the new press, and my first edition

My press came! I am so excited to finally have it... even though it was a Christmas gift, it was ordered in November, so it's really been quite a wait, full of much breathless anticipation. The box was very heavy, as the press and the board it comes on are about 100 pounds, but we managed to get it up to the apartment and opened. Our two cats helped, of course. Kitimer was especially enthusiastic about the unwrapping.



Then we set it up, which was really incredibly easy. I was expecting a struggle! Basically, all we needed to do was screw on the handles of the star wheel and move it on the board, so it was closer to the edge. Here's Daniel working on screwing it back to the board after we moved it.



Once the press was in place, I set up the blankets and ran about 5 prints testing the pressure. I was expecting it to be harder to figure out, but it was really an easy process. The first prints were very light, so we just increased the pressure until they were dark enough. Simple enough!

Yesterday I set up a print drying rack that Amie Roman recommended to me from Sherrie Salida's blog. While it's not the exact setup she had, it's very close and such a wonderful option for those of us with little space! With a drying rack in place, and a functioning press, I was ready to print a small edition of my test plate. I ended up with an edition of 9 and 3 artist's proofs.





I was also relieved to find out that the process is not at all too messy to be manageable in our hallway. Cleanup was easy and quick. All in all, it was a great first day with my press! Tomorrow I'll be working on a piece from my portrait series, and printing a couple of extra plates I have been working on a bit. Should be another fun day.