1. Max Gorchakov

   Cat, how long does it take to produce this? I mean just printing, not design and creation of a press-form…

   And how a press-form was produced?

   Aug 7th, 2009

2. visualchemist

   Hey Maxim!

   I’ve never actually timed how many prints Lucy can do per minute so thanks for asking. Time really depends on the type of press I am using. There’s a long and short way to answer this. It’s a loaded question, so I’ll try not to ramble too much.

   I used “Lucy Pearl,” (my Golding Pearl No. 7 OS) for this particular project. Lucy has a motor that has three speed settings. For now, I have her on the slowest setting to reduce human error and to prevent my fingers from getting smashed. (People have actually lost a digit or two on these motorized presses by being careless or simply not giving their press their complete attention.)

   I can even run Lucy manually by simply pushing the flywheel (that’s the big wheel on her left side, with the curvy spokes) which closes the platen on my piece of paper when I am ready to make my impression.

   If I were to give my best estimate, I can probably print about 10-13 pieces per minute at Lucy’s current speed. But I’m not always blowing through and completing the print job in one straight shot. I am constantly watching how the ink lays down and must sometimes stop the press to re-ink or to make adjustments to the registration. I also stop the press to fan my paper or to set aside the finished stacks of prints that I have in front of me.

   What actually takes more time than the act of printing itself is preparing the press for printing (setup or “make-ready”). That doesn’t include the time spent designing or creating the press forme. Make-ready involves setting up the packing on the platen, registering my gauge pins, spreading my ink on the ink disk and rollers, and prepping my paper. A lot of preparation is involved between designing the forme and holding a final printed piece in hand.

   That’s probably why print houses today have dumped the old ways of doing things for the fast and slick digital stuff. If you ask me, it’s a labor of love and you really have to love doing this and have a high attention to detail. The result is a luxuriously textured printed piece that can’t be matched by any digital press.

   Ok, I’ve started rambling, so back to your other question… How was the forme produced? This particular job was printed using wood backed magnesium plates. There are other methods to choose from like wood type, metal type, photopolymer plates, linoleum blocks, etc. You can literally print from any material, so long as it’s a specific height, strong enough to withstand tons of PSI, and can be locked into the chase for printing.

   I had to send out for these plates to be made because I don’t have the equipment necessary, but people have successfully created platemaking equipment in their own homes. Lucky ducks.

   Hmmm… here’s the short answer to your questions… This project of 1,800 2-sided prints with 4 enclosures took about 5 days to produce between all the starting and stopping I had to do. I ordered the wood-backed magnesium plates from Owosso Graphic Arts.

   I hope that answers your question. I could go on forever…

   Sep 12th, 2009

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