THE OLD SCHOOL PRESS

Printing Jump of the Manta Ray

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Putting on a new tympan and draw sheet

A big pleasure at the start of a new job is putting fresh packing on the press - it evokes the prospect of fresh type biting into fine papers ... as well as perhaps of many hours of winding to come.

The metal cylinder is wrapped with packing, the thickness of which determines the weight of impression - how much the type bites into the paper. I generally start with four sheets of manila plus a top sheet of a heavy and stable plastic film and then add more as and where necessary. In some situations a sliver of tissue paper is enough to make the difference between a good and a better impression.

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The image is copyright © Philip Hughes 2002.