Printing Press: Lesson Plan
Brief Printing Press Workshop Opening Remarks:
Good [morning/afternoon], class,
Today, we will learn how to operate a tabletop printing press as part of [the course]. The idea behind having you all work through the process of printing a text of your own is simple: I want you to see what kind of labor was involved in making [the pamphlets, broadsides, books, etc.] that [we studied /or/ will study] this semester. Additionally, by going hands-on with our learning, I hope we can see the course texts as tangible and less ‘digital,’ ‘imaginary,’ or ‘abstract.’
As you all probably know, before the invention of modern-day printing technology – like the kind we have in the department and in the libraries – most texts were written, copied, or printed by hand. This was no small feat, and the process of producing and preserving the texts we [have studied /or/ will studied] are a testament to lifetimes of artisanal work.
To get a sense of what making a text was like before office printers, we will step back in time, with the help of a scaled-down printing press and become printers ourselves!
Now, you should have all received a copy of the Printing Press Workshop and Lesson Packet document [from Canvas /or/ via email], which is going to be your best friend during the workshop today. The Packet includes a few key resources that you will use to make a printed text of your own:
- A vocabulary and terms list, which corresponds with the labels on the printing press and the related materials. All the terms explain which each part does.
- A California Job Case Illustration, which shows you where to find the type blocks for your printing press. While [most /or/ all] of the California Job Cases have been labeled to make finding letters easy, it may be useful to see an empty version for reference when you are picking out your [lines of poetry, sentences, etc.].
- An Instruction Guide, that gives you step-by-step directions on how to make a print using this press, and includes detailed figures for each step, as well as an explanation of each picture to make the process as accessible as possible.
- A Cleaning Guide, which gives you a quick overview on how to clean up the press and its materials when you are done with the workshop. The Cleaning Guide also includes some tips and tricks on how to remove ink stains from clothes, just in case the workshop gets a bit messy.
- And finally, a Workshop Warning Document, that lists any possible chemical exposure that you might encounter during the workshop, as well as what to do if you cannot handle these materials for allergy or safety reasons.
Because this is likely the first time that many of you have worked with a printing press, I have prepared examples at each step in the process so that, if you are having trouble with the Instruction Guide, you do not get stuck.
[Instructor should then demonstrate pre-prepared steps for students; steps should demonstrate what set type in composing stick should look like, what form in coffin looks like, securing the form using quoins and furniture, and a brief modeling of how to slide coffin under platen and screw platen down]
Before getting started, I ask that those of your in the [first group] put on the aprons hanging on the rack. The aprons will help you stay un-inked during this process and will also keep your clothes from getting caught in the moving parts of the printing press.
[Let students begin]