04.04.014
Pat Randle on the FAG Swiss Proof 40 ‹The 04.04.014 was moved to Whittington from a nearby shed. We have spent some time working on de-rusting and cleaning each component to get it back to full working order. We are currently waiting for 3-phase to be installed before using for the first time in 20 years.›
Serial number
04.04.014
With current holder since
February 2012
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
More info about the press
Other presses at this studio
The Whittington Press was started in 1971 by John and Rose Randle and has now published over 400 books, including 30 editions of its yearly journal, Matrix. The Press employs a monotype operator for 2 days a week and a variety of engravers and artists have access to the machinery.
John Grice on the FAG Swiss Proof 40 ‹Just about anything, everyday.›
Serial number
04.02.044
With current holder since
1995
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
SSL / Quick action lock up bar, to block mounted plates and composition on machine bed.
More info about the press
Davina Schluttenhofer on the FAG Standard 550 ‹I have indicated that the press is a CP 550 as this is as close as I can find in the drop down list. The plate states that it is a CP 50.
The press is mostly used to print small scale work at the moment; greetings cards and occasionally larger scale print work when using wooden type.
I try to use her every day, less so in the winter months.›
Serial number
5781
With current holder since
July 2016
Equipped with
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
MR / Micro adjustable bed movement with clock indicating accurate height in fractions of thousands of an inch. Height is measured directly off table.
SSL / Quick action lock up bar, to block mounted plates and composition on machine bed.
More info about the press
Hofer is a small letterpress print studio specialising in the design and print of graphic, limited edition greetings cards and posters. The studio was born from a passion for letterpress printing developed over many hours spent in the composing room whilst studying for an MA in communications at The Royal College of Art. We are interested in the abstraction of the shapes and forms found in nature and in the character and integrity of moveable wood block type as a means of communication. Flurorescents, colour gradients and metallics are a speciality.
Serial number
16.622
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
MR / Micro adjustable bed movement with clock indicating accurate height in fractions of thousands of an inch. Height is measured directly off table.
More info about the press
India Wilkins on the FAG Control 405 ‹It is used for printing metal and wood type. It is a bit quirky, sometimes the buttons don't seem to work and you have to press them a few times to make them kick in.›
Serial number
02.07.062
With current holder since
2012
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
MR / Micro adjustable bed movement with clock indicating accurate height in fractions of thousands of an inch. Height is measured directly off table.
More info about the press
The workshop is part of the college of art and the equipment is accessed by students from 17 years of age upwards.
Tom Mayo on the FAG Control 405 ‹The press is used for a variety of jobs on a daily basis, producing posters, cards and other ephemera printed from lead and wood type, and occasionally laser cut letter forms and photopolymer plates.›
Serial number
402035
With current holder since
2014
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
BRO / Cylinder sheet brush, adjustable, clears cylinder automatically as grippers pass to release sheet.
More info about the press
The Print Faculty is a letterpress design and print studio based in Cheltenham, UK. As well as producing limited edition prints, bespoke business cards and other ephemera, the faculty runs courses for students and design professionals.
Serial number
04.04.223
With current holder since
1991
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
SSL / Quick action lock up bar, to block mounted plates and composition on machine bed.
More info about the press
Pickstone Edwin on the FAG Control 525 ‹The press is part of the Caseroom Letterpress Facility used primarily by students of the Communication Design Department but is available for use by any student at The Glasgow School of Art. This press is the most used in our collection, primarily to print wood and metal type but also laser-cut materials, photopolymer, 3d printed objects, lino and woodcuts, collographs and anything else that can be made up to type height!›
Serial number
03.06.056
Built/delivered in:
1975
Originally delivered to
Glasgow School of Art
With current holder since
1975
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
DAS / Split steel rider unit for 2 colour work.
More info about the press
The Caseroom houses the school's large collection of wood and metal types, Columbian Press, Western proofing press, 13 x 18 Heidelberg platen, Risograph and a variety of binding and finishing equipment.
Elizabeth Fraser on the FAG Swiss Proof 40 ‹This press in in the letterpress print room at Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge UK. It is used by undergraduate and postgrad students of all art disciplines. We also have a Farley proof press and an Albion›
Serial number
04.03.027
With current holder since
Probably since the 1970's
More info about the press
Our letterpress room is part of the printmaking facility at Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University. It is used by Undergraduate & Postgraduate students of the art school.
Serial number
06.01.002
With current holder since
Since April 2012
Equipped with
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
MC / Cylinder drive with motor and FIXED SPEED SETTING.
SSL / Quick action lock up bar, to block mounted plates and composition on machine bed.
More info about the press
The Print Area runs alongside the Graphic Design BA at UCA Epsom. We facilitate screenprinting, letterpress, relief, dry-point etching & photopolymer plates.
Phil Baines on the FAG Control 405 ‹The press is used to print students work and has been the main press in the college’s letterpress room for 30 years at least. In more recent years we have added a Vandercook, a Heidelberg Platten, and a couple of Adanas.›
Serial number
02.05.060
Originally delivered to
We think the press came from PAL Printing Aids of Pentonville Rd
With current holder since
Possibly mid 1960s
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
MC / Cylinder drive with motor and FIXED SPEED SETTING.
MR / Micro adjustable bed movement with clock indicating accurate height in fractions of thousands of an inch. Height is measured directly off table.
More info about the press
The letterpress workshop is one of a number of print facilities at the college. It is open to all students but its primary users are those from the Graphic Communication Design programme. All students will have an induction here as part of a wider introduction to typography, and are then free to use the room for any project work they choose. In terms of type, we have comprehensive ranges of Caslon, Baskerville, Bell and Univers; and a wide range of other interesting display types from both 19C & 20C. The letterpress workshop is run by Helen Ingham.
Simon Goode on the FAG Swiss Proof 40 ‹Originally belonging to the Nautilus Press and Paper Mill until the late 90s, LCBA acquired this FAG SP-40 in 2011.
Used for general proofing and production work in the studio, as well as teaching, the press is also available to hire.›
Serial number
04.04.144
Originally delivered to
Jane H. Reese, the Nautilus Press and Paper Mill, North Kensington, London
With current holder since
2011
More info about the press
The London Centre for Book Arts is based in Hackney Wick, east London, and runs workshops in papermaking, letterpress & bookbinding, as well as open-access and studio space rental
Les Ellis on the FAG Swiss Proof 40 ‹It is used for teaching people who wish to learn letterpress printing. When they are proficient, such people use the press to print art, art booklets, poem books whenever they book the facilities. The press can be used on several days or evenings and at present a week long summer school is taking place.›
Serial number
04.03.23088
With current holder since
2004
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
More info about the press
Ink Spot Press is an open access studio used by artists to produce prints. As well as letterpress, the facilities allow work to be produced by screen printing, relief and intaglio methods. www.inkspotpress.co.uk www.brightonletterpress.co.uk
Phil Abel on the FAG Control 525 ‹The press is used on a near-daily basis, for taking proofs of hand set material for scanning and emailing to customers, taking galley proofs of machine set material from the Composition caster, proofing and correcting interns' setting, and large jobs, or short runs that would otherwise need to be done on the Heidelberg SB cylinder press. Phil started using the FAG in 1992, when Hand & Eye was on the premises of Barnard & Westwood, but bought it outright from them in 2007.›
Serial number
05.03.037
Originally delivered to
Barnard & Westwood Ltd, London N1
With current holder since
1992
Equipped with
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
SSL / Quick action lock up bar, to block mounted plates and composition on machine bed.
More info about the press
One of the very few remaining jobbing letterpress printers in the UK, Hand & Eye was started by Phil Abel in 1985, equipped with an Adana 8x5, an Arab treadle platen, a passion for good printing and a pile of typographic journals. The presses are long gone, but the passion remains, and he hopes that we continue, in a small way, the legacy of great twentieth century printers like the Curwen Press. As well as providing a high quality service for our customers, we also print and publish our own fine book editions, and occasionally make our own posters and ephemera. For estimates, sales & enquiries, email phil@handandeye.co.uk.
Pat Randle on the FAG Swiss Proof 52 ‹This Press is in use every day at Whittington for the production of books, posters and all general 'jobbing' work. The Press is also used by local artists who use it to edition wood-engravings and lino cuts.›
Serial number
06.01.046
With current holder since
1980
Equipped with
ME / Two speed power driven inking system with ink drum. Normal speed for printing. Acceleration for ink distribution and wash-up.
LAR / Automatic wash up device incorporated in special drawer, lever operated ductor blade.
More info about the press
Other presses at this studio
The Whittington Press was started in 1971 by John and Rose Randle and has now published over 400 books, including 30 editions of its yearly journal, Matrix. The Press employs a monotype operator for 2 days a week and a variety of engravers and artists have access to the machinery.






































