Zum Gali Gali Rubber Stamps presents Homemade block printing press

This press has been working OK for reduction block postcards. It's not intended for a serious artist, but it's a start.

It's made of two pieces of 3/4 inch fir plywood, the base about 12 x 10 inches, the top about 8 x 10. A piece of handrail molding is screwed to the top for a handle. Two strap hinges, on matte board shims, hold the top to the base with enough space between for a printing block. Since I improvised the whole thing from scrap, I don't want to sound as though you should use the same dimensions or materials, and I'm not giving you exact plans.

There are several sheets of thin bubble paper under the block to adjust the thickness to the space between the top and base of the press.

Here I've printed stage 1 of the block in orange and in light green, then printed stage 2 in red and green. I'm about to print stage three in very dark green. This card is for Christiane Eichler's "repetitive nothings" postcard swap. I don't think it's exactly what she had in mind, but that's part of the fun.

---

Back to Reduction blocks page

Home