the heidelberg cylinder, 1963
Why we love it: this is the pinnacle of letterpress speed and precision – and it’s very heavy too (6600 pounds). It keeps us grounded and prevents us from moving ever.
When Boxcar Press moved into the Delavan warehouse in 2003, we ended up with a lot of huge rooms with 30’ foot ceilings and blank white walls. To avoid feeling lonely amid all this space, we decided to put in a really big press (the Cylinder!). This production press helps us do long runs or print with a lot of ink coverage. Formerly used to imprint Chinese restaurant menus, the press has many parts that are permanently stained red, and there is cryptic Chinese writing scrawled on the back of the machine. Oh, the days when even Chinese restaurant menus were letterpress! Since its arrival at Boxcar Press however, the press has changed its focus and has been unable to return to printing Chinese menus (though we do try to share our Chinese mock-duck take-out with this particular press).