Z-Pressing

Things I now know about Z-pressing:

• Joining and cutting out a total of 87 panels of Duflex took 2-3 people four days.
• Depending on the thickness of the panels (13mm, 16mm or 25mm) it took on average 15 minutes per panel to prepare, glue, join, press and release.
• The press needs to be turned on up to twelve hours prior to use.
• For brushing the glue, we found natural bristle artist brushes (size no. 12) to be very effective. We used approximately 6 at a cost of about $1.20 each. Newsagents usually stock these.
• Clean up brushes with acetone, and hands with vinegar.
• We did not have replacement release film for the Z-press platens, so when the existing film got worn and damaged beyond use, we found an emergency solution: we replaced it with A3 document laminating film (after putting through a laminating machine as continuous overlapping pocket sheets). This proved to have a life of more than twenty joins when attached with contact adhesive.