Pasta machine for printing

Finally managed to get into my shed and take some pictures-not good ones ,but enough to give the general idea.The results are nowhere near as good as from my press, but good enough to try things out and also to show students who come on my courses that adequate results can be gained at home with determination and no expensive press.

 This picture shows(as well as a lot of clutter!) the standard pasta machine with the base plate unscrewed and mounted on a piece of board.This is so that the print and the plate don't hit the base before they are wound through It's clamped to the table of course.The machine has several settings and a good starting point for a small collograph plate is number 3, but for a plastic drypoint, a higher number is needed.This is where the experimenting comes in.

Obviously,the print/plate goes through the machine between the rollers,where the brown card is in this picture.The drawback,of course,is that only A5 or smaller prints can be made, but it does work well and is worth experimenting,for those without a press.

Best Christmas present ever!

Amazing news! My present this year is a felt rolling machine from Feltcrafts in Colorado.Having already used one of these in Finland,I can't wait to get to grips with my very own machine,which should have been shipped yesterday.It will ultimately have a permanent place in France and will be used for all the courses this year.Pictures later!
Meanwhile I've been experimenting with using a pasta machine to print small drypoint plates.Pictures of that later too .Christmas is over so should be time to do some work and make some progress.