Flatbed Type Printer?
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I was just thinking about printing and wondering if there are any affordable printers around that can handle stiff, thick paper or even rigid media like Masonite. I did a quick look but everything is bigger and designed for commercial use which I don't need. If the printer would handle 8-1/2" wide paper I'd be happy.
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Dave,
I'd suggest you check Briar Press, a web site devoted to old printing equipment. It's http://www.briarpress.org. There's a fair amount of equipment always for sale. I think you want a sheetfed flatbed press. But I'd also suggest contacting people at Bowne & Co., at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City (212-748-8651), for their advice. The problem may not be the press itself but the item you want to print. In the old days, of course, metal type or a metal engraving was inked and pressed against the paper. Hence the term letterpress. These days, printing is either offset (a thin metal plate inks a rubber roller, which in turn presses against the paper) or lithography (a really big hunk of copper is etched with the desired image then coated with very thick ink; a knife scrapes off excess ink as the copper presses against the paper, and the ink is sucked out of the metal and onto the paper). I don't know anyone these days who's still making old-style engravings for letterpress printing. Offset and lithography aren't practical (read affordable) for hobbyists.
You might also want to explore various kinds of non-contact printing, the technology that spritzes packing codes on food packaging. It could easily print on Masonite (or on a cinderblock, if you care to). But it's unknown territory to me otherwise. Maybe a local sign shop would know more. The sign shop may also be able to help you with silk-screen printing, which would also work on thick paper or Masonite, and doesn't require an engraving.
I do happen to own a small letterpress, which I bought years ago at a flea market but have never used. It was for printing invoices and business cards; I don't think it can handle an 8-1/2x11 sheet.
If you want more information, shoot me an email and I'll try to help.
Best,
dh -
Thanks for all that info David, I'll check out Briar Press.
I probably should have been clearer. My main interest is in a "simple" inkjet printer if such a thing exists. I was thinking about the possibility of printing onto heavy paper--stuff in the 140lb - 300lb range and I'd be printing images from SketchUp. It's just an idea I've got and might not be practical at all. Still, I like looking at that old printing equipment.
Years and years ago I was given this cool old press that had these half cylinders into which lines of type could be fed or you could clamp on plates for images. It needed a gear which, in hindsight, I should have had made but I was in high school and had little money. I ended up passing it on to someone else who probably discard it. I don't know the manufacturer now but if the Internet had existed in those days, I could probably have found a replacement gear fairly easily. Oh well. It's ancient history now.
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Dave,
Kate and I have made our own holiday cards for years, using antique postcards as the basis of the design. We print them on fairly heavy stock, something in the 120- to 140-pound range; actually, whatever Staples has on hand. We've used ordinary Canon, Epson, and HP printers with no ill effects. These days, most inkjets can handle photo paper, which is pretty thick and stiff. I think you'd be able to push the envelope a little (to coin a phrase) with even heavier stock. The worst that can happen is a paper jam when you run the first sheet through.
Masonite? Not on an inkjet printer. But as I said, you could silkscreen an image onto the board with little difficulty.
Good luck,
dh -
Thanks David,
I'll give it a try on our HP which I hate.
By the way, watch your e-mail. Something coming soon.
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