Hallo everyone……I thought it would be nice to do a blog post about my printmaking press, affectionately known as ‘Bette’! Yes, taken from that force of nature that was the actress Bette Davis, because I always think of her as strong and tough as nails…..her screen presence anyway!

When I first went part time from full time teaching two and a half years ago, I was using a broken printing press that my lovely art teaching department were happy to loan for awhile. Meanwhile, I set to what seemed a bit of a daunting task, in my exciting journey to a brand new first time ever printmaking press. Initially, my research identified whether or not to go for a ‘direct drive’ or a ‘geared’ press…….this is largely dependent on the types of printmaking you will do. In my work I cover a range so I needed versatility of method and as it would be used for adult workshops too, then flexibility was a vital part of the decision.

The above picture shows Bette waiting to greet visitors at The Dulwich Festival Open Studio event in May 2019.

I decided to go for a direct drive press as I am familiar with using those in my teaching departments in schools and I am confident altering the pressure as needed. There are lots of choices on the market and I was initially happy to look for an older second hand model. I stumbled across the Rollaco (rollacopresses.co.uk) range of presses after finding an older model on eBay. I also discovered that The National Gallery commissioned a bespoke Rollaco press, in deep forest green and gold……folks it is certainly a thing of beauty! I was sorely tempted by these hand built presses, although as I am currently limited somewhat from working from a home studio setting, then the option of something a bit more modular would suit my needs better. It would be really helpful to be able to remove the bed of the press for alternate storage practicalities; as well as the opportunity to remove the wheel too.

The subject of size with anything can be a testy issue can’t it! I was working on an A3 model beforehand and it made great prints, although I was really curious for my monoprints to grow in size. To help in narrowing down my choice of company & model, I made a comparison list covering all the necessaries. I did exactly the same when we decided to buy a family tent last summer, in a desperate bid to ‘get away’ from it all including ‘lockdown losing it’ as I am now accustomed to calling it!

Anyhow……the list really helped my tricky decision & I found lots of helpful blog advice and recommendations too. I also took into consideration the overall weight of the press, as we planned on making the trolley for it. I actually came to my decision about the make of the press after bringing to mind some pretty fabulous teaching experiences with a professional printmaker. Some years ago my then art department planned full day printmaking workshops with my A Level artists, learning how to use the etching method. That is how I met Dave Gunning from gunningarts.co.uk. A wonderfully inspiring, warm & humorous artist, who as it turns out, designed & made his own presses.

The website for the presses is ironbridgeframing.co.uk, although links from the above website direct you there too. The model I plumped for in the end is ‘Etching Printing Press No 2’ and so I can print up to size A2. I vividly remember the day she arrived on a pallet and delivered by a jolly nice man with whom I shared a jolly nice chat on the kerb! Beautifully packaged in just a few component parts, my husband and I set to building her & installing her on the fab wooden trolley in a pic above.

I purchased a separate woollen felt and managed to christen that with a wonderful inky blob on the first go! I am pretty hopeless at clean printmaking, which is actually a contradiction in terms; universal to all printmakers the world over.

I am thrilled with Bette the etching press, who came with 2 separate lots of runners for using with different heights of print blocks and I can say that she is a dream to print with. I have used a myriad of methods, each requiring subtle alterations of height and she continues to make beautiful prints. There is something about the fact that the studio is based in Ironbridge, so a bit of engineering strength nestles in her soul, or so I like to think. I continue to dream of a proper studio, whilst Bette waits patiently for that day too.

You can read my review alongside some more pictures using the button below:

So, until next time……simple pleasures day by day folks……