Does anyone do regular printing as well?

[mark in tx]

I'm talking about offset, or litho, or letterpress.
Is it a compatible business, or do you think it should be its own specialization?

I passed on a letterpress machine this weekend, one heck of a good price, just had no way to quickly organise a forklift and trailer.

 

[Rick]

I specify print.

I think the processes you are considering are craft industries. If you do a lot of business cards, posters and print that are more than the shiny 4-color gang printers, then you already have people to market too. It's not totally out of the realm of sign making if you already provide higher end graphic design, but you would also need to market to a specialized clientele as well.

I personally would dig a letterpress system.

 

[mark in tx]

The machine I looked at is a Chandler & Price 10x15, huge, probably weighs 2 tons, and uses 220v.
$150.00

Oh, if I only had a forklift.

 

[Rick]

Thats cheap, Does it work? Anything else come with it?

 

[Replicator]

http://www.donblack.ca/db/equipment-detail.asp?Link=524

It looks like a museum piece . . .

 

[Rick]

They are worthy of being one, but if they produce this... http://www.beastpieces.com/

then put them to work...

 

[mark in tx]

It was in service up until last November, it looks in great shape actually. It has some spare rollers and a few parts with it.

I'm still twitching out that I may have passed up one of those "Great Deals" that rarely come along.
On the other hand, that $150 could turn into a $1000.00 or more way too easily if something goes wrong.

 

[mark in tx]

Rick, those cards are fantastic, letterpressing, embossing, and die-cut.

Replicator, I've been drooling over that website for about 6 months now.

 

[HaroldDesign]

Litho.
Seems more likely that a litho company would succeed expanding into wide format digital than the other way around.

 

[Rooster]

The press is one thing. Then you need to be able to create the embossing, foiling and cutting dies.

$150 would be the just the small visible tip of a large iceberg cost wise.

 

[Rick]

I agree with Rooster, unless it came with a photopolymer set-up, stock type and other extras, some time would need to be spent chasing after all the parts, bloating your budget, then the training.

Every once in a while I get the bug and read up on the idea, then I chicken out, I can get a letterpress and other equipment over here, I just ever want to have the move the thing again.

I go here for when I think about doing it:

http://www.briarpress.org/

 

[300mphGraphics]

I have briarpress bookmarked. I also have a Miehle Letterpress, but haven't had the time to go through it to make it production ready. Easier to send out the few die-cutting jobs I get and I have another numbering/scoring press, so it just sits in a corner. I wish I had a C&P, much easier and I'm more familiar with it as I used to run one. I got the Miehle because it was one of those $150 purchases...

 

[mark in tx]

I found Briarpress a few months ago, a great community.

The thing is, there is some type sets, and I'm pretty sure the photopolymer equip is there. There are a few companies that do the plates as a service.
This is just kind of turning into an obsession for me.

I can come up with equal number of reasons for and against, I guess the biggest thing in the "for" column is that I just really like that kind of printing, always have. So it goes into the category of "Do the things you like to do."

 

[Salmoneye]

I was in the printing business for many years and there is a huge learning curve and lots of equipment to maintain. I would leave it alone and sub it out.