Inky fingers

I started tonight by running a test line of type over 5 new types of paper that I've collected. I love this font, but unfortunately, these few letters are all I have of it.

Time to put ink on the ink disc and rollers for the first time. The mechanism that turns the ink disc by a couple of degrees with each rotation is missing a bolt, so I had to do it manually instead. I think that's the first thing I'll be fixing!

Random words for the sake of printing something...

I assume it's easier to clean type when it's still in the chase? I need to get an old toothbrush for those fiddly bits.

So things I've learned today:

1. Ink is messy. Holy cow.
2. I need more space. I need places to dry prints.
3. Cleaning up isn't as hard as I thought it would be.
4. I'm still a perfectionist. This is only day 3 of using my press and I'm cranky it's not worthy of a gallery hanging.
5. I'm starting to get better at creating even impressions. The knobs still have to be adjusted after every forme change, which I don't think is right, but I'm getting there.

As much as it frustrates me, I'm absolutely loving this. I can't wait to try new colour (black gets dull quickly). Hard to believe all of my equipment only arrived 4 days ago...

Still looking for somewhere to create photopolymer plates from electronic files. I hear magnesium lasts longer, but is much more expensive. Drop me a comment if you know of any Australian suppliers.

On another note, my packing and tympan system rocks. Will have to take pics of that next time.

I spent a good part of my day talking to paper merchants about the best paper to use. Nathan Doggett from K. D. Doggett spent some time with me on Friday discussing this. His samples arrived today, which is what I was printing on tonight. Russell from Chapel Press is a lovely fellow and had a chat about paper and photopolymer plates, too. I've found that people in the letterpress community are so helpful and genuine.

Thanks to megan and Ampersand Duck for their nice comments! Megan I've heard so much about Crane's Lettra paper, but can't find it for sale (other than precut cards with borders) in Australia. Chapel Press recommended Somerset as a similar product, so I'll have to find some of that now. Ducky, I've emailed girlprinter, thanks for the tip :)

PS. Blogger sucks for editing paragraph styles...