At the 2012 California Antiquarian Book Fair we met up with the International Printing Museum and they demonstrated how an old style printing press works. Books printed before the industry was digitized would have been printed using this method.
This miniature colonial style printing press, similar to what Benjamin Franklin would have used, was made in 1976. To make a print in the 1700's and 1800's you'd take these ink bulbs and dip them in the ink, and then patted them on the type. To make it easier, today we use a brayer, and roll a layer of ink across the type.
The type is all set one letter at a time, composed with spacers, locked in with blocks called furniture and held together by a metal frame called a chase. If the type isn't held together tightly enough the letters will fall out as soon as pressure is applied to the press.
Next you place the paper in the appropriate spot, close the press, and roll it into place. This would have been a labor intensive job with some of the big presses during the colonial days. Next you pull the devils tail, applying pressure to the type and printing your page.
Learn more at [ Ссылка ]
Subscribe to the AbeBooks Channel: [ Ссылка ]
You will see book reviews, bookshops, top 10s, rare and beautiful books, tips for book collectors, author profiles and much more. We love books and are glad you do too. AbeBooks is an online marketplace for books. Millions of new, used, rare, and out-of-print books are offered for sale through the AbeBooks websites from thousands of booksellers around the world.
