Our second 32” x 65” Rochat Etching Press for China, was dispatched in April 2016, to Xi’an Academy of Art. The Zhejiang Eternal Equipment Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd, dealt with the collection of the crate from our works and shipping directly to the Academy. They arranged a tail lift lorry and collected the press, fully crated up, from our gates!
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The first Rochat Albion Press – Machine No. 0001 – has been completed and installed. The machine was purchased as part of a complete fit out of a new Letterpress room at Nottingham & Trent University. The brand new machine stands alongside an original Albion Press already belonging to the University.
This press was recovered from an external storage area. The press, luckily, had not been stored outside for long and was not heavily bitten with rust, so the fine casting details were in good condition. The bed and platen needed complete re-machining to provide good clean printing surfaces as these surfaces had become damaged. A number of parts were missing, including the brass bearings and some hardened linkage. The press was brought back to our works and completely rebuilt and the missing parts replaced.
A Tympan inner, outer, frisket and hinge were manufactured and fitted to the bed. The press was final assembled in our works and proofed before being painted (3 coats of gloss black) and final polished. The press now stands in the main print area at the West Yorkshire Printworkshop, where it is regularly used.
