an esoteric body of knowledge specific to very small groups of people. I love to peek into their worlds.

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