EBay Find - A4 Bookbinding Heavy Press for coasters/placemats

[Chad]

After being inspired by another poster who purchased a vintage heavy press, I did a bit of searching online and came across this small A4 heavy press from eBay, in the hope of getting my coasters and placemats nice and flat after pressing and to stop the dreaded warping we all know and hate! I currently have a set of placemats after it and will update the thread with the results [emoji1695]





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[wayupnorth]

Hope it works but my first thought is to cut a piece of kitchen worktop the same size as the pressure plate and stack on top of the mats. This will spread the pressure instead of concentrating it in the centre. Many presses have triangular ribs on the plate to prevent bending.

[UK Printed Mugs]

If it helps then we use dozens of cardboard sheets in our nipping presses to balance out the pressure both above and below the placemats. Especially as our nipping presses cannot go all the way down to the bottom plate so about 20 cardboard sheets are needed under the first placemat. The cardboard also helps cushions the huge pressure and without you'll probably crack the placemats. So we always put 4 cardboard sheets on top of the last placemat and about 2 between each one. Although we have large nipping presses and can put at least two placemats side by side as well. Just make sure you are pre-pressing the placemats upside down for 30 seconds before turning over and then pressing properly as this makes a HUGE difference (getting rid of moisture).

[Chad]

If it helps then we use dozens of cardboard sheets in our nipping presses to balance out the pressure both above and below the placemats. Especially as our nipping presses cannot go all the way down to the bottom plate so about 20 cardboard sheets are needed under the first placemat. The cardboard also helps cushions the huge pressure and without you'll probably crack the placemats. So we always put 4 cardboard sheets on top of the last placemat and about 2 between each one. Although we have large nipping presses and can put at least two placemats side by side as well. Just make sure you are pre-pressing the placemats upside down for 30 seconds before turning over and then pressing properly as this makes a HUGE difference (getting rid of moisture).

Thanks for the advice! Turns out it’s not as simple as just buying a heavy press!

I had a stack of warped coasters I’d already pressed, all stacked on top of each other with nothing in between, this was the result thanks to the cork backing texture [emoji23]


I then pressed a fresh batch of coasters and put 1.5mm thick craft board in between each freshly pressed coaster, they came out nice and flat after being left overnight, however the pressure of the press left the subtle texture of the board imprinted in the design, which can be seen below.


I’ll have to cut some smooth mount-board and try again [emoji854]


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[wayupnorth]

Never had a warping problem with coasters, even the cheapest ones work. Table mats are a nightmare.

[UK Printed Mugs]

Chad - don't remove the paper from the placemats before placing in the nipping press. We don't and this means you'll have a flat sheet of paper before the cardboard meaning you don't get any rough surfaces effecting things. Also we don't do coasters in these as never have a problem - if you do things properly. So with cork coasters then again you need to pre-press them upside down for 30 seconds before turning them over for proper pressing. You then leave them on a flat floor for 24 hours. Yes 24 hours! This always works for us.

[Chad]

Chad - don't remove the paper from the placemats before placing in the nipping press. We don't and this means you'll have a flat sheet of paper before the cardboard meaning you don't get any rough surfaces effecting things. Also we don't do coasters in these as never have a problem - if you do things properly. So with cork coasters then again you need to pre-press them upside down for 30 seconds before turning them over for proper pressing. You then leave them on a flat floor for 24 hours. Yes 24 hours! This always works for us.

Thanks again for your help. I tried again with coasters (as they’re cheaper and had a few samples to print) I placed butcher paper on top of each coaster as well as card on top and it STILL created a subtle texture on the print design, effecting the lovely glossy finish these coasters have. Maybe I’m tightening the press too much or need to use smoother card (surely the card texture isn’t coming through the butcher paper?) [emoji2962] I’ll print a few placemats in the week and try again [emoji854]

Below is one of my own photographs, freshly printed and placed on a flat surface to (hopefully) flatten [emoji851]


After pressing using butcher paper above and below the coasters, I noticed the bed of the press was quite damp, even after a 30 second pre-press cork side up!


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[webtrekker]

I don't print coasters or placemats but have had problems in the past with warping and texture transfer when printing acrylic sheets.

I solved this by placing the hot, newly pressed items under a sheet of smooth toughened glass with a couple of heavy books on top until cool.