So your Riley Hopkins 150 screen printing press just arrived at your front door. First, congratulations! The only thing left to do is assemble your press and get printing. Right now, it probably just looks like a lot of parts. Daunting, right? Don’t worry. With this walkthrough, you’ll be able to set up your press with ease and get printing in no time.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
The package comes with all the press parts you’ll need. You just need a couple of tools to put everything together. Grab two 9/16” wrenches, two ½” wrenches, one Phillips screwdriver, and a tape measure or ruler.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
The Riley Hopkins 150 press requires a bit more assembly than bigger presses. Make sure that everything is there before you start assembling the press. If you find that you’re missing parts, contact us! We’re more than happy to send you the part you’re missing.
Here’s what’s in the box:
- Main Press Core Assembly
- Color Arm With Hinge Bushings
- 16” x 16” Wood Platen Assembly
- Screen Clamp
- Press Mounting Foot
- Left Hand Off-Contact Bracket
- Color Arm Spring Plate
- Right Hand Off-Contact Bracket
- Hardware Box
ASSEMBLE YOUR PRESS
Now that everything is accounted for, you’re probably wondering where to start. Let’s jump in and walk through how to assemble your 150. Take your time and make sure to set your press up right the first time.
STEP 1: ATTACH MOUNTING FEET
Attach the mounting feet to the main base assembly. One ½” wrench is required.
STEP 2: MOUNT THE BASE
Mount the press base to the preferred tabletop surface. This can be anything from a press cart to a wooden countertop. In the video, the press is mounted to a press cart/screen storage unit. Place the front foot a maximum of 3” away from the edge of the tabletop surface for maximum platen adjustability. Use the Phillips head screwdriver to accomplish this.
STEP 3: INSTALL GATE HARDWARE
Install the gate hardware. Do not fully tighten the nylon side registration bolts at this step. Two 9/16” wrenches are required for this step. Set the center bolt 2.5” from the top of the bolt to the top of the base. Lock the jam nut to keep in place.
STEP 4: INSTALL HINGE HARDWARE
Install the hinge hardware in the center of the three hinge pocket hole locations. Tighten the hardware with two 9/16” wrenches to the point where there is some resistance but can still move up and down within the hinge pocket.
STEP 5: ATTACH COLOR ARMS
Attach the color arm spring plate to the color arm bar. Ensure that the spring plate is square with the color arm bar before final tightening. Two ½” wrenches are required. If you purchased a Riley Hopkins 150 4x1, repeat steps 5-15 for all other color arms.
STEP 6: INSTALL LOWER PIVOT BOLT
Install the lower pivot bolt into the off-contact brackets and the color arm lower hole. Do not fully tighten the hardware at this step.
STEP 7: UPPER OFF-CONTACT
Install the upper off-contact bolt and retaining clip. This step may require you to rotate the lower bolt previously installed in order to fully seat the clip to the off contact bracket. One 9/16 wrench is required for this step.
STEP 8: OFF-CONTACT BRACKETS
Install the off-contact bracket bolts into the screen clamp. Fully tighten the hardware at this step. One 9/16” wrench is required for this step.
STEP 9: ATTACH SCREEN CLAMP
Attach the screen clamp onto the slotted off-contact brackets. This will be your up-down adjustment for printing after final assembly. One 9/16” wrench is required for this step.
STEP 10: INSTALL SCREEN CLAMP KNOBS
Install the screen clamp knobs into the screen clamp. Make sure the knob stud does not protrude beyond the lower clamping conical washer. Lock the nut together in opposing directions using two 9/16” wrenches in order to fix the clamping nuts to the stud.
STEP 11: INSTALL BUMPER BOLT ASSEMBLY AND PRINT HEAD LIFTING SPRINGS
Install the print head lifting springs. The hooks must be facing upward. Once the hooks are both installed, pull the printhead assembly down into the registration gate.
EXTREME FORCE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION DURING THIS STEP.
STEP 12: INSTALL UPPER BUMPER BOLT ASSEMBLY
Install the upper bumper bolt assembly and rubber stop. Do not overtighten. Lightly snug nut to hinging pocket. Two 9/16 wrenches are required for this step.
PINCH POINT. PROCEED WITH CAUTION DURING THIS STEP.
STEP 13: INSTALL LOWER SAFETY STOP BOLT
Install the lower safety stop bolt hardware. Make sure to install with the printhead in the up position. Do not overtighten, lightly snug the nut into the hinging pocket. Two 9/16 wrenches are required for this step.
STEP 14: INSTALL PLATEN ASSEMBLY
Install the platen assembly to the station arm. Loosen the knobs before installation. The platen assembly is adjustable front to back to help set the desired image placement on the garment. Lock it in place with the three locking knobs tightly during print cycles.
STEP 15: SET UP SCREEN
Set up the screen. First, lock the screen in place with the screen clamping knobs (1). It is ideal to fully seat the screen into the back of the screen clamp as shown. Next, loosen the off-contact nuts (2) with a 9/16 wrench.
Set the desired off-contact position and retighten the nuts. Lastly, set the tilt angle of the screen by loosening the tilt locking nuts (3). Make sure to fully lock down the tilt hardware to avoid movement during printing.
And that’s that! You have a fully-assembled, functioning screen printing press. Take a moment to admire your hard work before beginning your print hustle.
