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1.1 What is this FAQ about?
It is about the art and craft of Letterpress printing,
including the equipment we use, how to use it, what materials
and supplies are necessary, and where to get it all.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.2 Who wrote it?
It was compiled by
David Macfarlane <dmac@impressed.com>
from material on the letterpress mailing list, as well as many
other sources (noted where known).
The specific contributors are listed within the individual
questions.
Please
email me
with any suggestions or concerns.
Please note that I'm naming the contributors (the people
who wrote the messages to the Letterpress list) to give credit
where credit is due. This does not imply any endorsement of
any particular product, technique, or company by either the
author of the text or the compiler of this list.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.3 How do I join the Letterpress mailing list (LETPRESS)?
To join the email list, send a message to
listserv@listserv.unb.ca
with the following line:
subscribe letpress your-first-name your-last-name
Alternately, you can go to
this web page
and fill out the appropriate parts of the web page form.
That link takes you to the archives;
the hamburger on the right side of the page
has links to subscribe or unsubscribe
(click on the three thick lines - the "hamburger").
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.4 How do I get off the Letterpress mailing list (LETPRESS)?
To get off the email list, send a message to
listserv@listserv.unb.ca
with the following line:
signoff letpress
Alternately, you can go to
this web page
and fill out the appropriate parts of the web page form.
That link takes you to the archives;
the hamburger on the right side of the page
has links to subscribe or unsubscribe
(click on the three thick lines - the "hamburger").
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.5 I'm confused: how does the LETPRESS list work?
To send a message to all the people currently subscribed to the list,
just send mail to LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA. This is called "sending mail
to the list", because you send mail to a single address and LISTSERV
makes copies for all the people who have subscribed. This address
(LETPRESS@LISTSERV.UNB.CA) is also called the "list address". You must
never try to send any command to that address, as it would be distributed
to all the people who have subscribed. All commands must be sent to the
"LISTSERV address", LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA.
It is very important to
understand the difference between the two, but fortunately it is not
complicated. The LISTSERV address is like a FAX number that connects you
to a machine, whereas the list address is like a normal voice line
connecting you to a person. If you make a mistake and dial the FAX number
when you wanted to talk to someone on the phone, you will quickly realize
that you used the wrong number and call again. No harm will have been
done. If on the other hand you accidentally make your FAX call someone's
voice line, the person receiving the call will be inconvenienced,
especially if your FAX then re-dials every 5 minutes. The fact that most
people will eventually connect the FAX machine to the voice line to allow
the FAX to go through and make the calls stop does not mean that you
should continue to send FAXes to the voice number. People would just get
mad at you.
It works pretty much the same way with mailing lists, with
the difference that you are calling hundreds or thousands of people at
the same time, and consequently you can expect a lot of people to get
upset if you consistently send commands to the list address.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.6 What else can I do with the LETPRESS list?
You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF LETPRESS"
command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA. You can also tell LISTSERV how you
want it to confirm the receipt of messages you send to the list. If you
do not trust the system, send a "SET LETPRESS REPRO" command and LISTSERV
will send you a copy of your own messages, so that you can see that the
message was distributed and did not get damaged on the way. After a while
you may find that this is getting annoying, especially if your mail
program does not tell you that the message is from you when it informs
you that new mail has arrived from LETPRESS. If you send a "SET LETPRESS
ACK NOREPRO" command, LISTSERV will mail you a short acknowledgement
instead, which will look different in your mailbox directory. With most
mail programs you will know immediately that this is an acknowledgement
you can read later. Finally, you can turn off acknowledgements completely
with "SET LETPRESS NOACK NOREPRO".
Following instructions from the list owner, your subscription options
have been set to "REPRO MIME" rather than the usual LISTSERV defaults.
For more information about subscription options, send a "QUERY LETPRESS"
command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA.
Contributions sent to this list are automatically archived. You can get a
list of the available archive files by sending an "INDEX LETPRESS"
command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA. You can then order these files with
a "GET LETPRESS LOGxxxx" command, or using LISTSERV's database search
facilities. Send an "INFO DATABASE" command for more information on the
latter.
This list is available in digest form. If you wish to receive the
digested version of the postings, just issue a SET LETPRESS DIGEST
command.
Please note that it is presently possible for anybody to determine that
you are signed up to the list through the use of the "REVIEW" command,
which returns the e-mail address and name of all the subscribers. If you
do not want your name to be visible, just issue a "SET LETPRESS CONCEAL"
command.
More information on LISTSERV commands can be found in the LISTSERV
reference card, which you can retrieve by sending an "INFO REFCARD"
command to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UNB.CA.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.7 Where are the LETPRESS list archives?
You can find them at https://listserv.unb.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A0=LETPRESS.
You can browse through old postings, search for topics of interest,
or use a special page to join the list, leave the list, or change your
subscription settings.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.8 Is copyright really important?
[[This is a jest - there have been some heated
conversations on the list about copyrights - check the
archives if you're interested.]]
Some good references for copyright info
(we should more clearly say "info on copyright")
include
http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/law/intellectual_property/copyrights/
.]]
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
1.9 Who are the patron saints associated with book arts?
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, both St. Augustine and St.
John of God (founder of the Brothers Hospitallers) are considered
patrons of printers; the latter is also patron of booksellers (and
hospitals). St. John the Apostle, btw, is the patron of publishers.
Reed C Bowman <rcbowman@GLOBAL.CALIFORNIA.COM>
St. Sebastion is the patron Saint of bookbinders
"Joe K. Smith" <JKS321@AOL.COM>
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 1 questions]
2.1 How do I get started with Letterpress?
Well, that depends on what you want to do. If you want to
print yourself, this section of the FAQ has some references
to where to learn what you will need. If you just want
to find someone to do letterpress printing for you, that's
what the next question is about.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
2.2 What do I need to get started in letterpress?
The minimum equipment to do letterpress printing is:
- Printing press - a platen press, table-top press, or even an iron hand press (see Press Types).
Alternate: you can borrow the use of a press at a friend's print shop or
at the local book arts center (eg, Center for Book Arts in NY, a museum of printing, etc).
- Type - some cases of hand-set, foundry, type will be best. If you get Monotype cast
type, it will still work but it won't last as long as foundry (the foundry metal is
harder than the metal used in Monotype casters).
Alternate: you can have a plate maker (such as Owosso Graphic) to make a type-high
printing block from any camera ready copy (from your laser printer or a cuts book).
- Composing stick - a specialized tool for holding the type as you assemble
lines of your text matter. The most popular were made by Rouse, so a search
in eBay for "rouse" will usually find it even when the vendor has no clue
what it is.
- Spacing - unless you're working from plates, you'll need spacing material to
match all the sizes of your type: 12 pt spacing for 12 pt type, etc. Spacing comes in
different widths to make up the horizontal distance in your composing stick.
Thin spacing is copper (1 pt) and brass (2 pts); thicker spacing is lead and is
sized relative to the point size - smaller than 1 em is how many make up 1 em:
3 to the em, 4 to the em, etc. Larger than 1 em are quads: 2 em quad, 3 em quad, etc.
- Leading (pronounded to rhyme with sledding and wedding) -
vertical distance between lines of type is created with strips of lead, the thinnest
of which is 1 pt thick, then 2 pt, 6 pt, etc.
- Furniture & reglet - large spaces in your form are filled up
with wooden or metal blocks called furniture and strips of wood called reglet.
- Composing stone - a very smooth and flat surface for assembling your
form and locking up your chase. It can be made of real stone or steel.
Alternate: you can substitute a large piece of plate glass if you
are careful not to ever drop something metal on it (which will create
dangerous chips or cracks).
- Plane - this is a block of wood polished flat on one side and usually with a protective pad
of leather on the opposite side. You rest it on your form and tap it to make sure that
all the sorts of type are tamped down to rest on the stone.
Alternete: a medium piece of wood furniture (never metal) can be used:
something like 10x30 pica or thereabouts.
- Quoins (pronounced like "coins") - you'll need at least two of these
plus a tool to adjust them. They take up the final space in the chase once
you have assembled your form and all its furniture so that it is locked tight
and won't fall out when you put the chase in the press.
- Tympan paper - smooth, treated paper that has a very even
thickness for backing the sheet on which you are printing. Multiple
layers of tympan paper can build up on the platen to adjust your
impression strength.
Alternate: Some stiff card stock and other smooth
paper can make a good subsitute.
- Guage pins - three guage pins are needed to hold the sheet when
you cycle the press to print. I prefer the Megill tightening pins
that have two knobs for tightening the grip on the paper; you can
adjust them more finely than any other kind.
Alternate: many printers simply take a large piece of spacing,
such as a 24 pt 3em space and tape them on the tympan sheet.
- Ink - oil or rubber based ink in several colors.
- Solvent - something to clean the type and the press.
I clean everything with Dalco Juice, extracted from oranges.
(Note Dalco is now a division of Polychem - they
still carry Dalco Juice 92: call 1-800-431-2072
and ask for Mark at x 360 to order a 5 gallon can or 55 gallon drum
of this great stuff.)
David Macfarlane, Green Dolphin Press
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
2.3 Where do I find letterpress printers?
Crane (the paper manufacturer) has a list at
www.crane.com.
Also, Briar
Press has listings of letterpress printers and
other people associated with letterpress.
You can also find printers by Googling "letterpress printing"
or asking at your nearest letterpress equipment supplier
(eg, Letterpress
Things in Massachusetts.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
2.4 Who teaches letterpress printing?
Some of the best courses are taught at regional book arts centers, such as
the Center for Book Arts
in New York, New York,
the Minnesota Center for Book Arts
in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
the San Francisco Center
for the Book,
and others.
If you are in England, or want to go there,
the Alembic Press
has one week and Saturday workshops with the extra
added feature that they also have a Bed and Breakfast
to accomodate you.
The Rare Book School
includes letterpress among their courses both in illustration and
in the construction of books.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
2.5 What books can I use to learn letterpress printing?
Many printers now printing learned letterpress in high school
using "General Printing" by
Glen U. Cleeton and Charles W. Pitkin
(Bloomington, IL: McKnight & McKnight Publishing Company, 1941-1963) or
Polk & Polk's "The Practice of Printing"
(Peoria, IL: The Manual Arts Press, 1937-1945).
These two books have excellent instructional value,
are well illustrated, and can be found readily in many used
book stores or on the Internet.
NA Graphics (www.nagraph.com)
has reprinted the "must-have" book for platen press owners:
"Platen Press Operation" by George J. Mills. If you have a
floor standing Chandler & Price, Gordon Pearl, or similar
press, you'll benefit from this book many times over.
Also see the Green Dolphin Press
Typography and Printing Bibliography.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
2.6 What web sites will teach me about letterpress printing?
Perhaps the best introduction to letterpress on the web is David S. Rose's
comprehensive Intro to Letterpress
which covers many topics and has an excellent references section.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 2 questions]
3.1 What are the main types of printing presses?
Printing is primarily divided into three main
categories depending on whether the image surface that
gets inked is indented (eg, engraving), flat (eg, lithography),
or raised (eg, letterpress).
That is, with engraving, the image gets cut into the
material (eg, copper); lithography, the image is
painted on a flat stone surface; and letterpress,
the image is raised metal, linoleum, or wood.
[[This exposition will be elaborated upon in due time.]]
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.2 What are some standard roller sizes?
Standard roller diameters for C & P presses are as follows:
8 x 12 = 1 1/2"
10 x 15 = 1 3/4"
12 x 18 = 2"
14 1/2 x 22 = 2"
Rubber rollers are stocked by NA Graphics, P.O. Box 467, Silverton CO 81433
Phone 970/387-0212, FAX 970/387-0127. They also stock Morgan Expansion
Trucks.
Hal Sterne
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.3 How do I clean rust off iron?
The way we remove rust from machined iron surfaces at the foundry, is
with plenty of solvent (or diesel oil) and a scotch brite pad. Wear
rubber gloves so you don't dry out your fingers. When the metal is
shiny, wipe on a coating of oil to protect it. For areas that cannot be
oiled, because of paper contact, try Johnson's Paste Wax. Rub it on
heavy, and don't polish it off. It will self-polish, and protect in the
mean time.
John A. Hern Jr. 1900 Millview Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.4 How can I date my C&P press from the serial number?
New Series Presses
8 x 12
B50000
to B50200 1912
to B51005 1913
to B51676 1914
to B52377 1915
to B58950 1916-1925
to B61502 1926-1930
to B62300 1931-1935
to B62850 1936-1940
to B63077 1941-1945
to B64159 1946-1950
to B64565 1951-1955
to B64751 1956-1960
to B64780 1961-1962
10 x 15
XC 100
toXC102 1925-1927
toXC163 1931-1933
toXC202 1934-1936
toXC236 1937-1941
10 x 15
C50,100
to C53,671 1911-1915
to C67,101 1916-1925
to C71,300 1926-1930
to C71,987 1931-1935
to C72,667 1936-1940
to C72,901 1941-1946
to C76,100 1947-1950
to C76,666 1951-1955
to C77,077 1956-1960
to C77,168 1961-1965
12 x 18
X100
to X2101 1921-1925
to X3548 1926-1930
to X3794 1931-1935
to X3846 1936-1941
Craftsmen Style Presses
12 x 18
D50,000
to D52,266 1911-1915
to D55,552 1916-1920
to D60,151 1921-1925
to D61,852 1926-1930
to D62,254 1931-1925
to D62,685 1936-1940
to D62,836 1941-1946
to D63,518 1947-1950
to D63,930 1951-1955
to D64,145 1956-1960
to D64,202 1961-1964
14 1/2 x 22
XK 100
to XK 464 1927-1930
to XK 841 1931-1940
to XK 1051 1941-1960
to XK 1058 1961-1962
14 1/2 x 22
K50,001
to K50,166 1911-1915
to K51,468 1916-1920
to K52,224 1921-1925
to K53,003 1926-1930
to K53,277 1931-1935
to K53,609 1936-1940
to K53,751 1941-1946
to K54,318 1947-1950
to K54,589 1951-1955
to K54,721 1956-1960
to K60,001 1961-1964
14 1/2 x 22
HHK101
to HHK147 1935-1940
to HHK452 1941-1950
to HHK693 1951-1958
to HHK735 1959-1961
OLD SERIES PRESSES
An old version of this list was copied from
"The Chandler and Price Press Pyramid of Sales", but
there were rumors of better information being available
from the APA.
Thanks to Arie Koelewyn of the The Paper Airplane Press,
we now have the updated information, which follows:
Serial Number List for
CHANDLER & PRICE
Presses and Paper Cutters
1884 - 1964
a convenient pocket size booklet
for the information of
AMATEUR PRINTERS EVERYWHERE
and particularly for members of the
AMALGAMATED PRINTERS' ASSOCIATION
and the
AMERICAN AMATEUR PRESSS ASSOCIATION
by
J. GORDON BOGGS
at the
LOYAL OAK PRIVATE PRESS
3459 Wadsworth Road
Norton, Ohaio 44203
APA 390
OLD SERIES PRESSES
7 x 11
======
301 1884
501 1885
653 1886
797 1887
1053 1888
1181 1889
1241 1889 [sic]
1265 1890
1365 1891
1461 1892
1533 1893
1587 1894
1697 1895
1801 1896
1935 1897
2041 1898
2165 1899
2355 1900
2547 1901
2681 1902
2815 1903
2925 1904
3077 1905
A1 1905
A26 1906
A65 1907
A135 1908
A150 1909
A176 1910
A201 1911
A228 1912
A241 1913
End of Line
8 x 12
======
25001 1887
25053 1888
25379 1889
25811 1890
26365 1891
26891 1892
27521 1893
27989 1894
28711 1895
29701 1896
30555 1897
31627 1898
32901 1899
34207 1900
35633 1901
37039 1902
39401 1903
41041 1904
42889 1905
B1 1905
B519 1906
B1726 1907
B2908 1908
B3651 1909
B4701 1910
B5527 1911
End of Line
10 x 15
=======
302 1884
502 1885
556 1886
858 1997
1138 1888
1456 1889
1834 1890
2336 1891
2902 1892
3568 1893
4048 1894
4822 1895
5842 1896
6702 1897
7602 1898
8656 1899
9908 1900
11132 1901
12298 1902
14100 1903
15840 1904
17676 1905
C1 1905
C601 1906
C1801 1907
C3201 1908
C4001 1909
C6474 1910
C7421 1912
C7576 1913
End of Line
12 x 18
=======
22001 1892
22022 1893
22068 1894
22176 1895
22303 1896
22458 1897
22670 1898
22901 1899
23136 1900
23354 1901
23622 1902
23951 1903
24270 1904
24605 1905
D1 1905
D314 1906
D762 1907
D1313 1908
D1629 1909
D2252 1910
D2802 1911
D3223 1912
D3351 1913
End of Line
14 x 20
=======
25002 1888
25034 1889
25088 1890
25248 1891
25402 1892
25438 1893
25498 1894
25682 1895
26002 1896
26202 1897
26456 1898
26682 1899
27050 1900
27262 1901
27476 1902
27828 1903
28068 1904
28446 1905
E1 1905
E40 1906
E124 1907
E208 1908
E253 1909
E313 1910
E383 1911
E429 1912
E445 1913
E481 1914
End of Line
14 1/2 x 22
===========
25100 1888
25104 1889
25144 1890
25156 1891
25308 1892
25340 1893
25366 1894
25440 1895
25742 1896
25928 1897
26372 1899
26738 1900
26956 1901
27320 1902
27556 1903
27944 1904
28318 1905
K1 1905
K72 1906
K174 1907
K280 1908
K344 1909
K456 1910
K586 1911
K684 1912
K704 1913
K714 1914
End of Line
An C&P Old Series press can be identified by the "S" shaped
spokes of the flywheel. Starting with August 1911 or 1912
the "New Syle" Gordon had a flywheel with straight
spokes. This oldstyle list was complied from an ad that boasts
of total sales per year and the first 26 years of press manufacture.
The decline production pyramid would be very interesting to see.
The Franklin Gordon press patent-protection from the 1870's
lapsed and in 1901 C&P bought the Gordon works. The original
Chandler and Price patent of 1885 covered only the design of the
throw-off arm and not the press design. The press patent drawing
includes steam pulley accessories but no threadle.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.5 How is the size of a press measured?
By the inside of the largest chase it will hold.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.6 What's the best way to move a Gordon Style (e.g., Pearl, C&P) Press?
Check out the nicely illustrated page on moving a
press at
Mo's web site.
From: "David M. Norton"
Here're some directions for all you people moving C&P style presses.
Several people have used these directions without problems.
Press Moving--Gordon Style
TOOLS
I use a gear puller to remove gears and separate the flywheel
from the shaft. Sears sells them and you can often rent one from
tool rental stores. If the puller hooks slide off the flywheel
because of the curvature of the casting, bridge between two spokes
with pieces of strap iron (mine are 1/4" x 1-1/4" and once
connected the handle to a hand lawn mower) and hook the gear puller
onto them.
You also need a heavy screwdriver, wrecking bar (crow bar or
whatever), platen adjusting wrench (should come with the press or
you can use a big Crescent), hammer and dowel (hunk of a broom or
mop handle) if you pull the shaft connecting the bed and roller arm
assembly to the frame, assorted scraps of wood, perhaps a propane
torch, and a good vocabulary in case you mash a finger or break a
casting.
Some castings break easily. I dropped one eight or ten inches
onto a wooden box and it snapped, but my friendly local welder
fixed it good as new. The rule is: don't force and don't drop.
DISASSEMBLY
1. If possible, locate the press so there is at least five feet
of open space behind it, three or four feet on the flywheel side,
and a couple feet on the front and right side
2. Remove feedboard and delivery board
3. Remove platen
a. Disconnect gripper assembly by removing wheel riding in a
slot attached to the left side of the frame
b. Remove nuts from adjusting bolts under corners of the
platen
c. Lift platen off (may take a little gentle urging with a pry
bar)
d. Leave adjusting bolts in platen (don't turn) unless they
make moving difficult
4. Remove treadle if there is one
a. Unhook from main shaft
b. Remove brackets at rear of press
5. Close up press and tie bed and frame sections securely
together with strong rope or wire
6. Remove ink disc and supporting brackets
7. Remove fly wheel and shaft
a. Pull belt wheel from end of shaft opposite flywheel, if
there is one
b. Pull gear from end of shaft opposite flywheel (you may have
to heat it with a propane torch to get it off)
c. Remove bolts from shaft retainer plate on flywheel side of
frame
d. Pull shaft from frame--slides out on flywheel side taking
retainer plate with it
e. Flywheel may be pulled from shaft for ease in moving
8. Remove throw-off lever and linkage if there is one
9. Remove brake if there is one
10. Remove motor if there is one attached to the press
11. Remove back plate connecting roller carriers. Don't let roller
carriers flop down
12. Remove side arms connecting bed and frame
13. Remove roller carrier actuating arm on flywheel side of press.
Hold left roller carrier to prevent flopping
14. Remove roller carriers
15. Untie bed and swivel it back onto the floor without dropping.
Careful, it's heavy, you may want some help
16. Wedge blocks of wood between arms of bed piece and the floor,
as close to the frame as possible
17. Drive out shaft holding bed to frame. Some presses have
collars with set screws to keep the shaft from moving. If
so, loosen set screws before driving out shaft
This should get you down to pieces two or three people can
handle without much trouble. Most of it you can do yourself. (I
take the bed and frame of an 8 x 12 in one load in the station
wagon, with a helper. Get the rest of the press in another load by
myself. If you have a C&P Model N you might need a pick-up truck
and more help--it's a heavy monster.
I don't recommend the following but you may have to do it:
You now have a frame with a shaft on the front with a gear on the
right and a wheel or gear on the left. Main gear, on the right, is
cast and contains the track for moving the platen. It breaks easily
and is difficult to weld. The wheel (or gear) on the left end of
the shaft is often also a casting and fragile.
The platen block has an arm on the right side with a wheel
(cam rider) on its end that rides in a slot in the main gear. When
the main gear is moved to the right this wheel slides out of the
cam slot of the gear and, if not supported, the platen block will
rotate on its shaft and flop over with a crash. On some models the
cam rider arm (another casting) will hit the frame and snap.
If you must strip down the frame:
1. Pull the gear or wheel on the left side of the frame. Go
easily, using heat, penetrating oil, WD40, prayer,
profanity, or anything else you think might help. Be
careful not to push the shaft to the right as you're
pulling the gear.
2. Hold the platen block so it can't flop and move the shaft to
the right until the platen block cam rider disengages
from the main gear. Carefully ease the platen block down,
letting it pivot toward the rear of the press. Finish
pulling the main gear and shaft as a unit.
3. Remove the plates on each side of the frame holding the platen
block (remove bolts and lift plates off)
4. Carefully lift off the platen block
5. Unscrew nuts on ends of cross braces and the frame should slip
apart
CLEANING & INSPECTING
Now that you have the press apart, clean it up. Pay special
attention to gummy or hardened crud on bearing surfaces. Lacquer
thinner or WD40 and elbow grease should shine them up. Clean out
oil holes with a nail or small drill if necessary.
Check all wheels that ride on cams for roundness. If any have
flat surfaces have them built up by brazing or welding and turned
true, or it may be cheaper to have new ones made from bar stock. I
had a flat spot on a cam rider brazed slightly oversize, then
carefully filed it down to round, some 20 years ago. Cost me about
a buck and is still going strong, although it looks a little odd.
Could have had one machined for several bucks.
REASSEMBLY
I put the frame on 2x4 skids, extending three or four inches
beyond the legs front and back. I can get a wrecking bar under one
skid, lift it about 1/4" and block it up, then the other side
ditto, lifting it a little at a time so as not to put too much
stress on the frame castings, until I can get pieces of 1"
galvanized pipe under each skid. With this I can move a fully
assembled 10 x 15 press by myself, assisted by an occasional hell
or damn. Get a pipe under one end, roll it a ways, get another pipe
under it, roll it, move pipe, etc. To turn corners, angle the
pipes. If the thickness of the skids makes the press too high for
comfortable feeding stand on some scraps of carpeting or rug pad
for right height and soft footing.
Don't try to assemble the press on rollers, you'll chase it
all over the shop. Mount skids, assemble, then put on rollers to
move into place.
Put the monster back together by following the taking apart
instructions backwards. Blow out oil holes and wipe bearings as you
go along--grit cuts metal. Since all bearings will be dry, give
each a shot of oil before moving the parts.
If you have a counterweighted flywheel you may have to play
with it a bit before you get the press running smoothly. If it runs
lopsidedly, or jerkily, or some other kind of crazily, pull the
bull gear (main shaft, opposite flywheel), move it about a quarter
turn, and try again. Gear teeth may be marked for matching, which
simplifies the job.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.7 What are the different Gordon Models (including Pearls)?
A) Pearl presses
-------------------------------------------------------------
Pearl 1 Chase size 5 x 8; Old Style; no throwoff;
heart-shaped treadle; 3 wooden drawers in the base.
Pearl 8 Chase size 5 x 8; Improved; has throwoff;
rectangular treadle with the word PEARL in raised letters;
single hinged lid in base
Pearl 3 Chase size 7 x 11; Old Style; no throwoff;
heart-shaped treadle; 2 wooden drawers in base; two rollers.
Pearl 11 Chase size 7 x 11; Improved; has throwoff; rectangular treadle
with the word PEARL in raised letters; single hinged lid in base;
3 rollers
Pearl 5 Chase size 9 x 14; Old Style; no throwoff;
heart-shaped treadle; 2 drawers in base; twoi rollers.
Pearl 14 Chase size 9 x 14; Improved; has throwoff;
rectangular treadle with the word PEARL in raised letters;
single hinged lid in base; 3 rollers.
B) Golding Jobbers
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jobber 6 Chase size 8 x 12; 3 rollers
Jobber 7 Chase size 10 x 15; 3 rollers
Jobber 8 Chase size 12 x 18; 3 rollers
Jobber 9 Chase size 15 x 21; 3 rollers
Jobber 18 Chase size 12 x 18; 4 rollers
Jobber 21 Chase size 15 x 21; 4 rollers
C) Official presses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Official 1 Chase size 3 x 4-1/2
Official 2 Chase size 4 x 6
Official 3 Chase size 5 x 7-1/2
Official 4 Chase size 6 x 9; platen moves
Official 9 Chase size 6 x 9; platen stationary, bed moves (.Map press.)
Official 6 Chase size 8-1/4 x 12-1/2; platen moves
Official 12 Chase size 8-1/4 x 12-1/2; platen stationary; bed moves; (.Map
press.)
-- Steve Saxe
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
3.8 How do I adjust the platen on a platen (clamshell) press?
By David Norton
I usually adjust the platen when I'm ready to run a job--no
sense inking and washing a press just to adjust the monster.
Get a cap M or H, 48 pt. or larger, preferably damaged but not
squashed under type high. Tape a 2 pt. lead to the face. Find a
piece of string a couple of feet long and tie one end around the
sides of the type.
Remove the tympan and all packing.
Close the press, stopping it with the platen lock (under the
delivery board) snapped into place and the rollers at the top of
the plate.
Grasp the string and let the piece of type slide down between
the platen and bed on the left side. If it won't go in, loosen the
lock nuts and back off the platen adjusting bolts. If it rattles
around, take up the bolts. Using the string, slide the type up and
down and back and forth. Set the platen as snugly as possible to
the type+lead without binding.
Lock up a form with a cap H or M, about 48 pt., about five
picas from each corner of the chase. Move the grippers out of the
way.
Ink up the press and put on a tympan. Drop the form in and try
an impression. Build up with hard packing until you get a kiss
impression on at least one corner. Adjust platen bolts for a kiss
impression on each corner.
Now your platen is level and, by adjusting packing, you should
be able to run anything from a single character to a full form on
anything from tissue to card stock. Throw the damn adjusting wrench
away!
If you're going to run extremely heavy stock you may want to
use a 3 or 4 pt. lead on the face of the letter used as a gauge to
back the impression off enough to accept the heavier stock. Be sure
to use hard packing to build up for thinner stock.
Sounds complicated, but it's the fastest technique I've run
into. I can set up a press in fifteen or twenty minutes with luck,
with problems it may take half an hour.
I have a steel type high block I use but a letter works just
as well if you don't squeeze it. You can easily squash it under
type high with a medium pull on an adjusting nut, so be careful.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 3 questions]
4.1 How do I set up my press workshop?
Joe Smith recommended drawing your shop to scale, and moving around
scale cardboard blocks representing equipment.
I have also laid out several plants using this method, and fully agree
it is very easy and efficient. That's the way I laid out my printshop
as well, and would do it again in precisely the same way.
Also remember to reserve plenty of room for storage of paper, supplies,
and other treasures that will come to you from time to time. I wish I
had twice the storage room, an am fortunate to have another room nearby
for current items, and space at work for not-so-current things.
John A. Hern Jr. 1900 Millview Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814
From: Ned Heite <eheite@DMV.COM>
Joe's right, and I might add that "extra" space, beyond your perceived
needs, should be considered essential and not a luxury. One well-respected
printing manual suggests that a shop, with a handpress, no less, can be put
in a space about thirteen feet square. Ouch. To my mind, certain essentials
mustn't be overlooked.
1. Provide a convenient exit path for every piece of equipment; provide for
the removal of each machine. I once passed up an opportunity to obtain a
very fine machine because it was situated in the back of a crowded shop,
filled with large machines that had been installed after it was in place.
They ended up cutting it apart for scrap.
2. Make sure the wiring is flexible, and the lights can be moved. I stick
with the $10 two-tube fluorescent shop light, plugged into duplex ceiling
outlets that are switched. That way I have the convenience of one switch to
control the lights in three rooms of the shop, and I can move them to suit
conditions.
3. Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.
You've had some good advice, but I would chime in with a small note. Allow
enough room for some table space near your press. This comes in handy for
ink mixing, tool starage, etc. that may be necessary close to the press. It
also helps if you are feeding stock which is larger than the feedboard.
Perhaps you should consider soem type of utility cart which can be used in
various areas but has a "home" position out of the way somewhere.
John G. Henry - Cedar Creek Press "Lots of room is never enough"
My observations on this topic having moved shop a few times:
1. It's a three-dimensional problem: If, like me, you are not a standard height yourself then take the opportunity of setting up
to compensate. If you are tall build up everything and save your back. If you are short consider at least a small raised
platform where you stand in front of the cases to do your typesetting. Also what can you build shelves over without
obstructing it?
2. Lots of shelves - strong ones. In one shop I lined the walls just above head height with 9 inch shelves. It doesn't cut down
on light from above much or on floorspace at all but it does give you somewhere to store all that stuff that you might want
someday. You might wonder what you need all the shelf space for, but only until you have been doing this for a few
months. Do it now before all the machines and things get in your way.
3. Paint it now (before verything is in the way and easy to splash), a nice bright colour (white is simple). It's difficult to make a
shop too bright and it will save your eyes in the end. That goes for the floor too if it is plain concrete. Linoleum paint will seal
in the dust. If it is concrete it will be cold and a rubber mat where you stand will help or consider cheap linoleum everywhere
before you start.
4. If you have a power press consider setting it up on a wooden or rubber base to dull the transmission of vibrations to other
parts of the building.
5. Having established territory be ruthless in denying entrance to anything that isn't printing-related. If you get resistance to
this suggest it would be really very handy to keep your inks/solvents/etc. frost-free in a kitchen cupboard next to the
groceries ...
Good luck!
Richard Lawrence --
Thumb Print, Oxford, UK
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 4 questions]
4.2 What about oiling a press?
John Hern stated:
"... Proper lubrication usually is just a few drops of oil; and remember a
little frequently is better than a lot once a year. A good rule is to take
a rag and wipe as you oil. If you see oil on the surface, you probably
have plenty."
I favor 90 weight gear oil in a goose-neck pumper can.
I oil up and wipe down the press any time it has sat idle.
(i.e. not between same-day runs unless they are really long)
As John stated, every point there are two parts in contact moving
in opposition one is likely to find an oiling point.
In making a mental picture of my oiling sequence, I count 26 oiling
holes on an 8x12 o.s. C & P. Don't miss the all important oil hole
inside the large toothed driving gear. There is a smaller roller which
runs in the track inside that gear that actuates the opening/closing
of the platen. That small roller has an oil hole accessed by turning
the press over by hand. By using a goose-neck can you can get at it.
Also make sure you hit the 4 large journal oil holes that lube the
large diameter shaft the platen pivots on. There is one each on the
"bearing caps" accessed when the platen is closed, and two under the
delivery board on both sides of the shaft housing that can be tough
to see in the shadow of the board.
I have found that the press runs perceptibly easier when oiled
prior to running. (no surprise)
remember: "oil's cheaper than iron"
mjb
interrobang letterpress
Well, in the continuing saga of Finding the C & P Oil Holes.....
I oiled everything I could find Friday. Turned over the press and found
that just after the top of the treadle travel I hit a dry spot that
groaned slightly.
Looked ALL OVER, with spouse and flashlight for help, and just couldn't
see another oil hole.
Talked to fellow Guild member Jim Gard, who made suggestions on the
phone but was taking off again for a week.
Went back out, flashlight in hand, and FOUND the last one. Its
surrounding area was grimy and dark, so until I wiped away the grime it
was almost invisible. Yep: it's the one behind the main gear on the
main shaft, between frame and gear. Only about 10 minutes worth of
search-clean-and-squirt got it.
Press is nice and quiet now, and no groans from either the press OR the
operator!
==Marjorie Wilser (Printers' Guild, San Jose Historical Museum)
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 4 questions]
4.3 What's the best oil for a press?
The best oil for this use is what is called "way oil", designed for use
on the "ways" of lathes and machine tools. It is light, so will
penetrate small clearances easily, and has a high-tack additive to stick
to the bearings without running off.
If you can't get this in small quantities from your
industrial/commercial oil dealer, (or local machine shop) use a 20 wt
non detergent automotive engine oil from the auto parts store. $1.50
worth will last you ten years.
The reason you want to use a relatively light oil, rather than grease as
another lister suggested, is that the light oil "washes" out the
bearings as it is being used, keeping contaminants from building up and
cutting the bearing surfaces. Grease should only be used on open
bearings where oil will not stay put, such as under the hook on a
treadle operated press.
John A. Hern
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 4 questions]
4.4 How do you print on cloth?
I've printed 4-up labels on calico with no problem at all.
I cut the "blank stock" using a quilter's tool -- cutting mat,
straightedge, and "Olfa" cutter (looks like a pizza cutter, but MUCH
sharper). That way, I could cut through about 5 layers of cloth at
once.
Be sure to learn how best to cut fabric from a QUILTER, so you don't
waste any cloth . The SEwing and Quilting Form on Compuserve is a
great place to learn -- lots of good advice there! (when you're on
Compuserve, it's GO SEWING)
Before I cut the cloth, I *preshrank* and pressed it quite flat while
still damp. Once it was cut, I found that by simply laying the cloth on
the platen, it would stay flat enough to act as if it were paper. I
just laid it on the platen and used ordinary gage pins. This cloth was
about the size of your platen, 5 X 8". (My Superior is a 7 X 10)
Oh -- also, I know a guy who treats ribbon in a similar fashion, so I've
tried that too: make sure it's a polyester ribbon, not cotton, and
fairly smooth. You can make a guide by taping leads to the platen, and
run it from the spool (on a stick) on one side of the platen, to the
counter OR just to the floor, and cut it after printing. This guy makes
clothing labels for his wife's custom creations.
Worried about washing?? NO PROBLEM -- printers' ink *never* comes out
of cloth!! (I am wearing some ink stains that have lasted at least 10
years of regular laundering!)
==Marjorie Wilser
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 4 questions]
4.5 How do I do die cutting on my platen press?
Leonard Molberg has written a very helpful monograph
titled "Die Cutting Primer".
You will need careful control of impression strength, so you
don't smash your cutting die or wreck your press.
You also need a "cutting jacket", a piece of steel plate
that protects the platen of the press from the sharp
edges of the cutting die.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 4 questions]
5.1 Who is still making (casting) type?
See Section 9 below.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.2 How do you clean dried ink off type?
I use ovencleaner. Chas Klensch, Underground Press, NYC
I understand that oven cleaner is basicly lye, which is what the old
timers used. I read somewhere not to use lye for cleaning (I think they
were trying to sell some sort of chemical instead) so I ran out and
tried it. It works so well on metal type that the stuff looks new. The
problem is it cleans so effectively, the type may start to corrode
unless you put some oil on it to preserve it. Lye is readily available
at grocery stores. I'd get the pure stuff, though; oven cleaners, drain
cleaners, etc may have additives that wouldn't be good with lead.
Now, as far as cleaning wood type, the lye is basicly a water soluble
product, so as with any water, I'd be real cautious about getting it
around the type. How about some kind of hydrocarbon type wash here?
John A. Hern Jr. 1900 Millview Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83814
e-mail hern@nidlink.com Dipl.Ing. Mechanical
Engineer
Outside use a rag or sponge soaked in laquer thinner and put the type
face-down on it for a few minutes, then wipe clean with another thinner
soaked rag. It will dry quickly and not destroy even wood type.
Andy
FCG
Anchor Typewash is good at eating away very old ink and other residue--with
a little scrubbing it took ink off my two-disk plate that had been dried on
there for at least a decade--within about five minutes. You may have to
use a good bit--it dries extremely quickly and leaves virtually no residue.
It also eats right through regular latex or rubber gloves, but if you buy
the chemical resistant gloves available at most hardware stores you can use
it safely without getting it on your hands.
edinman <edinman@EARTHLINK.NET>
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.3 What is a fair price for a font of [used] type in good condition?
The answer is not as easy. If I wanted Cooper Black and found a complete
font I'd think 75% or more a fair price. However if I was offered 12 point
Bodoni, or Arrighi, I'd think twice before buying it at all. If it were much
used it would be useless for decent work. If it were very slightly used it
could be worth 50%, but all would depend on condition, hard to assess
without a glass.
The price of a new font of Bodoni 14 point in 1912 was $3.00 at American
Type Founders. For the same size font we would charge, at $13.00 a poind,
$45.50. The Cost of Living Indiex rose so that the $3.00 would now be
$48.48. [cf. www.newsengin.com for cost of living calculator]. The price of
quite ordinary paper tripled in the last 25 years.
We will be offering type in October in any quantity, large or small, send
SASE to me at 224 Main St., Nevada City, CA 95959 if interested.
Harold Berliner
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.4 How do you ship type in cases?
I've moved full typecases a couple of times and found that this works:
fit a few (depending on total weight) one on top of the other - so that
the case on tup covers completely the case below it.) Staple corrugated
cardboard over the top case, and then use polypropelene strapping, with
suitable tensioner and joiner, to keep the cases together. Nothing will
spill.
---Steve Saxe
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.5 Do type composers contract lead poisoning from handling lead type all day? Are there precautions we should be taking?
No, as long as you don't stir your black coffee with a slug. Wash your hands
with a good hand cleaner (I favor the commercially available borax/powdered
handsoap admixture) and a good Brit made fingernail/hand brush.
I have my shop in my home and had my blood tested and there was no trace of
lead, even though I live with it. Basically, use common sense.
Michael Babcock
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.6 How much does type weigh?
1 sq. inch of "foundry" type weighs 4.179 oz. (+/-) or 118.5gm
This by weighing unused 18pt ATF Baskerville M's.
Therefore, there is 3.828 sq. inches of printing surface/lb. of foundry type.
Or 8.438 sq. inches of printing surface/kilo of foundry type.
(This allows you to visualize how much type you get when looking at the
price per pound or kilo)
The weight of monotype is usually less as the castings are less dense,
but it's probably fractional.
Michael Babcock
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.7 What are the character quantities of typical fonts?
This is known as the fonting scheme. The "size" of the font
of type is specified by the number of upper and lower case 'a' sorts.
For example, a 12 pt font of a good book face might be "24A 47a".
Based on a late vintage ATF catalog, here are selected values:
| AINORST., | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 |
| BWY | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
| CL | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 47 | 50 |
| DHMPU | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 37 | 40 |
| E | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 54 | 60 | 66 | 72 | 78 | 84 | 90 |
| FG' | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 33 | 35 |
| JKV- | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| QXZ&:;!? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| ainorst | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 |
| bgpwy | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
| cfmu | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 37 | 40 |
| d | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 39 | 42 | 45 |
| e | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 33 | 40 | 47 | 53 | 60 | 67 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 93 | 100 |
| hl | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 47 | 50 |
| jkv | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| qxz | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| ., | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 37 | 40 |
| - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
5.8 What are the point sizes for the old names for type sizes?
My Monotype Book of Information (1950) says:
Minikin 3pt 0.0414ins
Brilliant 3.5pt 0.0484
Gem 4pt 0.0553
Diamond 4.5pt 0.0622
Pearl 0.066 (nb 5pt is 0.0691)
Ruby 5.5pt 0.0760 also called Agate (Monotype in 1928 gave size as
0.0725)
Nonpareil 0.0833 (nb 6pt is 0.0830)
Emerald 6.5pt 0.0899
Minion 0.0972 (nb 7pt is 0.0968)
Brevier 0.1083 (nb 8pt is 0.1107)
Bourgeois 0.118 (nb 9pt is 0.1245)
Long Primer 0.135 (nb 10pt is 0.1383)
Small Pica 0.145 (nb 11pt is 0.1521)
Pica 0.1667 (nb 12pt is 0.1660)
English 0.188 (nb 13pt is 0.1798 and 14pt is 0.1936)
2line Brevier 0.2166 (nb 16pt is 0.2213)
Great Primer 0.235 (nb 18pt is 0.249)
Paragon 0.2626 (nb 20pt is 0.2766)
Double Pica 0.289 (nb 22pt is 0.3043)
2line Pica 0.3362 (nb 24pt is 0.332)
2line English 0.375
the 1928 Manual adds
3line Pica 0.498 (ie 36pt)
4line Pica 0.6668 (48pt is 0.664)
and of course
3pt = 0.0414 but 3didot = 0.0444
4pt= 0.0553 but 4didot = 0.0592
4.5pt = 0.0622 but 4.5didot = 0.666
etc
because 12pt = 0.166 but 12didot = 0.1776
and 72pt = 0.996 but 72didot = 1.0658
And note the different units iro old (English) point sizes of pica = 0.1667ins
and new (US/English) point size of 12pt = 0.166ins, ie 8pt is 0.1107 but 8pt
Brevier is 0.1083.
David Bolton
The Alembic Press, Oxford, UK AlembicPrs@aol.com
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 5 questions]
6.1 Where do I put non-standard sorts in my type case?
I find these characters generally gravitate in my case to the upper row of
the caps side. I have, however, some fonts with many swash, accented and
terminal characters for which I cut a separator out of reglet to sub-divide
the actual character compartment so a portion of it can be used to provide
homes for the special characters.
John G. Henry - Cedar Creek Press
I cut card that will fit across the bottom and back of empty or unused
slots and mark the character on the exposed top of the card facing you.
This will only work if you have empty slots, for large fonts that have
many accented characters, I cut cards to fit the bottom of the slot with a
short wall between the standard English character and the accented
character. You can fold the card to provide larger spaces above or below
in the individual slots. This will also work for fonts with swash
characters - I divide the character slots in two parts putting the swash
characters in the smaller partition at the top. Bob Magill
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 6 questions]
6.2 What mnemonics are used for memorizing the California Job Case?
Jamie Syer <jksyer@TELUSPLANET.NET> says he uses:
'Be Careful Driving Elephants Into
Small Ford Garages.' Also, 'Let Me Now Help Out Your Punctuation With
Commas,' and 'Villians Usually Take A Ride.'
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 6 questions]
7.1 What kinds of ink can one use for letterpress printing?
There are three main kinds of ink: oil-based, rubber-based, and acrylic.
Any of these will do for letterpress printing. You can even use
offset ink (which is usually oil-based, but can be rubber-based).
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 7 questions]
7.2 What kinds of paper can one use?
Almost any kind of paper will print with letterpress techniques.
The best paper is high-rag content paper - and if you want your
work effort to last, get pH-balanced (ie, "acid-free") paper.
Good book-weight papers include Mohawk Superfine and
Zerkall Book-weight Smooth (100 gsm).
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 7 questions]
8.1 What are the traditional sizes of flat sheets of paper?
From the Printing Trades Blue Book, 1917, published by A.F. Lewis & Co.,
New York.
| | Name | inches |
|---|
| | Cap | 14 x 17 |
| | Crown | 15 x 19 |
| | Demy | 16 x 21 |
| | Folio | 17 x 22 |
| | Double Cap | 17 x 28 |
| | Medium | 18 x 23 |
| | Royal | 19 x 24 |
| | Super Royal | 20 x 28 |
| | Double Demy, Broad | 21 x 32 |
| | Double Demy, Long | 16 x 42 |
| | Wedding | 21 x 33 |
| | Double Folio | 22 x 34 |
| | Imperial | 23 x 31 |
| | Double Medium, Broad | 23 x 36 |
| | Double Medium, Long | 18 x 46 |
| | Double Royal, Broad | 24 x 38 |
| | Double Royal, Long | 19 x 48 |
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 8 questions]
8.2 What do the terms for measuring book sizes mean?
Book sizes are based on the practice of folding a large sheet of paper to
create several pages. A traditional sized sheet (e.g., 25 x 38) which is folded twice to
create four pages yealds a quarto (4to) sized book (measuring 12.5 x 19), a sheet folded three times to
create eight pages yields an octavo (8vo) sized book (measuring 9.5 x 12.5), and so on.
If you're mathematical, you'll notice that the number of pages is
two raised to the number of folds (2**3 = 8).
This means that the format of a book — quarto, folio, etc. —
defines how the book was made from the original sheets and does not actually
indicate its size. A folio book (made with one fold in the original sheet)
made from a 3" x 4" sheet is smaller than an octavo book made from
a sheet measuring 9" x 14".
Unfortunately, almost nobody uses book format names correctly
anymore. If you want to be a purist, don't use a format name
to indicate size - always use it's measure in mm, cm, or inches.
Use format only when you know how the book was made from the
original hand-made sheet of paper.
Strictly speaking, a book does not have a format if it
isn't made from a hand-made sheet of paper.
With the caveat that using format names for book sizes is
completely wrong and bogus (sigh), the most
commonly used book sized designations and their approximate heights in
inches are:
| | Miniature | 3" or less |
| | 48mo | under 4" |
| | Trigesimosecundo (32mo) | 4" to 5" |
| | Vigesimoquarto (24mo) | 5" to 6" |
| | Sextodecimo (16mo) | 6" to 7" |
| | Duodecimo (12mo) | 7" to 8" |
| | Octavo (8vo) | about 8" to 11" |
| | Quarto (4to) | 11" to 13" |
| | Folio | over 13" |
| | Elephant Folio | over 23" |
| | Double Elephant Folio | over 25" |
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 8 questions]
8.3 What are the decimal inch equivalents of commonly used point sizes?
Based on the standard of 996 points fitting into 35 centimeters, and 2.54
centimeters per inch, we have 72 points equal to 0.9961104 inch.
Taking a number of commonly used values (including fractional points
for calculating the true sizes of 3-in-em, 4-in-em, and 5-in-em spacing)
we can produce the following table:
| 1/4 = 0.0034587" | 14/4 = 0.0484220" | 10 1/2 = 0.1452661" | 19 = 0.2628625" |
| 1/3 = 0.0046116" | 18/5 = 0.0498055" | 11 = 0.1521835" | 19 1/2 = 0.2697799" |
| 1/2 = 0.0069174" | 4 = 0.0553395" | 11 1/2 = 0.1591010" | 20 = 0.2766973" |
| 2/3 = 0.0092232" | 4 1/2 = 0.0622569" | 12 = 0.1660184" | 20 1/2 = 0.2836148" |
| 3/4 = 0.0103762" | 14/3 = 0.0645627" | 12 1/2 = 0.1729358" | 21 = 0.2905322" |
| 1 = 0.0138349" | 24/5 = 0.0664074" | 13 = 0.1798533" | 21 1/2 = 0.2974496" |
| 1 1/2 = 0.0207523" | 5 = 0.0691743" | 13 1/2 = 0.1867707" | 22 = 0.3043671" |
| 8/5 = 0.0221358" | 5 1/2 = 0.0760918" | 14 = 0.1936881" | 22 1/2 = 0.3112845" |
| 9/5 = 0.0249028" | 6 = 0.0830092" | 14 1/2 = 0.2006056" | 23 = 0.3182019" |
| 2 = 0.0276697" | 6 1/2 = 0.0899266" | 15 = 0.2075230" | 24 = 0.3320368" |
| 9/4 = 0.0311285" | 7 = 0.0968441" | 15 1/2 = 0.2144404" | 28 = 0.3873763" |
| 12/5 = 0.0332037" | 7 1/2 = 0.1037615" | 16 = 0.2213579" | 32 = 0.4427157" |
| 2 1/2 = 0.0345872" | 8 = 0.1106789" | 16 1/2 = 0.2282753" | 42 = 0.5810644" |
| 8/3 = 0.0368930" | 8 1/2 = 0.1175964" | 17 = 0.2351927" | 48 = 0.6640736" |
| 14/5 = 0.0387376" | 9 = 0.1245138" | 17 1/2 = 0.2421102" | 64 = 0.8854315" |
| 3 = 0.0415046" | 9 1/2 = 0.1314312" | 18 = 0.2490276" | 72 = 0.9961104" |
| 10/3 = 0.0461162" | 10 = 0.1383487" | 18 1/2 = 0.2559450" |
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 8 questions]
8.4 Is a point 1/72 of an inch or not?
No - points in the letterpress world, and in the rest of the printing
world before Adobe, are different from 1/72".
It is important to realize that in the age of
computers (more specifically, in the age of Adobe Systems
and digital document preparation), there are two different
measures called "points".
The traditional point — created in America
by Nelson Crocker Hawks in 1877
at Marder Luse and Company
and adopted by the newly formed American Type Founders (ATF)
in 1892
— is defined as 996 points fitting into 35 centimeters.
This gives a point equal to 0.0138349", or 72 points equal
to 0.9961104 inch.
This is the point you will find on your type gauge (ruler),
composing stick, and all the type in your type cases. Take six
12 pt quads and stack them together: you will find they
are noticably less than a full inch.
(Note that this is due to the dominance of the
Johnson Pica: Lawrence Johnson operated the L. Johnson typefoundry
in Philadelphia, which became Binny and Ronaldson
and later MacKellar, Smiths and Jordan.
Hawkes preferred a pica that was exactly 1/6 of an
inch, but the Type Founders' Association of
the United States decided in 1886 to adopt
the dominant measure of 83 picas (which
is equal to 996 points) in 350 cm.)
When combined with Lawrence Johnson's definition
that a printer's foot is 249/250 of an English foot,
one arrives at a point being 0.3513667 mm or 0.1383333 inch.
When Adobe started defining digital document generation
and it was necessary to carry typography terms into the
computer age, they made a simplyfying assumption:
there are exactly 72 points to an inch. This actually
doesn't hurt anything, as we rarely need to cross over
from metal typography to digital typography.
However, you need to know which point you are talking
about if you don't know whether you're in the digital
or traditional world.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 8 questions]
8.5 What are the points that are used to measure cardboard and thick card stock?
To begin with, they aren't typographical points.
Card stock points are equal to 1/1000 of an inch (one thousandth).
One point equals 0.0254 mm.
So a card stock that is 80 points (pts) would be just over 2 mm (more exactly 2.0320 mm).
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 8 questions]
9.1 Who is still making (casting) type?
[[This is really really rough -- I'm still compiling
the results of my mailing, and I _do_ intend to put
this into alpha order. ]]
We recently compiled a list of all the type founders we could
find and sent them each a letter requesting information about
their currently available products. We've marked the ones we've
heard from with a '*'; if we haven't heard from them it doesn't
mean they're not there, of course.
Subsequent to the above mailing, we've also added other
foundries I haven't yet added; we'll keep the list in
alphabetical order.
Bell Type in L.A.
Rich Hopkins at WVTYPENUT@JUNO.COM
Dale Guild
M&H Type
Quaker City Type
Bill Reiss
215 942 3637
Los Angeles Type
13255 East Imperial Highway
Whittier, CA 90605
P: 562.944.0117
F: 562.944.6240
Ask for Don
NA Graphics
Fritz Klinke or Barney
Harold Berliner of Nevada City, CA / 916 273-2278 / e mail:
berliner@jps.net
Phone 916-273-2278;
fax 916-273-0303; e-mail: berliner@jps.net.
My neighbor, Martin Wolf is casting Monotype Bembo. 250 338-1994
Joe Ziner, Vancouver Island, B.C.
Also Michael & Winifred Bixler, Box 820, Skaneateles, NY 13152; phone
315-685-5181; fax 315-685-1220. They do mostly composition, but will sell
type in quantity; it's very well-cast & very reasonable. Ask for their
beautifully done free specimen book.
Asa Peavy
Bullnettle Press
San Francisco
Schriften-Service
D. Stempel GmbH
1. Wartegäßchen 41
D-60598 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
telephone 011 49 69 689 72 11
telefax 011 49 69 68 2332
Herr Gunther Sperzel
They have mats from Stempel, Nebiolo, Haas, Deberny/Peignot,
Olive, Berthold and others. They operate as an arm of the Museum of Printing
in Darmstadt.
Michael Babcock
fundición tipográfica Bauer SL
Selva de Mar, 50
08019 Barcelona, Spain
Fax 011.343.308.2114
Señior Wolfgang Hartmann
The working remnants of the Bauer foundry.
Michael Babcock
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 9 questions]
9.2 What are sources for press rollers?
Brown Regrinding; Plymouth, MN. 763 553 1461
Precision Rollers, Indian Orchard, Mass. 800 418 0004
Akorn Rollers, Chicago 773 254 5700
NA Graphics
P.O. Box 467
Silverton, Colorado 81433
Phone (970) 387-0212
Fax (970) 387-0127
Bingham can be reached at 800 926 7655. Their web
address is
www.binghamrollers.com
.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 9 questions]
9.3 Who still sells thermographic powder?
Thermographic Powder is available in 1 lb.packages from NA Graphics,
P.O. Box 467, Silverton, CO 81433, Phone 970/387-0212, FAX 970/387-0127
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 9 questions]
9.4 How do I find a good bookbinder?
For the price of a phone call you can call the Metropolitan Binders Assoc
@212-629-3232 and receive a Post-press finishing guide which lists over 100
post-press finishers, including binders, most on the east coast.
We have high regard for Campbell-Logan (http://www.campbell-logan.com/), but I think they are expensive. They
have been the highbidders on our last two projects. We recommended Bassil
Book Binders in NJ 201-343-4103. Very good quality at reasonable prices.
And most important they are easy to work with.
Odaddyo@AOL.COM
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 9 questions]
9.5 What are sources for chases?
Try Dave Churchman for you chase. He has all sizes. His Phone no. is
317/849-5665, FAX 849-1616.
Harold Sterne <halsterne@msn.com>
Also, Letterpress Things is a veritable "Walmart" for the letterpress
printer. There is more information at www.letterpressthings.com, or call John Barrett
at (413) 222-9029.
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 9 questions]
10.1 Museum and Reference Sites?
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 10 questions]
10.2 Printing Industry?
http://printerspart.com/index.shtml
[Back to Table of Contents] [Back to Section 10 questions]
10.3 Where are some good references for digital type information?
- P22 Inc.
- [T-26]
- Shift:Center
- LettError Type&Typography
- The Hoefler Type Foundry
- Garage Fonts Virtual Garage
- The Font Bureau, Inc.
- fontBoy fonts
- Fonts.com - home of Monotype Imaging
- FontFontFinder
- Emigre Home
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