The idea of printing some newly acquired and unused Preston Mouldtype Foundry chromatic* type on end cuts from the Kill Your Heart series came together seamlessly. A project that at a glance looked straightforward.

Using the iron handpress and using points, it was wrongly assumed registration would be a minor issue, it was anything but. Something to be explored at a later date,  or never spoken of again.

While working out the registration between the two halves of the type it appeared the ‘S’ had picked up a fill in (foreign gunk) and wasn’t printing well. After cleanings and re-inkings, then following Rummond’s advice of using a bamboo skewer and trying to remove the fill in, it became clear something larger was at play.

Who would have guessed unused foundry type would have casting errors? The answer may be that seasoned printer would have. It was a surprise for those of us at Introvert Press.

Taking a closer look at ‘K’ one can see there is fill in on the upper half of the leg and  lower half of the arm.

“Burning through paper” is an expression used from time to time while printing, especially when things are not going well. Between registration issues, poorly cast type, and steep learning curve of using an iron handpress, much a paper was burned. Surely a more adept printer would have reduced the wastage by identifying and rectifying some of the issues faced sooner.

*two part type printed in separate colours.