Test yourself! The red impression on the left is correctly placed. Right or left? Up or down? Which gauge pin? Oh, drat! One good thing I’ve found about printer’s dyslexia – it certainly cultivates patience! 6) To correct an image running downhill, move the right gauge pin down, or the left gauge pin up. 5) To correct an image running uphill, move the right gauge pin up, or the left gauge pin down. 4) To move the image down, move the gauge pins up. 3) To move the image up, move the gauge pins down. 2) To move the image left, move the gauge pins right. Here’s an attempt: 1) To move the image right, move the gauge pins left. Why I’ve never done that in all these years of printing on a platen press, I’ll never know.
GAUGE PINS LETTERPRESS HOW TO
I really should try to work out a chart to help me remember how to move the gauge pins. Which way with the gauge pins? And which gauge pin? Good grief! So the top of your printed piece will print on the bottom of your piece of paper, on the part closest to you.Ĭonfused yet? Now try to move your printed image to the left or the right, up or down. Usually the top of your would-be printed piece is on top when you put the form into the press.
But since a platen press works like a clamshell, it presents challenges. It’s easier to avoid “printer’s dyslexia” on a cylinder press or a hand press. Try to correct it and you invariably overshoot. If the gauge pins are set unevenly, your lines will wander up or down. Then there’s the uphill/downhill dilemma. Oops! Careful, don’t tear the tympan paper. Invariably I move the gauge pins the wrong way on the platen (surface that holds the paper) first. But which way should I move my gauge pins? Right or left? Up or down? I want to move my image one pica (printer’s measure, equal to 1/6 of an inch) to the right, and half a pica (1/12 of an inch) down on the paper. This should be simple, I think, as I take a proof of my printed piece inside our Chandler and Price press. It’s when you move your gauge pins (small metal clips that hold the paper) and your printed image ends up moving the opposite direction from what you intended.
It’s not a disease, though it can make you feel kind of sick as you make one mistake after another. If you’ve ever printed on a platen press (see illustration above), you’ve probably encountered what I call “printer’s dyslexia”.
0 kommentar(er)
