Fresh Type

Old Press




Creality Ender 3 Max Neo (2022)






Vandercook Proof Press (1920’s)

Contents 

Intro

Print & Graphics

Part 1

Initial Experimentation

Part 2
Further 
Experimentation


Part 3Results

Introduction

Hello, I’m Nick, a Graphic Designer with a passion for print, type, and craft. 

Welcome to ‘Fresh Type - Old Press’, 

A blog-style website that shares the research and experimentation I have done over the last months into 3D printing new typefaces to be used on old printing presses. Why? Well, I think that over the last decade, modern Graphic Design has become detached from its origins in the traditional Printing Press. This is due mostly to the advancements in design software such as Adobe, which has become the standard tool for a designer, but also the rigid ‘rules’ of printmaking. The issue is that printing presses are no longer used by the ‘contemporary’ Graphic Designer, they are gathering dust or even being scrapped for their metal.

The questions I ask myself are: How can we re-establish this lost link and make the press again a tool for the Graphic Designer? Can we design without Adobe?

Let’s find out!



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Part 1

Initial Experimentation

The initial experiments I made were mainly proof of concept, I wanted to test quickly whether it was possible to 3D print type and to get some results from the press. These experiments were basic; I made a composition using InDesign and then put it through Onshape and Cura to print. What I found from the first results was that although the print quality needed to be improved, it worked! It showed me that with further research into the process, it would be possible to get the results I wanted.













Part 2.1

Software and Equipment


I started to familiarise myself more with the software and equipment I would need to continue the project. I also wanted to use open-source/free software and affordable equipment to make it cheap and accessible for others. I also want to emphasise that I’m a complete novice with CAD or 3D Design software. Below I will go into detail about what I used at this stage.

Illustrator



Illustrator is used as a proxy to allow the typeface to be recognised by the 3D software. You export the outlined typeface as a DXF file. I’m aware that Illustrator is not free but it is widely used by most graphic designers, I plan to find a way which completely avoids any Adobe software soon.
Onshape


I choose to use OnShape as my 3D modelling software due to its simplicity and the fact its ‘basically’ free to use. You upload a DXF file, extrude it, add a base, and export it as a STL. This took some time to perfect, but once learned it is a fast process.
UltiMaker Cura



The last step before 3D printing is using a software which takes your 3D model and ‘slices’ it. Meanings that the 3D printer can understand your model in printable layers. I used Cura, also free and simple to use. The learning time to get the perfect settings took time, something I will go into detail later.
Creality Ender Max Neo



Any 3D printer can be used, I specifically wanted an affordable printer with a large print bed that allowed me to produce a decent amount of type in one print. I choose to use the Creality Ender Max Neo, they are affordable printers that are easy to find second-hand. 

Part 2.1

Further Experimentation

For the next steps of the project, I wanted to set some rules/parameters:
  I knew before starting the initial experimentation that 3D printing a type composition would not be sustainable, time-wise and material-wise, this is why it is a rule that the type is reusable and movable much like traditional type. 
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The process of making the type needs to be cost-effective, meaning it cannot take too much time, too much material, or too much post-processing.
The process must be as simple as possible, meaning anyone can follow the steps I have made 
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Finally, the results of the type must be of a good standard, at this stage of the experimentation I will never be able to perform to the quality of wood or lead type, but it has to prove that with some extra work, the process is usable.

Comments 3D Print Details of PrintResult
1. This first test was designed to fail.
I wanted to demonstrate why 3D printing a copy of a woodblock or lead character doesn’t make any sense. Firstly it takes far too much time, 10 hours of printing for one character is too long. Secondly, the amount of plastic it takes to print this character is costly and wasteful. 
Additionally, there was warping in the base of the print, this is something that can be fixed but is made worse by the density of the print.
Print time: 10 Hrs
Weight: 169g
Nozzle: 0.4mm
Print Height: 25mm
Layers: 82




2. To reduce the amount of plastic and time I had to get rid of the amount being printed. The obvious decision was to get rid of the block of plastic underneath the type. The block’s function is to get the letter to type height, but why does it need to be plastic and why does it need to be fixed to the bottom of the letter like with traditional type? The simple answer it doesn’t, but it seems as though everyone who has 3D printed type (in my research) before has gotten stuck at this point. Print time: 2 hrs 3 mins 
Weight: 42g
Nozzle: 0.4mm
Print Height: 8mm
Layers: 26


 

Educational Interlude
0.918 / 23.32mm??



Before we continue I just want to quickly explain how type is used on a Letterpress and why the height of type is very VERY important! It’s basic but it has a massive impact on how we use type, it’s so important that letterpress type produced in France can’t be used on an English Letterpress, yes I know, crazy!

A Letterpress printing machine works by pushing paper into the type block which has been inked. The pressure between the roller and the type block is high and it forces the ink from the type block onto the paper, easy! The difficulty is that Letterpress rollers unlike etching presses are fixed, meaning they can only print of type which is a certain height, known as ‘type height’. This exact height is important as a millimeter lower and it doesn’t create a clean print, and a millimeter higher and the roller will not be able to travel over type block, damaging the type and the roller. 

The funny thing is that ‘type height’ is not universal, meaning some countries cannot use each other type. For example, The Netherlands is 24.85 mm,  German is 23.56 mm, America is 23.32 mm and Russia is 23.82mm.

This is something I will have to consider in my experimentation, I can either decide to design the type to a height, or try and ditch this constricting traditional rule which makes printing with type such a pain.

Many Tests Later...... 





3D Printer Settings




It was at this point I got completely lost in 3D printing settings. There are an almost infinite number of combinations when it comes to print settings, which makes it a bit of a headache to understand how to get the best result from the 3D printer. I decided to dedicate some time to the different settings that I could implement in my prints. The next four categories I try and explain as basically as possible, there are many helpful videos that helped me grasp them which I will reference at the end.


Nozzle Size

I tried first to increase the nozzle size to save time. Nozzle size impacts how much filament (material) is pushed out of the nozzle at a time, the larger the hole the more material. This massively impacts how a print looks and how fast it can be made. Normally the larger the nozzle the faster the print. I found the 0.8mm the best. 



Temperature

For the PLA filament to melt and form into a melted bead of workable material it needs to be hot enough. The optimal temperature can be hard to find depending on the size nozzle you are using and how fast the print happening. Typically with a 0.8mm nozzle, I found 220 degrees to be optimal.

Height and Widths

When the extruded PLA comes out of the printing nozzle it comes out at a set size (0.8mm), but it needs the 3D printer to determine the height and width it is laid down for the print. You need to find the right ratio, typically you want the width to be more than the height, this ensures you have good layer adhesion.

Time and Speed

Time and speed are crucial and took me a while to understand. To put it simply the ticker the extrusion of PLA the slower the print. Initially, I did not slow the printing down when changing to a wider nozzle, this led to very poor layer adhesion. The slower the better, but not too slow as the total print time will be too high.

Part 2.2

Continuation of Experimentation

After spending a lot of time experimenting with different print settings I settled on a nozzle size of 0.8mm, for the next steps of experimentation. I did this to increase the print time, but still to retain detail which I lost when using a 1mm nozzle. Depending on the type point size required I would adjust the nozzle size, for example, with type below 120pt or 30mm I would use 0.4mm, and with type over 480pt or 120mm, I would recommend a 1mm nozzle. Now having a firmer grasp on the print settings I continued in trying to achieve a printable piece of movable type.  


Comments 3D Print Details of PrintResult
3. I was very happy with the next tests, they felt solid and the print time was massively shorter, cutting down the print time to a 1/4 of the last test and an incredible 1/20 of the first test, that alone is a huge improvement. What I was not so happy with was the inconsistencies on the last layer of the print, it was having an impact on how the letterpress print came out. These inconsistencies are hard to deal with in the print settings, so I started to use a sander to remove material on the top layer. This involves post-processing of the type which I wanted to avoid. This I will go into further after this section.
Print time:  31 mins
Weight: 22g
Nozzle: 0.8mm
Print Height: 5mm
Layers: 5




4. I started to get very consistent prints when I found the sweet spots of the print settings. The most important settings were the line width and height and crucially the speed of the print. I found that with a 0.8mm nozzle, the perfect setting was 1mm in width and 0.6mm in height. What I found with the speed was that the slower the better, I kept having a lot of bad prints with bad layers. When I adjusted the speed to 40-50mms rather than 80mms. The other finding I found which made a huge difference was ‘ironing’, this is a function that at the end of the print drags the hot nozzle across the print, essentially ironing out any inconsistencies on the last layer. Print time:  25 mins 
Weight: 20g
Nozzle: 0.8mm
Print Height: 5mm
Layers: 5