Virtual Museum Printing - Press

Act of patching - It is called act of patching to the typographic part dedicated to setting-up type work without direct relation with books setting-up types and pagination. It embraces all printed matter appointed to trade and industry.


Align (to) - It is to harmonize an imperfect hand composition with paragons wrong or badly done that shows undulation.


Antimony - It is a fragile, heavy, shining white colour metal and bears a resemblance to tin-ore; it is used for the type-foundry added lead-ore to avoid flexibility.


Art of wood engraving - It is the printing on one engraved board and used before the invention of the press from which it came from. This term is also applied wood engraving.


Art of wood engraving - It is the printing on one engraved board and used before the invention of the press from which it came from. This term is also applied wood engraving.


Autography - It is the art of reproducing a written, drawn, etc. and translating it to a prepared stone.

Back-up - Printing the reverse side of the sheet after one side has been printed.


Bellows - It is the equipment used in all printing offices to clean dust of printing-types boxes.


Bind - Metal or wood furniture pressing against other furniture in such a way as to prevent the type from being squeezed tight.


Binding - It is the art of joining in a volume the leaves of a book to make its use easy. In ancient ages the binding was done by monastics and friars that practised the bookbinder office. The first bindings made in Portugal were in board covered by silver with elaborated figures and in board covered by skin with bronze plate. The Portuguese binding gets the maximum sumptuousness.


Board (to) - It is bind in cardboard.


Bodkin – A pointed tool used by compositors.


Brayer – A small roller for inking type on proofing press.

Bullets - It is the instrument used by old printers to give tint in forms before the invention of the cylinder. After composed and tightened the inks were distributed with a small wool pillow, covered of lamb's skin and with a headland. The persons who used it were called (see of rice bullets)

Bunting - It is the large metal strip in printing letter height founded from a distant point. All typographic marks are incended by the general designation of bunting.

Chalcography - It is the art of metal engraving.


Chanfering plane - It is a little iron machine very useful to cut combination rule made of bronze, when wasted on the marger in different orientations.


Chase - A rectangular steel frame into which type is firmly locked before printing.


Chirotypography - It is the art of hand printing excluding the printing press.


Chromolithography - It is the art of producing successively colour lithographs.


Clich� - It is the printing plate obtained by the photogravure process usually in zinc or copper plates firmed and fixed on top of one wood block.


Coated - A term used for art paper.

Coffer - It is an iron plan of leved surface, polished which is firmed and slided on a charri�. Movable part of the cylindric machine and where pages or other printing forms are put.

Bunting - It is the large metal strip in printing letter height founded from a distant point. All typographic marks are incended by the general designation of bunting.

Coffer - It is an iron plan of leved surface, polished which is firmed and slided on a charri�. Movable part of the cylindric machine and where pages or other printing forms are put.

Colofon - The place where one finds in the end of a book the name of the printing office and the date. The colofon is usually composed by capital letters in small size and disposed in a triangle or epitaph.

Collect printed sheets for binding (to) - It is to put fold up writing papers on the table in small amount near equal assemble and compile them since the first until the last.

Collotype - It is the draw reproduction by gold.

Compose (to) - It is the action of placing letters forming syllables, words and lines in the typesetter by order indicated in the original.

Composing stick – A toll for receiving lines of type as they are picked out from the case.

Chromolithography - It is the art of lythograph with many colours by successive printings.

Cricket - It is a little piece of steel that is likeness cricket properly so called, acting in the Minerva machines like mark mission, protection or sphere by its fixing to the pillows.

Cut (to) - It is cutting at one go all the conjunct of a book leaves with a appropriate machine.

Fac-simile - It is the exact copy of signature, draw or writing.


Fly - It is the strip of paper or cloth which connects leaves or picture illustration releases of a book, strips of board paper, with low or high density to intercalate on the book when necessary to increase largeness on the (loin).


Fly-Wheel - It is the wheel that settles the machine movement.


Folding - It is the act of folding in a determinate number of times the printing leaf changing that in a copy-cook.

Folios - It is the numeration used in top page or foot note of a work, brochure or newspaper that could be numbered or explicative.

Footstool - It is a wood quadrangular and plain piece appointed to lower the letters forms that are high.

Format - A discription of the size and shape of a book or pamphlet.

Foundry - It is an establishment where printing-types are founded or done.

Frame - A rack containing type cases and on the top a sloping surface on which a compositor can assemble his work.

Frisket � Metal strips attached to the gripper bar of a platen press which hold the paper firmly and pull the paper away from the forme after an impression has been made. Firsket is also called a gripper: this latter term is invariably used for the paper-holding devices on a cylinder printing press.

Frontispiece - It is the first or third book page where the work tittle, author and the translator's name, the printing-office name and the publisher-office are.

Galleon - It is a rectangular woods plank with an edge in two sides. The most used was 1 m. long where the setting-up type is placed.


Galley - It is the plank with three crossbards where in the inside part there is a rabbet which one calls type-case. Modernly it is used an iron or zinc plate of rectangular form with an edge in the three sides.


Galvanise (to) - It is the application of one metal cover placed one above the other by galvanizition.


Galvanography - It is the galvanoplastic behaviour which does not need mould to reproduction.

Galvanoplasty - It is the art of overlaping at one solid corps a metallic cover by electric current. Chemical behavior by which it is obtained the copper's copies of engraves pages, etc.

Gelatinography - It is the engraving behavior by which the matrix is prepared with jelly past.

Granulate (to) - It is consuming part of the letter body in its sides for better joint with the immediate letters. Between foundries it is also called to scrape.

Graphotypy - It is the printing behavior to substitute woods engrave employed until the photo mechanics procedure was diffused.

Guillotine - A machine with a sharp knife for trimming the edges of books and pamphlets: is also used for cutting paper and boards down to riquired size.

Hair spaces - Very thin spaces, often made of cooper, for inter- letter and inter- word spacing. Hair spaces can be a help in getting good justification


Half- tone block - The subject made into a negative by photographing through a fine ruled screen which breaks up the tone values. The screened negative is printed down on to sensitized copper and then etched, leaving the varying dot values in relief.


Heave (to) - It is to put fold up writing papers on the table in small amount near equal assemble and compare them since the first until the last paper.


Helioplasty - It is the art of producing jelly printing moulds in which is obtained a typographic proof .

Heliotyping - It is the generic name of all applied procedures to get press matrixes.

Hyalotyping - It is the procedure for achieving relief matrixes on glass planks.

Homeography - It is the ancient procedure of printing that today is used to produce faithfully with character of ancient works time

Hot-Press - It is the machine where the paper is made satin-like.

Letter - This name is given in a general way this name to printing-types that work to do setting-up types. It is composed by a lead alloy, antimony kinglet and tin.The so called letter is all that goes by the salient printing part named lye until the end of the stem that sustains it.


Letter-board - It is the name of furniture piece made of wood in an inclined plan, where the printer works, puts or keeps the type-case.


Line - It is the sequence of words printed-up type and printed in the same horizontal line.


Linometre - It is the metallic ruler where the different corps are pointed out by typographical points the different corps.

Linotypist - It is the operator of any printing-up type and foundry type-lines corps.

Lithography - It is a draw or writing in stone then printed in paper or the typesetter-office. Greek word formed by lithos (stone) and graphos (writing). This new technique used in limestone of fine grain and with blue / yellow colour and based in a repulsion between water and greasy substances. A method created by Senefelder who told his invention in "Lythography Treaty" written in 1818 that briefly consisted in the following: the stones were drawned or written with pasty ink made up of wax soap and black smoke after that were printed with nitric solution. The acid did not attack the writing parts that were protected by ink but only the exposed area. By this way a quick high - relief that was inked with a bullet trying not to make printed areas dirty, after the printing was obtained. Nowadays, although the principle be the same instead of a stone metal-sheet, plastic materials, or others duly prepared are used

Lithophotography - It is the same of photolithography.

Lithotypography - It is the art of producing lithographically a printing picture.

Lithozincography - It is the behaviour of passing lithographic proofs to a zinc plank that serves as a matrix.

Lithozincography - It is the behaviour of passing lithographic proofs to a zinc plank that serves as a matrix.

Lithozincography - It is the behaviour of passing lithographic proofs to a zinc plank that serves as a matrix.

Lock up – The fitting of quoins into a forme and tightening them so that the type and furniture is firmly held within the steel chase.

Logotyping - It is the printing done with logotypes.

Matrix - It is the mould where printing-types are founded. Small blocks of copper or iron in parallelepiped form where the letter is digged and inverted.


Make - ready - The preparatory work done on the platen of a printing press to get all the type and illustration to print evenly.


Make - up - Breaking up galley matter into pages or to conform to a pre-determined typographic scheme.


Melotyping - It is the music copy by movable printing-type.

Measure - It is a dimension determined by the number of quadrat of 12 corps (pica) where any setting-up type work is done.

Metallography - It is the art of metal printing in particular in the vacuum.

Microphotography - It is the photography of microscopic preparations.

Minervist - It is the typographic printing worker that works with small machines called Minervas moved by electricity or by foot.

Offset - It is the printing process where the ink is transported from the engraving until the final support it is done by an intermediate deposit, usually one blanket of caoutchouc. It permits making better colouring and soft matrix. It started to be used exclusively in lithography only after the offset technique was used in printing offices.


Oleography - It is the art of engraving that imitates the oil painting.


Opisthographyc - It is a typographic procedure to print simultaneously both paper parts.


Opuscule - It is a booklet of little size, less than 100 pages.

Original - It is the printed manuscript where a typesetter copies for printing.

Orthography - It is the deed like grammar rules.

Overlay – Part of the technique of "make-ready ". Several pieces of thin paper are either cut away or reinforced to bring out the high-lights or dark parts of a half-tone.

Overrun - It is the operation of adjustment of a few pages increasing or decreasing its size, it is also the setting-up type where the operation is done.

Pagination - It is the act of paginating.


Pager - It is the printer specialized in pagination service who reduces the pages to the setting-up type in slip or galleon.


Palette Knife - It is the iron equipment used to take off ink from the paint-box and mixture with other ink and scattered in the ink-pot.


Paper cutting machine - It is the machine used to cut paper very perfect with many systems, standing up the German makers Karl Krause and Mansfield.

Photochronomotipography - It is the application of photochronomy to typographic printing.

Photogravure - It is the conjunct of photographical proofs from which the engraved plates are done, adequate to take printing proofs in paper.

Photography - It is the art of obtaining typographic matrixes adapting photographic processes to typography.

Photolithography - It is the art of fixing and coping draws in lithographic stone by photographic conducts.

Photomechanics - It is the conjunct of photographic operations used in the engraves preparation and in whole printing material.

Photoxyligraphy - It is the photographic transport on wood and its engrave.

Photozincography - It is the photographic printing in zinc planks which transport it is done by photographic conduct.

Pica - It is the foundry of 12 typographic points, called fat letter. Typographic standard unity of 12 equivalents points with more or less 4,5 (mm).

Pick - A small piece of fibre from the paper or a hard bit of ink adhering to the face of type.

Pie - An accidental upsetting of composed lines of type.

Printing - It is the printed work, method, way or act of making that.

Printers chase - It is the iron frame with rigorous square where any printing form is placed inside.

Printing office - It is the art of coping in metal printing-types the different press works. It comes from the Latin typus (form, figure, mould) and the Greek graphos (scripture).

Printing the back of a sheet - It is the mould used to printing the second page when the first is already done.

Printing-type - It is the name applied to all printing-types lead.

Printing-types - It is the form of a letter and each printing-type has a different draw. The old printing types were made of wood.

Proof-reader - It is the employer charged of proof reading, correcting type-case mistakes and orthographic faults.

Provide (to) - It is put any form or border or (combination rules) as well as putting in round about the same line of squared to justify perfect operation of coating the cylinder of the machines with paper leaves, baize, canvas, etc, etc.

Radiolineotiphy - It is the typographic setting-up type by distance by hertzian waves.


Recasting - It is the roll foundry does with the same roll�s glue that works no more. works.


Ream (to) - It is moulding with the reamer the clear clich�s.

Recasting – It is the roll foundry does with the same roll�s glue that works no more.

Reprinting - It is the second, third or fourth time the work is printed.

Roll - It is the cylinder of a gelatinous substance, glue and molasses, glue and glycerine, gelatine and glycerine and other substances, etc.; founded around a stem named elder, it also exists a small "hand roll" used in proofs printing.

Rotary printing press - Printing machine of which stereotype or offset form is subordinated to the cylinders.

Sans-serif � A style of type which has no serifs. These types sometimes called "grotesque".


Screw Press - It is the equipment in due form of a printing press with two plans in horizontal orientation used by bookbinders to coin by gold book cover with warmed metal letters.


Seat (to) - It is the operation that the printer does every time he imposes mould with a mallet and planer, beating slightly on the printing types for keeping them on the same level.

Set-off - An impression of wet ink transferred to a successive sheet of paper. Set--off can be avoided by inter-leaving or allowing ink to dry before sheets are piled up.

Setting-up types - It is the conjunct of lines in the typesetter that forms letterboards, slips, pages, etc.

Shank - The main body of a piece of type: it is rectangular and bears the printing surface at the top.

Shearing - It is the machine used by the bookbinder to cut cardboard.

Siderography - It is the art of steel engraving.

Simile engraving - It is the zinc or copper engraving obtained by photographic and chemical process whose main characteristic is the interposition of the reticle or stipple between objective and screen to obtain the shade mould.

Slip - It is the printing that is not fairly paginated. To set up in slip without care.

Slur – A smudged or squashed impression of type face.

Small page – It is a small-sized page.

Space (to) - It is placing spaces between words.

Spaces - It is the metal-type pieces founded in shorter corps-seize with different thicknesses which serves to separate words and justify lines.

Sprinkle (to) - It is scattering carefully little drops of ink in the surface to ornament.

Stereotypy - It is the art of foundry pages to the printing works used for several editions with matrix mould it was taken in (the printing-up-types) in plaster and modernity in paper-special paste. Before the creation of offset stereotypy was a great edge to printing offices because it avoided kneading of loose printing-types.

Stipple (to) - It is drawing or engraving in little points or cleaning the lithographic stone.

Stitch (to) - It is stitching a book leaves after folding up and ordinating them connecting a paper cover.

Three-colour process - It is the illustration printed typographically with three engravings obtained by filter's interventions to obtain the faithful model or aquarelle. The three-colour process is executed with the principal colours - yellow, red and blue, for that very reason to the success of clich�s for each colours are used filters of secondary colours for instance violet, green and orange.


Tie (to) - It is the same as to fasten. It is to attach with (north wire ) the pages, the slips, the forms of patching, etc.


Tympanum - It is the part of the hand printing press where the printing-leaves whose frame is covered by cotton stuff is placed.

Typesetter - It is the setter's instrument used to place letters, forming lines of delimited width. It consists of a wood or metal piece of different dimensions having in the right extremity a fix block that runs in the long straight angles forming the typesetter in perfect accordance with another block fixed in a wished point forming the measure.

Typology - It is the printing process in lythographic stone through the typographic proof transport.

Typometer - It is the instrument used by founders to examine if letters have the desired corp and height. It is the reglet of wood or metal, graduated in points and picas, used by the printer for many operations.

Type-case - It is one of the principal printing materials. Sort of a coffin divided into different portions, whose separations one calls box of type-case where the type-founder is placed.