


The above-mentioned form and structure of a platen press can work in different ways. This ink is transferred over a form when the rollers roll over it on rails.īecause of the way platen press opens and closes, it goes by the name of ‘clamshell,’ too. Ink is picked up by rollers from an inking disc. When these two flat surfaces meet, it creates a printed impression. Here, a form is an image or a block of type that is to be printed on, whereas a type refers to all the letters of a given font (explained further below).īoth platen and bed are flat surfaces. The other important part is what’s called a bed where the form is locked in there. This type of printing press gets its name from one of the two main parts its constituted of: a platen, which is a smooth surface where paper to be printed upon is placed.

This guide will introduce you to the different types of letterpress machines, their built, workings and what you need to know before buying your own letterpress setting it up and creating flawless prints all by yourself! Now, its relatively small descendants can be found sitting peacefully in schools, community stores and offices.Ĭontemporary printing businesses owe much to the ancient, noisy and much-too-large space-consuming letterpress machines that started the print revolution. Different parts of the world have contributed to the methods, techniques and tools used in this process.įrom giant, car-sized print machines which ran on a simple principle of making a print impression on a flat surface using blocks of texts, letterpress has come a long way. Also known as relief printing or typographic printing, letterpress is more than an artform it’s a tradition. Credit for its creation goes to a German goldsmith, Johannes Gutenberg. Letterpress printing is an artform that’s been around since 1450.
