DIY Registration Pins

Between the silk screen prints I'm planning and the small linoleum block I haven't printed yet, I decided I wanted to get back to working on perfect registration. So the other day I scrounged around through my unorganized boxes of supplies til I found my trusty registration pins. I also managed to get my hands on a decent quality three hole punch. With these two simple tools it is possible to locate sheets of paper in exactly the same position repeatedly and therefore ensure that you print an image located uniformly on every print. This becomes important when working on multiple color layers. Anyway, it seems that the diameter of all hole punches is not uniform. So the holes I can punch are much bigger than the pins I have. If the pins don't fit into the holes tightly, then the paper can shift and your registration will be shot. The paper punch that matches my pins is over $200, a ridiculous amount for a glorified office tool. The pins that match my punch are $2 each and must be bout in lots of 25. I only need two.

Today I punched some holes in a piece of card and went to the hardware store to find supplies to make my own pins. I found a strange little furniture bolt that fit the hole perfectly. Then I picket up some thin sheet metal. Using a dremel I chopped the bolt into four pieces and then epoxied them onto small squares of the sheet metal. It was easier than I expected. Now I have four pins matched up with my hole punch and the whole thing coast about $5.50. I'll put them to the test tomorrow or later tonight to see how well they work.