16.2.12

The Long Run



Halfway through printing the new type specimen book...interesting results with the three different papers so far: the Arches Wove wants a bit more ink than the Guarro laid, and the handmade wants less....10 - 10:30 a.m. today spent getting the paper ready for the book's most complicated run, with the title page: 5 different runs. Normally we dampen the paper in the late afternoon of the day before starting to print, but this latest batch of the HM Text wants extra time to fully relax, so we wet things in the morning. Here's the stack immediately after wetting & stacking. Into the plastic bag it went for six hours, then restacked & back into the bag, pressed, for the evening. Will post an image of printing the inner forme tomorrow. Saturday the fun starts, with the title page on the outer forme: the black run. A full two-page spread, 100 impressions, take 10-12 hours. Sunday will be two runs, red and blind (= 200 impressions), so things could get trippy after the 150 mark. Monday is gray. Never tried keeping paper (evenly) damp for this long. If the book appears with a plain black title page, you'll know we didn't pull it off.

p.s. the three HM Drop Boxes have been sold.