Vandercook Universal III, 1963
Why we love this: This press is the summit of Vandercooks. It has tapes, adjustable beds, automatic cylinder, and a huge 18 x 23 bed. What more do you need really? Nowadays most Vandercooks are used for edition printing, but we admit we’re proud that we use this press solely for its original purpose: to proof printing plates. Our platemaking division processes plates for about 800 letterpress shops across the country. We process plates of all sizes, from 2” x 2” to really big, and we process plates with a variety of thicknesses as well. Every platemaking customer receives a proof of their plates with their order. So we needed a press with an enormous print area, as well as a press whose bed could adjust to the various thicknesses of the plates that we sell. This press has been perfect for us. We purchased this press on eBay from Georgia in a sale that was the talk of the town. The press came from a small print shop where it was hardly ever used. Looking back, and seeing how many quality proofs this press has produced for our customers, we know this press was worth every penny.