The Rocker Press! A poor man’s homemade printing press for lino and woodcuts
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- I know nothing about lino printing, except it helps if you have a press. But printing presses cost LOTS of money - so I made my own version of one. It probably has some disadvantages but I haven't found them yet, and one of the advantages is that it is easily scaleable - something I want to get to soon.
(I had thought I'd illustrate the new book with lino cut prints, but I've since changed my mind and am trying something else. Stay tuned...)
Ok, here are some important website links. Please check them out..
Here's Tim's amazing guitar machine..
www.chordelia.com
here's our online store where you can see some of the craft things we make and sell..
www.wayoutweste...
and here's our Patreon page where you can see more of our plans and dreams. (Remember even 5 dollars would make a BIG difference to us and we'd be very grateful.)
www.patreon.co...
and finally our FaceBook page / way.outwest.524 (Not quite sure what to do with this but we put photos and extra comments when we get around to it..)
Thank you!
Sandra & Tim
blowinblog@gmail.com
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Gordon the donkey walked back into the barn while I was working - but I didn't see him at all. It wasn't till someone pointed him out that I realised he was in the video - and had been in front of the welder. Of course I would not have used the welder if I'd known he was there! He's fine though - no harm done. I'll have to get him a welding mask for future projects..
First thing I saw: the donkey is not wearing welding goggles! 🤣
@@catlange I literally came to the comments because I was like, um so it's ok to blind the donkey!? Donkey, GET! lol Gordon is just straight up staring at the light.
Been a long time since I majored in art ....but as long as the print is small enough a wooden rolling pin from the kitchen works nicely. Also my best prints came from oil based inks.
Robin Miller hey, neat! I was wondering if a rolling pin would work!!
It's crazy how I thought about a rolling pin while watching the video and the scrolled down the comments and randomly read yours and it said exactly what I was thinking
I just started hand printing, and have found that the glass weights I use for holding down sewing patterns make fine barens. That being said, I think I'll give a rolling pin a try too. It seems more efficient.
Too much trouble . . . I’ve been printing woodblocks and lino since the late 1970’s and still print using a barren. 😎
@@ggg-uu4io😂 I was thinking the same thing as I was reading your comment
LOLLLL A poor mans printing press!? “I cut the steel on my plasma cutter” wtf
Well I never said I was poor. I'm talking about the design., obviously..
Exactly. Like 'at last a chance to use my plasma cutter' hahahahaha
LOL i was thinking the same
thats exactly what i just said lol and then i laughed because my family used to own a plasma cutter that we didnt hardly use. wish i knew how to weld back then but i was like 13. still dont know how to weld. still cant afford the poor mans printing press lol.
“All those experts out there” first bit of sarcasm I’ve ever heard from that beautiful voice, love it!
I live in awe and admiration of your workshop skills, gentle good humour, tenacity and intelligence. Thank you for brightening my day.
You could narrate books and your humor is wonderful. Great job on the press. How novel and practical!
I've just spent the best 6 minutes of my week watching this video. You guys are adorable! xxx
Printmaking teacher here!
Overall I want to say that's a really interesting design, and one that I think could be used to great effect-- but for the type of prints you're doing, the woodcut and linocut, I think you'd do just as well with a baren, a handheld tool commonly used for Japanese woodblock printing. All you have to do is rub it against the back of the paper until the image transfers. It's a great method to try if you can't afford a big printing press.
A heavy duty press it's really useful for etchings and other printing processes where lots of pressure is needed to draw ink out of a printing plate. I think your roller press design could work for that, if you rock it under your feet!
I also recommend getting a sheet of heavy wool felt to lay between the paper and your steel press, if you continue to use it.
Happy printing!
Thanks, Leah. Yes, this was just a prototype - I want to go bigger : - )
a baren works better and faster
You might want to look into wood block printing. Rather than using a press they rub the paper by hand. It seems to go quite quickly. I've spent altogether too much time watching wood block printing on David Bull's youtube channel.
You and me both! David's video's are mesmerising.
Thank you - that was inspiring : - )
You and I both, NHL.
I'd never expect to find you on a video with 20,000 views.
how the print is done is separate from the type of print. i know a local artist who prints woodblock by running it over with a car. printing with a press is usually more consistent than a spoon.
I took Graphics in Highschool. We did linoleum prints using a rubber roller to force contact with the paper onto the linoleum blocks. It was great fun
your great mind will save lives one day make sure you get the best health care known to man planet earth needs you stay alive tim
An old mimiograph machine, they used them in schools before copiers were a thing. It's hand cranked and rolls the paper over the type or image. My aunt used one in high school to make flyers or something.
The principle is sound and anyone as smart and inventive as you can make it work.
Love to try - if I could find one
You have the best "Narration" Voice Over. . . Could listen to your "How To Videos" for ages !
Couldnt do that Metal Work Rocker. . . But maybe a simple Woodcut would be doable.
Did Lino Prints at School : who didnt ! 🤭
But that was Decades ago. . . Now to refind that 'Niave' Artistic touch. Got some Wood, some Tiny Chisels. And a need to make a Bee Themed Design.
Roll on New Year '24. . . And a bit of Creativity. 🙃
Thanks for your inspirational DIY spirit! I like your idea! I think it would work especially well for collagraph and dry point, where you need more pressure to get your print. Linos usually have a lot of surface ink, and can easily transfer with less pressure than your rocker would provide. So the rocker pressure is almost overkill for that type of plate. Drypoints (intaglio type prints) are done on harder surfaces and require more pressure because the ink is deposited into lines scratched into the surface. Collagraphs have a variety of surfaces, but often are incised or textured with grit to hold the ink, much like intaglio, so the pressure is often a necessity there as well.
As for the cupped surface of your rocker, I think its almost a given that some grinding will be required. You did a bang- up job. Kudos!
Thank you - you're right, of course : - )
My printmaking professor made a pretty similar device out of particle board with a skateboard for the top instead of handles. The operator would get on the skateboard and rock back and forth
Do you have a photo of that? Sounds great
Cool idea. Nice design, and I like your fish print. I was hopeful that maybe I’d found a doable DIY printing press video, but alas, when the plasma cutter came out, and the welding tools appeared, I knew this was not for me. I have neither of those tools, nor the skills to use said tools. But I enjoyed the video. Nicely done.
See if you can get a marble rolling pin or similar, works by the same basic principle
Great idea. I will shamelessly copy this and make one of my own. Excellent, excellent way to reduce the surface area that requires pressure.
Aye Tim. I like your hand and foot action. Looks like the way I put a metal shelf together today. I enjoyed this so much that I watched it twice. You are very inventive. Blessings to all.
Thanks, Pamela : - )
Anything from a tablespoon, which my dad used as a baren for all his woodcuts, up to a small steam roller, which a local printing cooperative uses for wall-sized prints.
When I used to do linocuts, I'd leave them on the block and use a hand baren - cheaply available at any art supply store. Pretty good results.
If you subject linoleum blocks to a lot of pressure, I would think they would break down after so many impressions. They're not as strong as litho stones or metal engraving plates.
a long time ago I helped a group of print makers give a demo, they had an etching press ( like the ones you showed in the start of the video) I remember that there was a felt blanket on top of the paper to help make the pressure even. good luck Ps Popular Mechanic magazine had plans for making one of roller presses, it would have been sometime in the 1960s think.
Nice idea and design. You're have a clever mind.
Thank you! Cheers!
Many ways to achieve a print and yours is quite nice!
Love the idea of a standing rocking press!
i think it's a winner.
Very cool! Always a pleasure to watch you problem-solve. We used to make lino prints on dampened paper using a hand-cranked wringer (the old-style laundry gadget with rubber rollers) and a couple of hand-made felt sheets for cushioning.
Sounds perfect. Did you stop printing?
Way Out West Blow-in blog yes
Lovely job Tim
Thank you!
How wonderful ! Very clever design. I've tried lots of inventions to achieve a similar effect; in fact to be able to make engravings as well which means a lot more pressure. Putting equal pressure on the surface is a difficult thing to achieve. I noticed this when I made my first "mouse squisher" by taking apart the device you use to lower a drill with a handle and built it back so that two plates would be pressed against each other. I couldn't, however, get the two plates exact enough and I was pressing moulds at the time so I abandoned the project. One of the ways traditional presses achieve equal distribution of pressure is sliding a bar over the plate as it is pressed with a spring levering against the pressure so that you can press in one flowing motion. In fact, it's a similar concept to the roller as the pressure is transferred from one side to the other in a rolling motion. I'm at present using an A3 embosser to engrave which they say doesn't produce nearly enough pressure. I can tell you it does; besides I've got 2 solutions I haven't tried yet: [1] making a mould of the engraving and then pressing the paper between the mould and the engraving so that it will push up and pick up the ink (meaning you don't need nearly as much pressure), and [2] fixing an enormous wheel to replace the little handle of the A3 embosser. I bet that would work if it doesn't provide too much pressure too quickly and snap the internal workings of the embosser!
such a cool idea! looks like it's working really well for you! i'm an at-home printmaker and I must say Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash relief ink is a great way to get a nice even print. Oil based but wash off with soap & water if you don't want to use solvents. But if you're okay with solvents, i'd say a regular oil based ink is always the way to go! Rolls out so nice and gives a really even print. good luck!! your fish looks great!
Thanks Annabella! I will investigate those. Trying not to spend anymore money but perhaps I'll have to..
Its been a bit since ive done linocut, but a way ive found for getting a good amount of ink but not too much is listening to the sounds from the rollers.
Admittedly it could be just as i hear it from the video & my ear buds, but if the ink is a good amount it should sound like a "shhh" sound. If it's too much itll make a wet, sticky, crackle sound both while rolling the ink and putting it on your cut.
( the 1st ink being too thin also might throw this advice out the window buuuut)
To avoid it myself id roll the ink and in an empty spot ( or a less inky one) & roll until i got the shh instead of the sticky crackle.
I hope this makes sense & helps. Good luck on your book and i hope you have fun with your prints!
Thanks Beeks. Lots to learn and no one to teach me, but I'm getting there
Nice idea! A drum brake pad from a truck would perform the same function with no need for welding.
Very cool a heavy waigh on one side and a leaver on the other maby
Maybe OT, but I recently got a library copy of a recent edition of the 1935 book, 'Four Hedges', by Clare Leighton (British)... illustrated with her really lovely wood engravings. Just fwiw, I found them mesmerizing....
spray a tiny bit of water on the paper and make it softer before printing can help close the gap between block and and paper
The second one was PERFECT!!!
Please do get a patent for this technology before it gets stolen. I think you've done a wonderful job. Thanks for sharing
Roller presses, and roller stamps have been around for a very long time, using the same principle. With a flat press the pressure is spread out. With a roller (or segment thereof) the pressure is localised, and thus higher.
It looks great and I used the press and also the rockers fore several years. It is tough work but I enjoyed it. Good work .
Thanks, Cheryl. I'm learning how satisfying it can be - when it goes right.
Very inventive....just to let you know that "Rockablocks" do exist. Made by American company, but on a smaller scale! They are used to ensure even pressure and positioning of stamps, particularly larger ones. If you need pics ....let me know I have a set of various sizes. The trout was beautifully crafted, well done Tim. It isn't easy and yours is a fabulous item.
Thanks Kathy. I'll certainly look them up now..
That's an amazing piece of engineering. Hat's out to you and your wonderful skills.I am trully admirative.
Wonderful. I had an idea if you put more curved 4mm metal plates as well as flat bar welded sideways to the curved plates every inch or so so that you don't get any dips in your curved flat sheet & for your curved flat sheet if you could make it out of 2mm or 3mm instead of 4mm then it would bend easier as well as if you pre-heated the flat sheet to a nice cherry red color before you rolled it over the curved straight sheets.
Yes, you're probably right on all counts - but I got there in the end anyway
As a printmaking major, I found this interesting!!! Another take on the press that I used in college! So with the ink, my professor used to say it should make a sound and yours did that schhhhrch sound thats "happy ink" next time try spreading it out with a palette knife? Perhaps that would help with the over inking in some spots.
What fun! Best wishes for the project.
4:54 Absolutely outstanding!!
Thank you
I just did a printmaking project of my own; I sure wish I had your rocker press! All I had was a small roller, which didn't work as well as I would've liked. My print was about a square foot in size, and trying to apply the same amount of pressure everywhere was difficult. The result was alright in the end, but there was certainly room for improvement! I'm curious to see where your printmaking adventure takes you!
The Andy Warhol fish prints. Beautiful! I’d frame up all your samples all together. They are kinda pretty on all those different papers and shades of ink. ❤️
if you made a screw press you could use it to press fruit to make your own wine or cider. it is a good way to make sure your fruit wont go to wast . i have seen presses made with hydraulic jacks. sum were over 12 tun jacks and were made mostly froom wood .
Impressed !
Hohoho!
A great invention! 😎
Great idea! Interested in seeing the standing version, a wooden version would work too.
The roller that you have is used to make a print. You'll want a rubber roller for inking up - just a bit wider than your shortest side (as they're quite expensive). They hold the ink well, allowing for a smooth rolling. Less "orange peel" look, more a smooth sound
Really? I didn't realise. Thanks, Michael.
This was the loveliest video to watch! You are so clever . Please keep making wonderful videos like this!
I have tried various prints using a 3d printer with pla to make the plate. Originally I pressed the print onto the paper, but eventually stumbled across the idea of rolling the paper onto the print which worked better, but pla is quite hard & the prints were still not great. I used stamping ink as I didn't have proper printing ink. There is a softer rubbery filament that is likely better then pla, but for the small number of prints I wanted I was too cheap to buy any. One could of course cnc a plate out of wood or hand carve out of wood as was once the preferred method but perhaps Lino is more uniform. I only tried small Lino pieces & didn't like how easily I could break it! Thanks for sharing!
I'm impressed - I wouldn't know how to use a 3d printer at all
@@WayOutWestx2 Much to my surprise I found 3d printers very easy. The one I have, the Creality cr10, was easy to put together, easy to level and it has printed everything I wanted from the thingyiverse site. Learning Fusion 360 took a little time but having done that the process of printing via the software cura which is called by Fusion 360 is very easy. I am still amazed at how precise the prints are, to .001 inch and i now use it for lots of jobs that once i would have made from wood or machined. The filament pla is strong enough to make lathe gears and you can stall the motor before they break. Prints can take several hours depending on what it is and i often run jobs overnight, it is like having ones own machine shop with an employee who never answers back and always does what you want. Probably you have more than enough things to do, but if you ever need 3d printing I find it very easy, learning to use my cnc router was a lot more trouble and full of mistakes and vexations.
I was thinking more of the designing/drawing for them. I'm one of those boring people who needs to keep re-inventing the wheel because I enjoy starting from scratch, so I'm not sure I could just take other people's designs and print them out. Though that would be exciting to watch, for sure.
@@WayOutWestx2 Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. All the stamps I have made are my own design executed via Fusion 360 which is zero cost for small business/folk earning less than $100k or something similar. You can import images and do all manner of manipulations to create your own files to print and the interface from Fusion 360 via Cura is a single click to launch Cura to then create the slicing file in g-code for the printer. I have been taken by how easy it is and how accurate and strong are the prints. It often takes a few hours to print, so I often set them to run overnight or other times when I am busy.
Loving your channel guys! I started with this Lino Cut video, but stayed for the animals ❤
thanks, Ampersand. Welcome aboard : - )
You are great at problem solving! I think to roller press works wonderful😸
This is great. Your problem solving is Five stars! And you seem to use your back ground in, I'm guessing, fabricating to great effect. While it might not be exactly orthodox, what you are doing here is just to cool to be distracted by orthodoxy. What is art making if not a human activity as varied as we are? I like it very much and approve. Have you tried using a blanket between the rocker and the plate, to cushion and distribute pressure?
this is a brilliant idea! very well executed too.
Thank you!
We made these in secondary school. My art teacher didn't like mine because it was a grim reaper and not flowers or something ☺ We didn't have a rocker or a press we just used a clean ink roller.
That plasma cutter is such a useful tool
I love your ingenuity, but definitely think a wooden block stamp would be much quicker and more accurate. Your lino cut illustration is perfect though, its beautiful.
I love your creativity. Thanks for sharing.
very nice as usual !love your ingeniosity ! for large lino prints on a budget, i've seen used with success lawn rollers
and if you need more info on how to proceed, i'd be glad to explain
They're expensive too, I think? But yes they should be perfect (as long as they are not dented?).
Tim, you rock!
Hi Tim. Perhaps a sheet of blotting paper or thin felt or a tea towel between reverse side of the paper and rocker roller might give more even pressure? Prints looked good, reminded me of my sound lino cuts years ago - not so good as yours though. Best. PEK.
I do love my linocut. Only started it last year.
It's very exciting, isn't it?
@@WayOutWestx2 Yes very
Back in high school (late 70s early 80s) we had a Pneumatic press for linoleum printing
Very cool. I would like to add also that here in the US many newspapers are closing shop and large operations are taking over what once was done by small offset presses.
As a result there are lots of small newspaper presses being scrapped from which it could be possible to salvage the type of rollers you were looking for. Wondered if it was the same in the U.K. or Ireland.
Offset press ink would work I think for what you are doing.
By the way my daughters family live in Lettermacaward County Donnegal and very much enjoy your channel.
Your image is fantastic. Much better than I could do! Very cool. Tbh Lino cut doesn’t really need a press at all. You can do it by hand or I like to use a clean roller to put pressure on.
Note: I was using a laundry wringer where I pressed my linos and embossing folders in a double wooden plate which were tapered at the end so it would catch. I had to press it really, really hard because the device is pretty simple, but it worked perfectly well. I don't know why more people who don't have a printing press don't consider laundry wringers... but it's probably precisely because you have to take them apart and rebuild them for them to be any good.
Been using one of those for lino, for years, works well!
As printmaker, rollers is best bet, for even pressure. Use oil based ink.
yes, its the wrong kind of ink!
I use a spoon ! I should say I use the back of a soup spoon and downward pressure....works fine for lino cut
I think whatever you come up with it will serve the purpose of what you want to use this application for which is what I am curious about knowing more about your work in progress and how you intend on using the press for exactly or will this be multi-purpose projects? I still think you’re a genius! 👍
Thanks, Mae. I was thinking of doing all the book illustrations with this method - but not any more. But I like it so I'll keep experimenting when I have the time. I fancy trying long narrow wall prints - not sure how yet..
6:13 I was actually thinking that before you said it; one you can stand on.
I love your laser cutter :)
Oh man your Donkey is looking right into the welding arc
I only just saw that when someone else pointed it out. I would not have welded if I'd known
Wow, Tim and Sandra! Top stuff that press ... but am I missing something here? You say that buying a press costs "many hundreds of pounds", yet you have your very own plasma cutter! I bet that weren't cheap.
Hi Wow So simple and so genial very good.
Thank you, Bosse
Bravo maestro!!!very nice😉
Very clever idea, the principle seems to work very well.Have you thought on using parts of truck wheels and brakes?
In the 50s, they have what they call half moon presses to print engraving plates. It uses the same principle as this concave press.
Great work!! I hope you enjoy my multi-layer stamp and Hello from JAPAN!!!
Out of curiosity, wouldn't it work easier if you had a heavier version of the roller?
When scaling it up you could just connect it to the back of Flora, like a plough, let her be a part of it too. Just thinking out loud. Goodnight, from half way across the planet :)
Great work. Absolutely love your shop mate watching your work.
You should patent your certified welding jumper.
Look forward to your prints.
Thanks, Randall.
Try offset printing inks, these types of inks has a little body to it perfect for printing. You need not have to use a heavy roller for the transference .
A little bit of offset inks goes a long way.
Thanks, I'll look into those.
Roller-printer-wise, my mother used to have one of those old-school washing machines that was a tub on the bottom with a twin roller hard-mounted on top. They vertically mounted in a stack, were height and tension adjustable and could give a really good clamp, iirc.
Maybe you could find something like that? It should be in a scrap heap sale by now and you might find one in an estate sale or on your local version of Craig's List.
I wish! I've been looking for months..
My parents had an old mangle hanging around the garden for a while (no idea why they had a tumble drier before I was born) they got rid of it after I tried mangling a few things. Anyway I’m sure there must be some unloved mangles lying around and some of those things you picture look like fancy mangles.
I wish - I've been looking for months and found nothing yet
I'm no expert but this takes me back many years to a print shop class I took in school. The lino is a lot of fun, isn't it, but I wonder if there might be other tech that would be better. I remember using silk screen equipment that looked very inexpensive and it might give better control over the amount of ink. I also remember cutting thin lines in a piece of plastic. The lines get filled with ink and then the plastic is pressed against a piece of paper. I don't remember the details. Multi-color might be easier with either of these methods and certainly with the wood block methods others have mentioned. Ukiyo-e can be inspirational. IIRC, the softness of lino that makes it so easy to use is also a drawback because pressing against it will wear it down. But I guess that might depend on how many prints you're planning on making.
I hope you'll show us more of this. And I'd like to know how you cut out the fish too.
The "cutting thin lines in a piece of plastic" is called intaglio or drypoint printing.
@@goilo888 Thanks.
Thanks, Quint. I'm still learning what might be possible - but really I don't have the time to explore. Maybe when the book's finished..
@@WayOutWestx2May I respectfully disagree? I think a few quick web searches might yield some interesting information and save you a lot of time. I suggest two, "intaglio plastic cheap" and "rolling pin printing". Anyway, have fun. I really do hope you'll share more of this project. Thanks.
great concept! You should try to get the paper slightly damp... It helps with some inks!
Thanks, Jonas. I'll try that too. So much to learn!
Well done your press is absolutely magnificent and all the better because it is unique having been made by yourself ! Not sure how long it took you to make but I think many home printmakers would love to buy one of these ( me included lol) better than burnishing with the back of a huge spoon that's for sure ?
.Will this restricted you to making prints less than the width of the rocker plate or do you think you could move it along and re- register out without an edge forming in your print ? I know this can happen with certain oil based inks but I guess that is part of the joys of printing ,a journey into the unknown ! Well done ,Sophie
Thank you Sophie. I would love to make different sizes of these and offer them for sale, but really they're just too heavy to post so they would end up being too expensive. It's all fun, though, isn't it?!
Thanks for the video.
Great invention :)
Go to a Restaurant store. By the biggest commercial rolling pin they have- and the have large steel one. Unroll the handles and then add small dumbbell plates weights. You can find small 4, 3, and 2 pound plates. Put the handles back on the pin. That’s your printing press with adjustable weights. Your welcome
As you scale up you may be able to roll a 55 gal drum as the weight?? I'm sure you already have loads of your own design ideas. Excellent!
Liquid or sand/dirt in the drum?
You dont need a lot of pressure to make prints, just very even pressure across the print... you could use heat to encourage the steel to bend evenly and smoothly when you make your next press though I think the other commenters are on to something when they mentioned the clothes wringer(2 rollers with a spring pressing them together)...
I wish I could find one of those, Jeff, but they're very rare and expensive here
Great work, and lovely Donkey! I'm just starting lino printing, so am interested in any ideas. Maybe stick some rubber facing onto the roller?
How about an old German Wäschemangel, Laundry mangles, two wood rolls and lots iron
Yes, please. Love to try one.
I'm doing lino print in school
Great stuff : - )
What about a big truck brake shoe from the scrapper as your rocker !
Yes - that could work - except they have holes in them..
Do you have access to any large castor wheels or maybe solid tires/tyres you could make a press and roller that would follow the same principle of reducing and focusing the pressure area of the press.
Wouldn't any gap between them show up on the print?
What sort of lino did you use? The thing your dog chewed doesn't look like the lino rubber they use in Belgium which is actually more like rubber than floor lino. Starting from knowing nothing about it, I also started using floor lino at least the stuff I had on the floor which consisted of shiny upper layer and a soft layer of insulation for against the floor... Then I went to an art shop and found out how expensive it was to buy a tiny sheet. So since then I've been experimenting wiith every imaginable surface for relief and intaglio printing that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. I got the best results from [1] click laminate, [2] real estate signs, [3] floor lino and [4] oil cloths (thick plastic table cloths). I don't think I was able to try the sort of lino you fed to your dog!
That donkey is going to go blind watching you weld
I wouldn't have done it but I didn't realise he had come back into the barn! He's fine though.
I think we should club together and buy the donkey some Ray Bans for christmas,Wayfarers of course ! ☺ 😷
Could you use an old fashioned lawn roller. They are very heavy or you could dismantle it and use part of it.
Love to try but I don't have one
Yes, printmakers do use those. In fact across the US and UK they have lawn roller and steam roller events quite often.
Use your xcarve for the Lino