Building a Printmaking Press

 In August of 2021, many months into starting my own small business selling linocut prints, I decided to upgrade from rubbing prints by hand to using a machine.

Since buying one was prohibitively expensive, I put my CAD experience to use and designed a press in Solidworks. After completing the assembly of over 200 parts, I created a fully dimensioned packet of engineering drawings from which to machine all parts.

Along the way, I learned how difficult it is to work with metal, but also learned basic machining techniques like tapping threads into a hole and die cutting threads on a rod.

From prototyping to testing, from 3D printing to machining metal, this project was a test of my full skill set. And I’m very pleased with how it came out. I built it so it is able to flat-packed and transported, and it is currently here with me at school where I regularly use it.

For the full step by step details, refer to my Instructables article: Build A Printmaking Press