I’ve been printmaking at a workshop for about 2 years but would like to do it at home. May eventually move to a bigger and better press but really feel like I’m just starting out.

Small etching presses are a waste of time. You need some muscle and a decent set of rollers to get a sweet print, and tabletop presses lack both. They may be OK for small relief prints, but not for etchings. You need at least a 6 inch diameter in the rollers, IMHO, no matter the width of the rollers. The presses you mention have a max of 80mm. for the top roller, which will produce nothing more than an underdone, squashed, malnourished print, so stay away from them. Presuming the workshop you go to has some decent presses, it may be sensible to stick with them.

Another alternative, if you are confident in dealing with these issues, is researching and designing a little press with fat rollers and good power, and finding an engineering workshop to give you a quote. I built one myself, but it was a bit of a saga. Happy to contribute ideas if you need to go down that path.

I’ve been wondering about table-top presses, and don’t wish to spend 700-2000 USD to find out I can’t effectively print an etching

Yes, very understandable. Look, a table-top press will print your etching, but (IMHO) it lacks the capacity to deliver a “sweet” print – that quality where ink and paper are fused as one, the lines are crisp, the textures defined and the whole has the desired blush of plate-tone. For that, you need good pressure and fat rollers.

Table-Top presses are built with thin rollers, but I found some fat little rollers at a scrap yard, and built a small press around them. As the press only needs strength between the rollers, as the printing process tries to force them apart, that is the only section of the frame that needs to be steel. The rest of the frame is plywood, the wheel is 4 pine spokes, and the bed is mainly fibreboard with a steel plate inset in the middle to back the etching plate. By using these weight reduction methods, I have a strong little press that is not going to go through the floorboards. And it prints a small plate beautifully, but for plates larger than say, A5, I have to go to a print workshop.

The reason I keep referring to “fat rollers” is that as the rollers increase in diameter, so the sweet spot – where the rollers are delivering significant crushing force through the blankets – increases; and the etching is produced not just by pressure, but pressure delivered over a greater area for a greater time. These factors combine to produce a better print. Again, IMHO

In the end – it comes down to what works for you. I printed on some tabletop presses belonging to friends and at different shops that left me feeling underwhelmed. But, the owners of the press were satisfied with their performance. I think mezzotints are prints where you are really pushing to get the max pressure to the plate – etchings do not require as much but still, the preference is to get that max pressure if you desire – more so than collagraphs or relief. A larger roller diameter helps transmit pressure evenly and efficiently. A steel bed helps as well. And yes, not all tabletop presses are created equal. When I saw this thread I sensed there would be a number of different opinions. I have been looking at etching presses off and on – and some of the tabletop varieties are very sophisticated – and expensive. But, I have used some that were pretty sketchy – and limited in how much pressure I felt I could expect – and with a lot of play on the bed during printing. And – I have used some really nice ones. However, I completely understand about budget considerations. The general truth is that most people that look at your prints will not be likely to tell what kind of press you used. I have heard a parallel argument in the case of litho plates vs. litho stones – in most cases you will not be able to discern from the print if you printed from a stone or a plate. But, your search sounds like fun. Enjoy.

Great illustration. Thank you for taking the time to put that together. Of course you are correct that pressure is over an area… however, it is not, as you acknowledge, equal pressure from point of the plate being grabbed by light pressure at the edge to the point directly under the center of the roller where the pressure is greatest. You apparently believe that the lighter pressures and the small amount of additional time the plate/paper spend under the lighter pressures are important to the final print. Ok. I don’t agree, but then both you and I are expressing opinions based on our individual experiences. To me the important issue is that when you set the dials on a press it is for that line of most pressure directly under the center of the roller because that is where the complete plate will eventually pass under. And that line of pressure should be equal across the width of the plate – roller size, material, construction method, etc. all add together for the success or failure. This is one of the reasons intaglios of any size are rarely printed on something similar to a book press because getting an even, high pressure across the complete plate at once is problematic.

In either case, we both have evidently experienced, as well as lovestofish and others I’m sure, that there are some table top presses that just don’t make the grade for a number of reasons and diligent research, including trying out the press if possible, is important.

JDH

Hello from across the pond ! I just purchased my second etching press. There are many small benchtop etching and relief presses available. The better presses are not cheap. My first press was from Rembrandt Graphic Arts Co. and was the Pelican model. My second press (on order) is made by Charles Brand Co. Model E18 (denotes the width)
Dick Blick offers a small benchtop press that is affordable. Your previous mentors here have offered lots of good information…so no need for me to recreate the wheel. Look at the reviews of each press and keep notes. If you have any art school or local college that teaches printmaking…it would be a good idea.
Best of luck on your quest !
Paul

I’ve looked over all of the above comments…. and all of them make good sense. There are a lot of smart folks here.

I’d like to throw another idea into the mix of suggestions: build your own press. I do all of my work nowadays on presses I’ve built, and have discovered that home-made presses can do everything that a factory-made press can do but cost far less money.

My latest machine is an 18″ etching press, that I designed and built myself. While I haven’t drawn up any plans for my press, it is very similar to those available on http://www.buildapress.com/ .

For my press, I used a hard urethane roller that required no machining, and was made from over-the-counter materials. Here’s a link to how I made it: http://www.briarpress.org/41164

I also use a small “sign-press” type press that I built and posted here a few years ago….. and a very small free-roller press. (pics are attached)

If you are in the least bit “handy”…. and you probably are since you are a printmaker…. building your own press is a good way to get a very nice machine for a lot less money. Quite frankly, I’m a bit of a clutz in a workshop…. and if I can make one, almost anyone can.