Portable printing press review
This is a quick and easy guide to the Portable Printing Press, which I use as a lino printing press. I purchased this printing press for my own personal use and am not affiliated to or sponsored by the makers of the press. All the information is accurate to my knowledge as of March 2021. In the video blog I explain how to dismantle the press for easy storage, how to fix any elements which might loosen and give an honest review of minor issues I've experienced over two years of frequent use. The video details the weight, size, and how to use it. I recommend the press based on it's excellent price and ease of storage.
The portable printing press can take an approximate thickness of a 3cm bed, that is including baseboard, felt or blanket cover, and your printmaking block. The handle on the press is detachable, you just need a small allen key, or screwhead, to loosen or tighten the handle on the press. Personally I found that it comes loose with regular use, particularly if you dissemble it a lot, so I tighten it frequently.
The sides of the press fold up for ease of use, and storage. The weight according to the website is 12.7kg, I'm not strong but I can easily lift it from the ground to the table top, when needed. To attach the handle, simply line the flat part of the protruding bottom roller pin to the screw top of the handle, and tighten.
For full disclosure, I did have an issue with a loose screw mechanism for the adjustment of the roller height when I first bought it. This is easily fixed with a small flathead screwdriver as demonstrated in the video. When the roller height mechanism works perfectly you can raise and lower the top roller with ease, which increases or decreases the pressure for printmaking. Overall I think this printing press is a bargain, I bought it for under £300.00 which comparative to similar printing presses is cheap, I can tidy it away when I need extra space, and it folds up neatly. The rubber rollers are 65cm long, and I can fit an A1 sheet of paper through them. I have had the press for nearly two years so it has lasted well.
I hope this has been helpful, thank you for reading and watching my video blog below. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel for future video blog posts and to leave any questions in the comments section, or follow my blog on this website.