PORTABLE PRESS -- FISKARS FUSE Creativity System

After seeing the hacked FISKARS FUSE Creativity System used as a printing press, we decided to get one ourselves.  

Our HACKED PRESS --

We put an 1/8th inch plate of acrylic

over the paper and linocut,

and crank it through the press with the handle

We saw the press set-up at the Southwest Print Fiesta 2024, when Mark Zepezauer of Sonoran Desert Rhino brought his FUSE from Tucson to Silver City, New Mexico:

Mark Zepezauer's FISKARS FUSE press

at the Southwest Print Fiesta 2024

• We bought a used FISKARS FUSE on Ebay as the company is no longer making new ones.

The press works as a letterpress, as it is not adjustable.  However it works perfectly for printing unmounted linocut on 8x8 inch paper -- making prints that we can then frame and carry around in a bucket:

The test run on the FISKARS press

at Quelab in Albuquerque

Most importantly, this press is PORTABLE, as it has handles. It is not light however, as the rollers are made of metal:

PORTABLE hacked FISKARS PRESS

with handles

Originally the FISKARS FUSE was made for DIE CUTTING -- so we had add a print bed in order to print.  I bought some scraps at Port Plastics in Albuquerque, which worked pretty well for the press bed:

• 1/2 inch HDPE, 8 x12 inches (textured)
• 1/4 inch acrylic, 12 x 30 inches (smooth)

This YouTube Video below showed us how to hack the FISKARS FUSE into a Printing Press:

Relief printing with Fiskars Fuse

PORTABLE PRINTMAKING STUDIO

The photo below shows how compact this system is, with the plastic print beds and a box of paper, ink and other necessities.  The idea is to carry this system anywhere and pull prints on site:

The COMPACT Portable 

PRINTMAKING STUDIO

8x8 inch square paper

over a 6x6 inch linocut

on the 1/2 inch print bed

TESSELLATION DIE

The FISKARS FUSE can press with great force, as the original purpose of this system is for Die Cutting.  So we bought a custom made "hat" die on Ebay from the Ukraine:

The idea was to die cut the "hat" shape out of Expanded PVC Foam to make EXQUISITE TESSELLATION collaborative prints (since it is toxic to cut PVC with a laser cutter).  The custom die is just a tad bit too big to fit in the FISKARS FUSE.  However if it were slightly smaller it would also die cut "hat" shapes out of linoleum as well.

OTHER PORTABLE PRESSES

The most innovative portable press is probably the SUITCASE LITHO PRESS by NICK PHAN -- Some Print Dude on Instagram:

I made a suitcase Litho Press

• The LITHO PRESS in action
• The LITHO PRESS in public

NICK PHAN also designed a small/portable 3D printed Printing Press:

Small 3D printed Printing Press

COLD PRESS LAMINATING 

Diwan sent us videos of artists using Cold Press Laminating machines to print with, as they are way cheaper than buying a conventional printing press:

Making relief prints with a laminating machine

Cold press laminator: Intaglio Printmaking on a Budget