Yes!!!

ryan hays one step at a time. Start with a handed platen press and it should be relatively smooth sailing

@@afinepress - I have an 1890 8x12 C&P right next to my 1953 10x15 Heidelberg Windmill. I use them both... But Ryan could do a lot with a 6 1/2 x 10 C&P Pilot - or even a 5x8 Kelsey Excelsior!

That's awesome. Especially with the space into which I'm pushing my work, things aren't always guaranteed to go as expected.

"THE" glass onion.... ;)

thanks so much!

Those are photo etched + milled out by a supplier.

It's one way to skin a 🐈. There are plenty others. That's what makes this all so interesting.

I far prefer the eveness of heat with copper.

hey, Ana! A lot depends on what you're trying to do. What kind of shop do you want to be?

a fine press I want to be a bespoke design studio. I was thinking to start with a platen press but I don't know if I should invest in a larger press too... What do you recommend? And which press do you think is the best option?

I think a handfed platen press is the best way to start (careful with your fingers!)

I'm a printer for over 40 years, you will get no thanks for your work stick to the stage where you have less stress.

great question! If I did that, I would have had to hit the copper as hard (and deep) as the blue and would have lost a textural element that I was able to employ by punching the blue a little more, which was inconsequential to the reverse, since the whole thing was duplexed.

Oh! it's worth noting - I was dead-set on this technique specifically to mimic the stained glass, where the lead (copper in this case) sits proud as a frame for the glass.

@@afinepress OK. I didn't really notice there was a significant different in depth of strike between the blue and the copper. That makes total sense now. Thanks for explaining that. Your work is amazing--as an "old school" letterpress guy, I really enjoy seeing your tremendously innovative and creative work! It's the kind of stuff i dreamed of doing when i was first learning letterpress...

Lead melts, though.

@@afinepress - not at foil release temperatures. You can stamp with metal type - even soft low-temp monotype. Try it! It will, however wear out faster - especially soft-metal monotype, but ATF type or even Thomson-cast metal type can handle it. Try it. You might be surprised. I've stamped with metal type for 40 years. Lots of guys stamp with Linotype or Ludlow slugs. Pencils are stamped with lead slugs.

whoa, those are tiny!

88Possible1 hey! Looks like your comment got cut off

It kinda is!

Ah, a good old Kluge. My friends who have them, love them. I ran one of those on my first job - in 1966, when I had just turned 16..... I bought my own Heidelberg Windmill when I was about 25 - and still run it - at 70 years old!

Thanks! It's something I'm working on - the lights in the new shop cause a hum that I'm having to try to process out and I haven't been happy with the speaking at full-volume de-hummed.

what are you using to record audio?

a videomic go

maybe if you upgrade that it could sound better, but that just me being pickie. And what music are using, what genre I mean, I want to listen more :P

That's the plan, but the videos are secondary to the work. An as I can kind of scenario. Like a lot of video folks, I use Epidemic Sound for my tracks. Their jazz offerings are fairly limited, but this is one is essentially a pretty classic big band sound.