Affordable Cold Press Laminator Printmaking

Cold Press Laminator Printmaking – An Affordable Printing Press with Impressive Results

A Cold Press Laminator (CPL) is not a printing press at all, but a machine that utilizes rubber rollers to exert pressure on film to laminate paper. There is no heat utilization in a cold press laminator (there are versions of paper laminators that utilize heat) so there is no risk of burning or damaging your paper. A CPL has adjustable pressure and is available in various sizes.

A CPL is probably one of the most affordable printmaking ‘presses’ and quickly growing in awareness and popularity. For the beginning printmaker, I highly suggest investing in a CPL if you want to make the jump from hand printing to press printing and like me are budget-conscious. CPLs can be purchased online and through Amazon and can range from about $85 – $200 depending on the brand and size.

Printmaking with a Cold Press Laminator – A Game Changer!

Cold Press Laminator Printmaking is a game changer! There, I’ve said it. In my experience, it is one of the easiest, and most cost-effective methods of consistently pulling a linoprint. It has worked well in my workflow, and is my main ‘go-to’ technique, especially when I have numerous prints to pull, larger prints to pull, and when I don’t want to overly exert my energy into hand printing a piece.

Benefits of Cold Press Laminator Printmaking:

• Affordability: A CPL costs a fraction of the price of a traditional press. Pricing ranges from $80 – $200 (compared to thousands for traditional presses)
• Effectiveness: A CPL exerts excellent, uniform pressure on prints, and is highly effective in transferring ink to paper. In my personal experience, I find CPL printing more effective than hand printing or a hand press
• Lightweight and Storable: A CPL is light weight compared to a traditional press, and its parts can be folded for easier storage when not in use

Drawbacks to Cold Press Laminator Printmaking:

• Lightweight: Because a CPL is made of lighter materials, it is more susceptible to wear and tear on its parts and won’t last as long as a traditional heavy press
• Drive wheel: CPLs come with an undersized wheel used for turning the rollers. This wheel is fine for its intended purpose of laminating film. However, it can become challenging to turn the wheel when printing a linoleum block which is greater thickness and requires higher pressure than a film lamination.
• No printing bed: Your CPL does not have a print bed for your matrix to rest on. While a traditional press has a bed that is driven through the rollers, the CPL pulls your print through the rollers by turning the hand wheel. Paper can slip or be wrinkled as the paper/lino is pulled through the rubber rollers

Tips, Tricks, and Adaptations of a Cold Press Laminator

Now that you know the pros and cons of a CPL, allow me to give you some of the knowledge I have gained to make your CPL printmaking more effective and enjoyable.

CPL Size

As long as you have room to store your CPL, I recommend purchasing a CPL that is slightly larger than you intend or expect to print. It is easy to print smaller pieces on your CPL, but impossible to print larger linoprints that exceed the width of your rollers. As a new printmaker, you will most likely be printing smaller paper sizes, but you should allow for larger printing as you become more skilled and want to explore and push your creative boundaries.

I personally have a 29.5” wide CPL that works excellent for all of my print sizes. CPLs are available in much wider sizes, but I find anything larger than 29.5” less practical for my linoprint purposes. Common paper sizes often don’t exceed this width and I find my size is both practical and storable.

Leverage is King

Your CPL comes with a small plastic handle than engages the top roller to pull your print through the press. This small handle is not ideal for printing your linocut, but it can be successfully utilized and you may find it perfectly adequate for pulling prints.

However, if you are inclined and have a little ingenuity and know-how, you can swap your factory handle for a much larger and durable wheel. A larger wheel will give you more leverage as you pull your print through the rollers, and you will exert less energy and save wear and tear on your hands with a larger wheel and more leverage.

Make a sandwich

As described above, a CPL does not come with a printing bed like a traditional press. There are ‘shelves’ that help catch your prints, but they are stationary and do little to support your linoleum and paper. I find it beneficial to sandwich my matrix in order to give proper support and protection to my linoleum and paper.

My CPL ‘sandwich’ consists of a rigid base and top which are wider than my print, but narrow enough to pull through the rollers. I sandwich my lino and paper between these two rigid layers and I find this avoids paper slipping or damage, and gives my prints uniform pressure and support.

I utilize a thin, 1/8″ chip board purchased at a home improvement store for the top and bottom of my base. Most chip boards come in a larger sheet, and I purchased a sheet and then scored/cut down the original sheet into two different sizes (one large, one smaller), giving me options when printing a range of paper sizes.

By using the ‘sandwich’ method, I can easily create a registration for my print on the bottom chip board layer, and swap out the registration on future prints by taping a sheet of paper to the board.

This is my preferred method for pulling prints, but I know some printmakers using CPLs that use a traditional felt blanket as the top piece of the sandwich, or a rubberized baking sheet as the top layer. You may wish to experiment to see what works best for you, but I do recommend a sturdy base to hold and protect your print.

Conclusion:

For the price, I don’t think you can go wrong giving a Cold Press Laminator printmaking press a try. The affordability, ease of operation, and lightweight foldable design make it the perfect ‘press’ for a home or studio. The results are superior to hand printing and save me time and energy. If you decide to do your printmaking with a cold press laminator I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.