Cossar Restoration Project UK

[Dave Hughes]

Many thanks to Peter Coleman for sharing this article in gxpress:

"Offset it isn't, but if you can find a CTP system for photopolymer plates, this could be the go...

After our story last year tracking the last remaining Cossars, Tom McGowran has sent me these pictures of the press now resting precariously in the quaint West Somerset village of Williton in the UK.

In an understatement that must claim records for its modesty, he says it "just needs a bit of spit 'n polish and an oily rag to be as good as new..."

Anyway, it's visual proof of the existence of one of only a handful of the celebrated web-fed letterpress machines still in existence... and as you can see, it's in need of some love. There are believed to be only three or four of these transformative presses left in the world.

It comprises two units and two rewinds, and McGowran reports it is apparently compete with all the electrics still in place. "It's a bit rusty but nothing serious," he says.

This Cossar press originally started life in Canterbury, Kent - where it may be the one recalled by the Sydney managing director of Mediaspectrum, David Page - and was moved in 1975.

"The press was converted to run APR plates in the late 80s using equipment that had previously been in use on the Cossar at Farnham," McGowran says. "The press in Williton was eventually decommissioned in the late 90s."

And yes, it's looking for a home - please - available free-of-charge to anyone who would like to make any use of it. "No warranty, Tom? What do you mean, no warranty."

Contact GXpress for contact details"