QUICKUTZ We R Memory Keepers Letterpress Combo Kit, with Epic 6 Tool

Don't waste your money, especially through Amazon. I purchased this "new" item from Amazon, and it appeared to me to be "used". This machine is worthless.

i understand what this product is aiming to do but it's really diffcult to use and hard to get fine details. i would not recommend it.

I fell in love with letterpress a while back. I brought this letterpress machine thinking I could design my own plates and print my own Christmas or Birthday cards. Unforuntately, this machine wasn't as good as I thought it would be. The plates cracked after a few uses (apparently it's really common?). It also started making these weird noises white you are rolling the paper through. The black ink gets a little boring after a while so you may want to buy other inks. After a few runs, you'll find yourself needing to buy more letterpress paper. After that, you will have to buy more plates (or send your designs to plate making companies). If anyone is planning on buying this machine, it's quite an investment and make sure you are up for the extra expenses!

The mat to make deeper impressions bent and is no longer useful but the machine it still going.The tension that the machine take make me a little nervous that it will break but i hope it can take the project i have in mind for it.I had to buy crane lettra white letterpress paper for it on paperworks.comso far it looks good. Thank you very much for selling this item and throwing along with it some extra stuff.

I made my wedding invitations using this and they came out beautiful! After having priced out companies that do letterpress printing, I was not willing to spend that kind of money on paper that all of my guests would throw out. I did a bit of research on letterpress machines and ordering the plates to do it yourself. I also referred to another review on here and followed the suggestions that Amy had to offer (Thank you Amy! You inspired me to take a chance and it worked out perfectly!). So here's my suggestions for anyone planning to use it for invitations or anything like that where you want to create something really special and have to make multiple copies.PAPER - I ordered 110 lb. pearl white paper (and matching envelopes) online from crane.com. The majority of my order was received within a week, though one of my envelopes were backordered for 6 weeks, so I went to thepapermillstore.com for those and received them in less than a week. The paper that I ordered was in parent sheets, which needed to be cut down. You could order 8 x 11, but you'll still need to cut them either way. I used a paper cutter that had a razor blade to slice the paper. It worked out well in terms of it being accurate for the sizes I needed, but I ended up edging each piece with an X-acto knife and a ruler once they were all done. This helped to create super straight and clean cuts, but it was probably my least favorite part of creating my invites because it was extremely time consuming. When you order your paper, make sure to get more than you will actually need. You will make plenty of mistakes while you are learning and should cut extra right from the start to save the hassle of having to do it later.SUPPLIES - I followed Amy's advice and bought a separate 6" soft brayer, which worked out perfectly. I also purchased additional clear ink bases (any glass or acrylic type of surface will do) to use for my separate ink colors. The one that comes with the kit is too small to use with a 6" brayer if you're using it for a big project like this, but it is fully functional otherwise. The 6" soft brayer is a definite must though. The Lifestyle Crafts inks were fine, as were the plates that came with it. I ordered additional colors to match my theme and a tube goes a long way. I did my entire set with two tubes of ink total and still had some leftover.LETTERPRESS - test out a few samples using the plates and ink that are provided, but understand that your plates (if you order them) will print up a little differently. Practice by using small amounts of ink, thicker paper (if you have it available), or adding a thin sheet under the grid in order to achieve a deeper impression. Even once you get your own custom plates, you will want to practice a bit with each piece so that you get the impressions that you want.PLATES - I ordered my plates from boxcarpress.com also. They were tricky to design, but I downloaded a free trial of Adobe Illustrator and figured out how to use it. You can also have someone design them for you, but obviously this will cost more. Boxcarpress does design work as well. Once you have your design prepared, the plates take less than a week to get. I ordered mine on a Friday afternoon and received them on Tuesday of the following week. There's a lot of information on their website about creating your design and having the format correct, but they can help you with this as well. The plates I ordered were KF152 photopolymer plates and you can ask for the plate strips to use as roller bearers when you ink up your plates. The extra plate strips are free and are absolutely necessary when applying ink to most designs (for us beginners anyway).ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS - Give yourself a lot of time if you plan to make numerous pieces for your invitations. I pressed six pieces in total for my invitation suite - main invitation, reception, response, accommodations, directions, and a belly band. I had intended to press my envelopes as well, but 160 sets of 6 pieces was more than enough at that point, so all of the envelopes were sent through my printer at home instead. Doing these on my own was a huge job and I (luckily) knew that from the start, but it was still a time consuming process. Don't get discouraged when the first few you make look awful...just use less ink! If it's too little, you can add more. Also, keep an old white t-shirt handy. After a few presses from the plate and having inked it up so often, you may want to wipe down your plate so that it's like a fresh start again. You don't need to wash the plates or use any soap or anything, the ink will just come off.If you have any questions about the letterpress, please comment! I'd be happy to help!Happy Letterpressing!

After months of waiting for this product to hit the market, I was highly disappointed. The instructions accompanying the combo pack were minimal and did not list more than a few steps. This would not be simple for a newbie crafter. Also, it would have been helpful to explain how to clean all the equipment, but after a few attempts I discovered that mineral spirits did the trick. The outcome of the card I made was far from something I would feel proud of leaving my craft room.The bottom line is that you do not receive the "reverse embossed" look that you expect to receive. The samples on display at the store were obviously not created by this kit. The instruction manual says that you may add extra "padding" to help increase the depth of the impression, but DO NOT ATTEMPT this. I tried this with 2 sheets of very thin magazine paper and I ended up breaking the Epic 6 machine. It broke the mechanism inside to where you could not crank through anything thicker than the two plates. What a waste of money.I am glad I could return this to the store or I would be very upset. If you are purchasing this in hopes of creating wedding invitations, save yourself the headache.Other notes: - If you buy the starter pack without the Epic 6, be aware that these plates are wider than the Cuttlebug (unsure of other systems). - The ink is expensive, but necessary. It has a very tacky texture to it. You may find a similar substitute in some some of linoleum block printing ink. - It really is not explained until you open up the kit, but every time you select a plate you must use the adhesive (some provided) to attach it to one of the plates. This leaves a sticky residue when you are finished. - There are many consumable pieces to use with this kit, which could eventually be expensive.

The other reviews regarding this kit are accurate and worth looking over. This isn't an out-of-the-box, immediate gratification craft. Like true letterpress or any craft, there's a learning curve and a period of trial and error. Specifically for this set, I think the manufacturer would've done themselves well to include a better brayer that was bigger and softer, and something to clean the ink.I would say this item is for someone who has had experience with printing and doesn't get easily discouraged. As for the quality of the print, yes, you can get very good results with lots of experimentation. The key is to get better equipment and not give up.