i love the smell of wet ink in the morning

February 17, 2006 4:47 PM

Can I use litho printing inks - such as Van Son rubber base or Taniguchi oil base - for letterpress printing on my Vandercook proof press?

I've only used inks specifically formulated for letterpress in the past - only a few colors - and have always wondered if I can use these cheap(er), easily mixed commercial inks instead. Do I need to use any additives? Any special things to pay attention to in cleanup etc?

posted by luriete to Grab Bag (4 answers total)

I'm pretty sure we used to do this exactly that in school. Did you ask the fine folks at Briar Press?
posted by rschroed at 5:22 PM on February 17, 2006

I was told just yesterday by someone with many, many years of letterpress experience that offset inks would work well on a letterpress but not vice versa. I have no first hand experience, but I believed him.
posted by MarkAnd at 5:27 PM on February 17, 2006

Yea, you can. Senefelders 4 life!
posted by grafholic at 6:47 PM on February 17, 2006

Right on. This will save me lots of money! Thanks everybody!
posted by luriete at 12:58 AM on February 18, 2006