Heidelberg has long been one of the finest printing press manufacturers in the world. You can tell from this 1970's picture of their classic Windmill Letterpress. While most companies would have one or maybe two people tops to point to various bits and pieces on the machine, Heidelberg would settle for no less than five men!
~ Test your letterpress knowledge ~
Tell us in the comments below what's wrong with the picture above. The first correct answer and the funniest incorrect answer will each receive one of our original How Magazine cover letterpress prints done in collaboration with the smart folks at How and the lovely lasses at Parliament of Owls.
Contest ends Oct. 2, 2011, 11 pm EST. The Pressman's decision is final you hear!
It's running blue ink, yet it's yellow on the rollers?
Posted by: Cam Hoff | September 29, 2011 at 05:38 PM
too much paper!
Posted by: scott | September 29, 2011 at 05:40 PM
Hello, well, I think that there is to much paper in the machine. There is as much printed as white paper in the press.
And the powder is blue, never seen blue powder.
Posted by: Eric De Smedt | September 29, 2011 at 05:44 PM
We have a correct answer already! Scott is correct because you cannot have a full paper feed pile AND a full delivery pile. That would really be stupid!
Congrats Scott. The funniest caption winner is still very much open so everyone keep commenting (except Scott).
Posted by: Cranky Pressman | September 29, 2011 at 05:55 PM
The answer is plain as day.
They've all lost fingers from feeding a C&P, but are pointing out safety guards for a Heidelberg Windmill. They are all contradictions.
It's probably from an OSHA publication under the category "Hindsight is 20/20."
Posted by: Baltimore Print Studios | September 29, 2011 at 05:55 PM
The man in brown on the left is modifying the worm drive on the main ink cylinder while the press is seemingly in full operation. When the platen arm came to full impression, it'd snap that in half.
Also, someone needs to unload the paper on the right, and this press didn't take more than one person to operate it, one of them is going to lose an arm or a nose.
Posted by: Nick Wilson | September 29, 2011 at 05:57 PM
"I think the start button is here!" " No, it's over here!" You guys, it's over here!! "No, you idiots, it right here!" "Hey! What's this red doohicky? for?"
Posted by: Dennis Couch | September 29, 2011 at 06:56 PM
While the Heidelberg was introduced in the early 1900s, the "Power Donut" hairstyle being rocked by the gentlemen at center didn't gain popularity until the 1970s.
Posted by: Caroline | September 29, 2011 at 07:14 PM
Marriage is defined as one man and one Heidelberg. I have no idea what is going on here.
Posted by: Studio On Fire | September 29, 2011 at 09:06 PM
The blue stuff is most likely a representation of press wash as iirc that is what that container would hold. I don't think the windmills had a set off spray system. If the dd and that was part of it, it would be the wet offset stuff, which I doubt was blue as well.
I find it strange that all of them have the same pointing index finger.
Posted by: Lammy | September 29, 2011 at 09:55 PM
"With just one press of the button...."
Gah@#%&$*!!!
"Safety First, kids!"
Posted by: Jennifer Leff | September 29, 2011 at 10:38 PM
The tan are-they-shoes-or-are-they-slippers on the gentleman in the lower right corner. With pond-scum green stripy socks and a magenta shirt no less. It's burning a hole in my retnas. Make it stop, for god's sake, make it stop.
Clearly there is nothing more wrong with the picture than that.
Posted by: Tabitha | September 30, 2011 at 08:05 AM
This contest is now closed. Thanks for your comments. We are currently deliberating and the winners will be announced later this week.
Posted by: Cranky Pressman | October 03, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Okay folks we have a winner in both categories.
Scott T. McClelland was the first to answer what's wrong with the picture. There is indeed too much paper loaded in the machine for it to work properly.
Then while all the comments displayed untold hilarity, we are giving the humor award to Dennis Couch for his extreme confusion and idiocy.
So a How poster print will be going to each of you two fellows.
However, since we are such nice guys, we'll be sending all who commented a set of Cranky coasters as a consolation prize. Sort of like Oprah, everyone is a winner except instead of cars you get some dusty old self-promotional junk we have lying around the shop.
I will be contacting each of you to get a mailing address.
Thanks for playing.
Posted by: Cranky Pressman | October 08, 2011 at 10:13 PM