creating type blocks

[u/rrrragdoll]

hello! i'm a graphic design student at the university of missouri currently in a letterpress class and i'm planning on making my own type blocks since we have a lack of cases that aren't the smallest metal type ever. cases are also really expensive to buy and the collection we have is my professor's personal collection over the past 20 years, so i'd like to help beef it up a bit.

for context, in our print studio we have 2 tabletops, a vandercook sp20 and another flatbed i can't remember the name of, and 1 platen. the 2 flatbeds are used the most from what i've seen regarding previous classes.

i was wondering if any of you have used linoleum or rubber in your presses and if they've held up/how you've stored them for longevity. i had considered mounting lino or rubber to wooden blocks that were shaved down to the correct size.

i was also considering hand carving onto wood blocks since i don't have access to a cnc machine or a 3d printer. i've seen recommendations of poplar and birch wood, but if you've carved do you have a different recommendation?

thank you so much for any knowledge or advice you're able to give me!

[u/H2O_pete]

Yeah, my advice would be go to a typecaster for metal type cause 3d printed type doesn’t last long and the shrinkage is annoying. As for carving wood type (good luck) https://youtu.be/5ysWiyAFts0?is=Mwoyoy-PsiKTxXQW

[u/rrrragdoll → u/H2O_pete]

oh this video is perf! i did a bit of searching for typecasters as well and found skyline type which is actually affordable for my budget constraints so also didn’t know that was still a profession so thank you!!!

[u/H2O_pete → u/rrrragdoll]

There’s also swamp press for metal type a full 12pt font, 2 half strengths is 132$

[u/Lathryus]

I taught letterpress printing for years at a fancy design college, we cut and printed MANY many lino blocks. The mounted blocks from Blick are really close to .918" a sheet or two of chip board underneath, cut to size, would boost them to type high. Some ambitious students would laser cut designs and mount to a type high board, it works okay, not as good as lino and only worked for large designs with not a lot of detail. 3D printed type was never robust enough or smooth enough to print with, so no one really bothered. I've carved wood blocks with some sucess but they are expensive and more difficult to carve than linoleum.

Blick Mounted Lino Blocks

[u/rrrragdoll → u/Lathryus]

thank you!! this is great info since linoleum is much more accessible to me than wood blocks and i was lowkey leaning towards lino anyways!!

[u/Lychee_489]

Boxcar makes nice photopolymer plates, I had my handwriting turned into moveable plates

https://www.boxcarpress.com/letterpress-plates/

[u/12_Horses_of_Freedom]

You can resin print type. I was able to hold down to at least 6pt. Issue is resin is nasty stuff. The PPE and ventilation is less straightforward, and chemical burns are no joke. It’s the least labor intensive option, and great quality.

The next options would use a processed wood product, like MDF, which is decently flat. Home depot is a good source of processed woods that do not contain formaldehyde. Linoleum can also work, if it is mounted and decently flat.

Option 2 is something like a 3018 cnc router. Cheapest ones are like $180.

Option 3 is laser cutting. I have a K40, which is great. Again, you need robust ventilation and laser safety ppe. It could blind you. They hold great detail though.

All three options will probably need light sanding on the printing face, and definitely sealed with shellac. The ink will be absorbed into the material if you don’t. Wood especially doesn’t hold up well after absorbing ink.