Something to print, check.
Ink pad made, check.
Stencil made and attached to header, check.
Ink on the ink pad, check.
And we have a functioning mimeograph machine.
I’m not super impressed with the quality of the stenciled image, but I’ll see what I can do to refine it a bit.
8 replies on “It isn’t pretty, but it’s print”
Well done! For a first run it’s a huge success. Is an artisan ever completely pleased with results?
Thank you! Point well taken. The headers are usable (by me at least) and so I’ll use them.
Meanwhile, I’ll keep tinkering.
Thanks for following along with the project 🙂
That’s amazing progress Wendy!
I was considering getting one of those stamp style mimeos – now I think I will!
What are you using for your stencils?
Hi Fred! I’m using Riso thermal paper and the thermal stencil printer that I got after the fax machine fiasco. Some of the things I want to print need (ideally) somewhat good resolution and I’m still figuring out how to get that with thermal stencils.
Re: the small mimeos – Sam Keller pointed out to me that you can still do postcards on a full-sized machine (or at least what I have, the Heyer single drum version – you’d just use a larger sheet of stencil paper with your postcard image stenciled on it). I imagine the rotary machine would produce duplicates faster. This Heyer 60 requires one postcard inserted at a time. I don’t much mind, but it’s just something to think about. There is the Print-O-Matic postcard printer I’ve seen around – though the price on ebay seems to have gone up a bit. I saw them some months back for around $20 or $25. Now they’re $35 and up. I’m not sure if that’s a permanent increase or not.
Anyway, I like this little Heyer 60. I’m not in a big hurry, it’s kind of meditative, and there’s the plus of it having no moving parts to break down!
In fact there’s a relatively complete set on ebaynow that even has what looks to be a different instruction book than what I have.
But, no pressure or anything!! 😀
I’m glad that you got the thermal stencils to work. I should really look into getting a setup for those sometime in the future. Still want to find alternatives, but honestly, with life and everything happening recently I was not really doing any proper research or even experiment.
I like the Heyer because of its simplicity. I knew that the Print-O-Matic I got could print smaller as came with some templates for how to print postcards and business cards on it. Might need to have a looksee on ebay 😉
Hey Fred, sorry, I could’ve sworn I approved your msg but it seems not!
So, let me know when you feel up to experimenting again because we’re about out of options for old-style stencils. Daito, the last (known) manufacturer decided to stop making them… so it’s time to get creative.
Meanwhile, did you get a Heyer 60? If so, let me know if you want a few of the stencil headers (when you get your stencil capabilities up and running). I saved two sheets for you, just in case (uncut). They’re mostly aligned, when they’re cut and scored 😀
It’s print, reasonably consistent, and looks as good to me as the average of old-time mimeos (and better than some). A successful beginning!
If this were a novel, it would have the story framework and an idea of its goals, and the first chapter roughed out. 😀
Yeah, I have to adjust my expectations periodically 😀 And thank goodness it’s not a novel because I always seem to lose my way with those. Little cards with lines and half-moons don’t seem to trip me up quite so badly.
And dang if the garden didn’t explode just as I was about to do more mimeo stuff – so it’s taken a bit of a backseat the last few weeks. I hope to return soon though.