Riley Hopkins Aero 6 color 4 station Reviews/Feedback

[Frog]

I am going to go look at an old Workhorse 8/8 all heads down on Saturday. I am hoping for a diamond in the ruff but I doubt it. I think I can get it for 1K

A completely competent machine though lacking in some of the sophistication available from others. Also, almost completely rebuildable. Nobrain down in San San Diego has talked about his as a fixer-upper which is now churning out stunning work.

[Denis Kolar]

I am going to go look at an old Workhorse 8/8 all heads down on Saturday. I am hoping for a diamond in the ruff but I doubt it. I think I can get it for 1K

Contact Printhouse, he has (or had) one of those. Maybe he can tell you more about the press

[nobrainsd]

I have an 8/8 all arms down workhorse press. I bought it used and disassembled. It needed a bit of work, but the press is solid and it was worth the effort. Yes, The 8 is heavy. But I have gotten used to it and I probably needed the work outs. The nice side of that is that everything is well constructed and you aren't likely to find anything bent or tweaked, except possibly the print station arms. On any old press you will often find that the box construction of the arms has been dented and compressed by the platen clamp. Overtime this can cause the arm to bend and rack. The adjustable support on the workhorse arm is great for helping to level out your platens. I like this feature much better than the fixed supports on my hopkins. I also re pinned my print arms to the carousel. Since they are not entirely true I set the arms so that the platens are flat and level at the sweet spot where they are positioned to print. If the arms are sufficiently twisted or bent is is possible to straighten them some. This is the one thing that I would look for on any used press. I only run with four arms mounted now. Eight platens and arms hasn't been an advantage for me since I don't do all heads down printing.
 


If the press is assembled you can bring a flat screen and check the off contact all the way around. Obviously that didn't work for me. But there is no reason that a workhorse press that is out of spec can't be set to right. If the press is dismantled check the bearing surfaces for any major damage. When I set up my press I found that the previous owner had bolted the heads into a fixed position. It was easy to purchase the right fasteners and restore that functionality. Though I have never used it yet!

I made more money doing quick low color count runs, but I enjoy printing eight color designs. I would have better production on an automatic, but that will have to wait. Altogether the workhorse is a solid and reliable performer that will stand up to abuse that a lighter press might not take as well (particularly if it is stored in pieces). I get great registration and the press easily handles my large newmans and 18 inch platens. Once you have gotten to use eight colors in a design you won't want to go back.

185 ppi index design 

[Frog]

Wow, speak of the Devil! I guess you were lurking at the right time!

btw, I am still considering a trip down your way to see my pops, but will probably take a pass on the Hydrofoil Boarding.

[Prosperi-Tees]

Thanks nobrain, I actually thought they were joking to look for someone named nobrain but there you are! lol. And it sounds like you have a very functional brain! I will bring a screen and check it out as it is still assembled. Thanks

[Printhouse]

I have owned several different presses and I really like my 8/8 workhorse.  It is easy to set up and holds great reg.  I just bought enough pallet brackets to finally mount youth, sleeve and overall platens on every other station when needed.  I also like that parts are very reasonable for these things.

[Printhouse]

And I never thought I would want or need the 8 colors....  but I just got done setting up (2) 2 color fronts, (1) 3 color front and a 1 color back for tomorrow morning.  I will just show up and start knocking them out.  It is handy to have those extra stations. It allows me to leave some jobs up while I wait for a possible reprint later in the week.

[Prosperi-Tees]

just checked it out, It was disassembled so all I can do was play with the micros which did not move very well and some were stuck solid, one printhead was cracked and broke off, its a project but not for me.

[nobrainsd]

Yeow. I thought my workhorse was abused!

Sticking or stuck micros are not necessarily trashed. When you check out other used equipment be sure to look at the threads. The micros on two of my used press purchases were not smooth. One had some kind of glue that had dripped on them and the other was just so grungy I have no idea what the previous owner was doing. Those cleaned up well. I have looked at a number of presses that had damaged/dented  micro threads. Piling up the print heads is not an ideal way to store them when disassembled. I've also had a press shipped to me with the heads piled together and shrink wrapped (from an established equipment reseller too). Fortunately those micros threads cleaned up with a die. Always check the micros on every station on any used press.

Did the owner say how the printhead was damaged? That would probably be an entertaining story. Does workhorse sell those parts still? Sure doesn't sound like what you are looking for, but I would have probably offered the guy $200-$250 if I could get a replacement for the cracked piece. I bought a 6/6 Hopkins that had cracks in the frame and some missing clamp pieces. Made what I considered an appropriate offer and although the owner said no way I got the deal two weeks later. $40 in welding and a couple of hundred in parts set me up.

Good luck on your press search. Sometimes it is better to pay for a press that works!

Frog, I thought you amphibious types loved to take a leap?

[Prosperi-Tees]

Some of the micro bolts were actually bent and some knobs I couldnt even budge. And with everything from platens to the arms to spare platens piled on top of it there was no way to really give a full evaluation. I could only access a couple of heads and what I saw did not look to good. I told him if he had it put together that it would make an easier sell. He told me I could if I wanted to but I dont want to put it together in his shop thats his job! lol! Well it was not a Diamond but it was in the Rough!

[Prosperi-Tees]

Well I just picked up this press only a few miles from my shop and it was super clean. Hopkins BWM 6/4 with Ultimate Micros. Cant wait to use the micros even though I have never used micros before. One question I do have, How do you 'zero' out your micros?

[Nation03]

Awesome! Looks like a good find. You're going to love micros. I'm not sure how good the Hopkin's micros are, but I hear great things from the people who own those presses, so I'm sure it will be fine. The way I usually zero out our micros is to make sure the two knobs that move the screen front and back are relatively equal to one another. Kind of hard to explain, but just play around with it and you'll get the hang of it in no time. Congrats on the new (used) press!

[prozyan]

Zeroing out micros isn't necessarily a process, such as leveling your platens and print heads to each other.  All you do is center the micro adjustments so that you have full range of motion in any direction.  Unless you have some serious pre-press alignment issues, "close enough" on the zeroing will be more than good enough.

[inkbrigade]

I may as well chime in 
We had a hopkins 6/4 manual. An older one. I hated it. Never could get the off contact to work well and the peel adjustment was horrible.
If i was going to do it all over again and start with a manual i would look far and wide for an M&R sidewinder or better yet a chameleon. I know they are crazy expensive but so totally worth it. Ask evo.

[Prosperi-Tees]

I may as well chime in 
We had a hopkins 6/4 manual. An older one. I hated it. Never could get the off contact to work well and the peel adjustment was horrible.
If i was going to do it all over again and start with a manual i would look far and wide for an M&R sidewinder or better yet a chameleon. I know they are crazy expensive but so totally worth it. Ask evo.

Its funny you say that. I just noticed that 1 out of the 4 stations off contact is higher than the others. What could it be? Do I shim that arm up?

I played with the micros last night and I think they are great, I love that it is tool free to adjust tilt, off contact as my other press required wrenches which sucked.