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Accessibility is an important part of press design, especially in classroom environments where students may have different levels of strength, mobility, height, and physical comfort. A press should not limit who can participate in a printmaking program. In schools, colleges, and universities, accessible equipment helps create a more inclusive studio where more students can safely learn etching, relief printing, monotype, and other press-based techniques.

Conrad designs presses with accessibility in mind by offering different drive options, including a hand crank, captain’s wheel, and spoked wheel. A standard hand crank can be difficult for some users, especially those with mobility limitations, reduced grip strength, or difficulty applying force in a tight circular motion because of shoulder issues. Larger wheel-style drive options can make the press easier and smoother to operate by giving the user more leverage and a more natural turning motion.

Conrad Press offers the largest rolls available on any printmaking press, giving artists smoother operation, better pressure control, and more reliable performance across the bed. In printmaking, bigger rolls matter because they climb onto the plate more easily, reducing harsh transitions and helping the press move smoothly over plates, blankets, and paper.

Conrad also uses the thickest walled tubing in its Jumbo oversized rolls for added strength, durability, and precision. Thin-wall piping can flex and bend under pressure, especially during demanding intaglio or heavy studio use, which can lead to inconsistent pressure and uneven prints. By using heavier, stronger roll construction, Conrad presses are designed to stay rigid, accurate, and dependable over years of printing.

Steel bed plates are the gold standard for press beds and serious printmakers. They are the most precise print surface, providing a flat, stable, and durable bed that delivers maximum pressure through the press and onto your plate.

Steel will not not crush like softer materials such as compressed board, plywood, and other wood-based print surfaces. A steel bed supports consistent contact between the rollers, plate, blankets, and paper, making it the best choices for clean, even printing. For artists who want the highest level of accuracy and pressure, a steel bed is the go-to option.

Unstable materials like compressed board or glued hardwoods, by comparison, can change shape over time. Humidity can cause wood to swell, shrink, or warp, which may affect flatness and alignment. Under repeated pressure, wood can also crush in certain areas, creating “dead spots” where the press no longer applies pressure evenly. These inconsistencies show up in the final print as weak areas, uneven impressions, or loss of detail.

Some people have attempted to cover wood with thin plates on top and bottom, trying to imitate the performance of a metal press bed, but the underlying material is the problem. Nothing comes close to the performance, durability, and longevity of a solid metal press bed.

A geared drive offers a stronger, simpler, and more compact way to power a printmaking press, delivering direct torque with fewer parts between the operator and the rollers.

Gear drives are superior to chain drives, requiring no adjustments for the life of the press. Nothing needs to be tightened, loosened, and you do not need to worry about chain misalignment. With a gear driven press, the artist can enjoy smooth and care-free printing under heavy pressure with no transitional pull coming off a plate.

The Conrad planetary gear drive is designed to multiply torque efficiently in a compact, enclosed system, giving the artist smoother operation, better control, and more power with less effort.

Conrad Machine Co. is the only press manufacturer to use this planetary gear technology, which has been proven design on thousands of presses we built over the past 75 years.

Are All Presses Geared?

Other presses on the market today advertise “gearing,” but that is often an advertising misnomer.

Many of these machines simple install an underrated gear on a handle and another on the press roller. That setup may look like a geared system, but it does not provide the same controlled torque, efficiency, or mechanical advantage as a real planetary gear drive. In many cases, it can feel rough, uneven, or underpowered when the press is under load, in addition to not being a sealed system.

Conrad is the only press company that offers a true planetary geared drive system capable of providing smooth, even printing at the highest pressures for decades of prints. 

A spring-balanced pressure system gives the printmaker smoother, more controlled pressure adjustments on their press.

It does this with the help of the springs themselves. Every Conrad press utilizes spring-assisted, positive pressure technology.

The springs on your press provide positive contact and constant tension on the upper roll. This allows your pressure screws to always be engaged and give you more responsive and more consistent pressure settings.

In other systems where the pressure mechanism is directly attached to the upper roll bearing, small gaps or looseness in the threads, bearing blocks, or adjustment hardware can create backlash. Backlash is the slight unwanted movement or “play” that happens when a mechanical part changes direction or settles under load before it fully engages. In simple terms, it is the dead space between turning the adjustment and actually getting accurate pressure response. For example, poor quality presses may be able to turn their pressure screws one-half to almost a full rotation without having the roll move at all.

Backlash is bad for printmaking because it reduces control. If the pressure screw turns but the upper roll does not respond immediately or consistently, the artist cannot accurately predict the pressure setting. This can lead to uneven impressions, inconsistent editions, and repeated trial-and-error adjustments.

A spring-balanced system eliminates this backlash by keeping the pressure system loaded and engaged. The springs help maintain steady tension against the upper roll assembly, reducing slack and unwanted movement in the adjustment system. This means when the artist adjusts pressure, the press responds more directly and predictably.

For printmakers, that translates into better printing control, smoother setup, and more consistent results in your final work. Instead of fighting the loose mechanical movements of backlash, the operator can make precise pressure adjustments and trust that the setting will hold throughout the print run.