DEC2011•NO. 26

Members write about their bloopers / 2

A printer by vocation and avocation / 8 Bringin' 'em back to life / 11

APA JOURNAL is the unofficial publication of theAmalgamated Printers’ Association. Published as the spirit moves by Mike O’Connor. Articles and comments welcomed. John Henry few years ago when a friend asked me 2 • • if I could imprint his store informa- # 324 tion on the back cover of some bro- • • chures which came from the manu- 2 Sometimes the small mistakes are facturer of the items he hoped to sell. the worst as they get by without being I said “no problem” then proceeded to detected. I found a wrong character in print with what I thought was nor- the title of one poem in a book I had mal ink on the surface. It turned out printed — after 500 copies were print- that the ink was rubber-based ink and ed and bound. It was a Cap “E” in the the brochures had been coated with a place of what should have been a Cap UV-cured poly varnish. I didn’t no- “F”. Not a surprising error which, no tice a problem until after they all were doubt, was due to careless distribution printed. The next day I picked one of We've all done it. In some or a big paw reaching into the wrong the brochures up and the instances one might call it a compartment of the case while the ink was still smudge- typo. An "error" sounds too “tunes” were blaring away in the shop. able. It took two full mild. Perhaps gaffe, blunder, I was able to save the day by scratch- weeks for that ink to ing off the lower bar with an X-acto properly dry. I gave blooper or to class it up­— a few copies to my faux pas? Then again, some knife, and the change was barely de- tectible in the end. friend right away, but use other words that maybe Proofing is something which is crit- had run them through shouldn't be printed here. ical to prevent this sort of error, but it our microwave oven so he Regardless, a few of our is always better to have someone read could have a few copies right members shared some of their the proof carefully. Errors like this away. The rest finally did “set up” and "favorite" moments in letter- in small type are sometimes difficult dry. press. to catch. Our minds tend to interpo- late the wrong characters into those, I think the reaction in read- continued ing these will be: "been there, which should have been there for the text to make sense. o next page done that." I did experience an ink problem a T.J.Ray As I learned later, he and his secretary mer of 1984) we were pushing out 3 • • went straight to framing after I left. around 125,000 pieces of advertising a #690 • • Later someone reading the text real- year. We printed these pieces two color, 2 ized that we had argued for the right with headlines and highlighted text in About a year ago the little gang to partition government. It would be blue and the basic text and halftones that periodically runs the TBZH Print a gross understatement to suggest the in black on a pair of Miehle Vertical Shop at the Mississippi Agriculture gloom that settled over the School of V-50’s. These sheets were the maxi- and Forestry Museum were asked to Journalism at that point. mum sheet size for the press, at 14”x do a special printing. One reason was More paper had to be ordered. The 20,” so there was a lot of type compo- that I retired from the University that gang had to make another 150-mile sition, and it was printed on both sides. made the request. An- trip to Jackson to cor- After setting up the forms, setting other is that we have an rect and print the cor- up the presses and handling registra- 1859 iron handpress. rect copy. tion between the two colors, we passed A wealthy benefactor We’ve not been the first few printed sheets around to wanted a special pre- asked to do any special everyone for proof reading and han- sentation made to last printing for the school. dling any corrections then doing the year’s graduates. Very Nor has our open invi- final makeready for the run. To work special and expensive paper was or- tation to introduce journalism to let- things through the two presses, the dered as well as frames. All that was terpress printing had any reception. other press operator and I decided done without talking to us. The text to split the stock between the two was to be the amendment concerning presses instead of the usual running a freedom of the press. •Lance Williams• lift through the black press and then Five of us spent most of a day set- #785 running it through the blue press. We ting and checking type. Finally decid- 2• • then proceeded to run 65,000 or so ed it was good to go so ran 525 copies When I was just out of college, and sheets on each press and then did a (12"x18" as I recall). Two very tense in my 3rd year of working at the family mid-stream type change. Yes, since we days, interrupted many times with vis- printing business (first full-time year), do not do “deep impression” printing, itors coming into the shop. I set the type and worked on the press we can easily get 65,000 impressions Happily, I put them on the dean’s run for our annual advertising self- out of our Intertype and Ludlow com- desk the fourth day and he was ecstatic. mailer. At that period of time (Sum- position. At this point, we once again passed split at the end of one line and the be- tomer for the 46,000 envelopes (about 4 the first few sheets around for proof ginning of the next line: $900), and we also had to pay the reading to make sure we did not trans- Popular with the ladies as well as the hourly wages for the same employee pose any lines, etc, when changing the the gentlemen, Club Stationery is also to print the order again!!! Plus, I think lines of type. It was at this point two the original invoice for printing this existing typos were found on the first At least this error was a little less ob- order was about $300, so we lost close side of the printing!! Of course, one vious, but it was still sticking out there to $700 on that job!! (circa 1999/2000) had to be in the black form and one in in 12 point Futura for all to see!! the blue form, so all 130,000 But, we printed the opposite col- Jim Hedges ors without errors on the rest of • • sheets had an error. I guess #567 that is better than 65,000 the stock followed by the reverse side, also in two • • or even all 130,000 pieces 2 having two errors. Well, colors. Everything got There have been so many bad ones, things being the way they folded, inserted with as- I’ve lost count. were financially, we could sorted samples, addressed The next bunGle will have a new not afford the loss in time and put in the mail/ At least “worst” one, however: My own invi- or paper to toss the ton of we had no errors on the back tation to a Thanksgiving open house printed items, so we contin- half, at least that we ever noticed. gives the wrong year. It was printed in ued with the run after making the But, I have never forgotten about the first color, but I didn’t notice until needed corrections for the two errors. those errors!! they were finished and ready to mail. So, for the 1984/1985 advertising Then again, there are the 46,000 Fortunately, the printed invitations season, we sent out 125,00 or so piec- glassine envelopes an employee print- were done as a bunGle piece, while the es of advertising, half of it with a blue ed with the incorrect information be- effective invitations were done mostly headline to a customer testimonial cause he neglected to change the type by email. On the few that were actu- that said “A Pleasant Suprise!” in 24 he was supposed to. They got to our ally mailed, I scribbled in the correct point Tempo Medium Italic. However customer, who supplied the blank en- numeral. (Next year, I can use up the this was not a pleasant surprise for us, velopes to be printed before the error left-overs by scribbling in the "new" to say the least! Then someone found was discovered, and it really hit the fan. correct days and leaving the year as- the typo on the black text half in an We ended up printing the whole order is.) item description with a double “the” again and had to reimburse the cus- more stories next page Graham Moss Ron Hylton ficiant was “my” minister from the 5 • • • • Presbyterian church: Dean Mead. #710 # • • • 874 • The type was set, the folder ran and 2 2 the next day passed out at the service. I used to make small howlers too For ten plus years I printed fu- The officiants name: Dead Meat. frequently for my own happiness, li- neral memorial folders while in You’ve gotta admit that I couldn’t’ brary and such-like, and after mis- Portland—set hot metal and run make this up. This actually happened. spelling Tegetmeier on a title-page as on a Heidelberg. I literally printed And what were the repercussions? Tegetmieir, was determined that the thousands over the years. So when Well, it was good for more than a few next book would be perfect, and ad- I purchased my own funeral home, laughs. Dean thought it most humor- vertised, by way of contrition, that if it was a given that I’d continue to ous and for years when he did other anyone found a typo in it, they could crank out the memorial folders. I do services he’d always pick up the folder have the following book free of charge. to this day. “just to make sure that he’s name was So I was doubly careful—the book Back in the early 90s I hurriedly spelled correctly.” was hand-set in Hyperion, Berthold set and ran some folders. The of- “It” happens. Wolpe’s delightfully curious design. I checked and re-checked each word, Jen Farrell that it should probably be corrected each line, each poem, each page, each • • given that it was a wedding invitation. # galley. As luck would have it, only one 749 I quickly reprinted, feeling like an idiot, person noticed the switch in the end- • • and when they came to pick them up 2 notes, where 1658 became 1568, giv- My biggest gaff was spelling Mas- we all had a laugh and they gave me ing the poet a life of some 140 years, sachusetts incorrectly on an invitation. money to buy and he kept quiet about it. The book Unbelievable! It was spelled correctly a pizza. All in is out of print now, as is the one that on the proofs and was approved, and all, not a bad followed it, and I think I’ve learned to after setting the type, I added an ‘s’ and ‘bad’ experi- pay a lot more attention. didn’t notice it. The clients didn’t no- ence, though Graham Moss from Oldham, England used the tice it when they picked them up, but it happened word "howlers"—his definition: "Things that are so obvious they cause the reader (recipient) to then called a few days later. It was a 10 years ago howl out loud! So a howler can be a ridiculous very short run (only about 30), and and still haunts me when reading over joke." they were tempted to let it slide but felt jobs now! Susan DeNeef Mike O'Connor You know where this is going. One 6 • • • • time I had three of the four pages # # 603 1 printed. And of course the type for 2• • 2• • these pages had already been distrib- The best blooper I’ve ever printed I’ve printed three books to date. uted. The fourth page I added to the was the very first piece I printed. It All have been handset and printed one other three was not the correct page. speaks for itself! page at a time on my 8x12 Golding How it happened is still a mystery. The 5x8 Craftsman came with a Official. I’ve got enough type that I Well, no mystery—I’m an idiot! composing stick, a font of 8 pt. Cen- can set four pages then of course have So I printed the page I had set up on tury Expanded, and some vague in- to distribute. I’ve got the system down a clean sheet (yes, I had to order more structions on how to set type. It took for me. Prior to setting type, my copy- over an hour and I pied the type about fitting has finally developed to the 3 times before I could get it in the point where the count is so accurate I press. I printed another copy which print out each page out in Word (there is much neater and framed it, and a is, at times, very minor editing). Then year or two later, put it up at the print I set type from the Word page—thus shop door. Best part was when Scotty one Word page equals one printed [former APA Byron Scott] came over page. Because of this, I don’t have to and looked at it, he broke into a belly print the pages consecutively. I print laugh and told me he had done the four pages at a time. Therefore, when paper to complete the book). Then I very same thing first time he printed. I print a page, the next page doesn’t had to reset the other three pages and It’s a good reminder of where I started! have to back up the previous page. It of course print them again. can dry and wait for another day. So I swore then (oh many times!) I was I can jump around depending what is through with book publishing. But dry for a backup. the truth is, I’d do it again if the right You can imagine I have these piles of project came along. I do enjoy setting pages laying around the shop at various type! If I do, I hope I learned some stages of completion. I am very careful sort of lesson! about checking the page before being continued next page printed so that it is backed up right. Craig Starr Now that I had all this wood type, I looked correct to set them down. Then 7 • • really needed a big press. Mr. Chuck I noticed, all these letters were “right- #591 • • Dunham of Deep River had a 325 reading,” not mirror-reversed as type 2 Vandercook setting on his trailer, and needs to be. Over $200 worth of en- Back in the 1980s, when I was just he was headed my way. A deal was gravings, and practically nothing but getting really wrapped up in this letter- struck, and I began to print large post- O’s were useable! press thing, I bought out the remains of ers. I soon found I had large type and a quality letterpress shop in our county I had small type, but needed some bold seat, Manchester, Iowa. type, around 15 or 20 line for headlines. In that purchase, I got several fonts My helper and I took a specimen of wood type, mostly 8-12 line. Then book of antique styles, picked out one I saw an ad from Nashua, Iowa, some that was bold and fancy at the same 90 miles away offering “Wood Type time, made up an expanded specimen For Sale”. When I called about it, the sample with multiple letters (I al- owner told me “I run a newspaper, and ways had to have 4 r’s for Three Starr I called Ord Engraving and ex- my printer died; I just want to get rid of Press). We made up a Kodak PMT plained our dilemma. On the other end, this stuff — there’s a cabinet full of it”. (glossy black & white) and sent it off I heard a loud groan, “Oh, no!” “We’ll The price sounded reasonable, so off to Ord Engraving, in Ord, Nebraska, have to do them over for you; we’ll to Nashua I went. I found some pret- my favorite zinc engraver. They gave flipped the negative.” When I asked if ty interesting stuff in that cabinet, and great service, and it wasn’t long till I they wanted the “wrong” plates back, then the owner said “Oh, yeah; there’s had in my hands two large zinc-on- they said, “No, if they’re no good to another cabinet of mixed up type over wood plates, about 12x18” each. I you, they’re no good to anyone.” there. It all goes”. Checking out the 2nd carefully measured and cut between So, we did it all over again, and we cabinet, I found several cases full, but the lines, doing some finish sanding to eventually ended up with a nice bold mixed fonts, as if it had all been dumped keep the base lines even. When all the font to use. I did find an antique dealer at one time, and someone just picked it lines were cut apart horizontally, then who was happy to give me something up off the floor and put it in the cases. I started separating individual letters. for my backwards letters; they would After I got home and sorted it out, I Three or four A’s, set in a galley looked look better in a wall display than the had 14 more fonts of good wood type. OK, then a couple of B’s, but when I correct ones. Everyone was happy ex- n Serendipity! came to the C’s, there was no way that cept the engraving company! 8

JoeA PRINTERWarren BY VOCATION AND AVOCATION

This year’s Wayzgoose coordinator from Lansing, Michigan, Joe Warren, has had printing ink running in his blood from an early age and it looks like it’s going to be racing through his veins for a long time to come. It’s amazing how many letterpress Joe Warren stands at his 8x12 C&P with his 8x12 since his early days of the unprintable Baltimor- printers got their start with the Supe- Golding at his side. Joe has come a long way ean and the Kelsey! rior Swiftset Rotary presses. Joe can be counted among them an uncle, who was in the printing in- 8"x12" Golding and a 8"x12" C&P. as when he was in dustry, gave him a Baltimorean No. 9. Other equipment includes a 19” Chal- grade school a However, Joe confided that it printed lenge Lever Cutter, Ludlow Model M neighbor sold so bad that he later acquired a Kelsey with 6 cabinets of mats. He also has him a Superi- and confessed, “I thought it was a in his shop a Rosback TruLine perf/ or press. These great press!” scorer with microperf and about 450 presses used rubber type. But this press The Kelsey is a far cry from his hold- fonts of handset type. only whetted his appetite for more. ings today which include: a 10"x15" Joe didn’t get serious about collecting When he was a junior in high school, Heidelberg Windmill, Miehle V50, until he bought his home in 1989. He said that his employer wanted to get commercial work for a select few his daytime job, he doesn’t leave print- 9 rid of two double cabinets of type. This customers. Such work includes crash ing. Joe is into digital production for was his start. He confessed that when numbering, perforating, scoring and the Commercial Printing Co. in Lan- he was younger it seemed like it took die cutting. Joe did confess that num- forever to find that first Kelsey. Once bering jobs are disap- he started collecting, Joe said he never pearing but he feels wanted to pass up items and quickly letterpress is still the acquired quite a bit. While he is cur- best for die cutting. Joe rently encountering “room problems” did confide that if his now in searching for more equipment equipment wasn’t all he also confesses that “stuff ” is getting paid for, he wouldn’t harder to find. recommend doing The Warren printshop does some work for the trade. He also said most of his commercial work is re- peat work. His shop at home first started doing com- mercial work and then the hobby aspect came about along with the collecting of all things letterpress. While it can get busy at times in the shop, Joe does admit that he likes to “putter around” with his letterpress “toys” more

than produce. Neatly arranged cabinets holding, type, mats and other supplies. Some of the cabinets holding his 450 fonts. When he leaves for sing. He runs the Indigo and Xerox letterpress related to fill in some time Timothy, 21 and daughter Kelsey, 16. 10 iGen Digital Presses. Previous to that, ( Joe’s wife Sharon is from St. Louis). Joe is 48 years old and has an Associ- he was supervisor of the camera/strip- He had read about a press that APA ate of Science Degree in printing from ping department. member Mike Anton had restored so Pensacola Christian College in Flor- When asked where commercial he contacted Mike and spent the af- ida. He had considered going direct- printing is going as we’ve known it, ternoon with him and APA entered ly into the printing trade from high Joe’s answer in short was, “It’s going the conversation. school but while in school received a n away.” He further stated that there are Other biographical information full year’s scholarship to Pensacola. fewer players and the turn around on on Joe Warren is that he has been jobs is now hours, not days. married to his APA No. 648 joined APA in 1995. wife Sharon for Joe found APA upon a visit to St. 27 years and Louis and was looking for something they have a son

Joe's ludlow is in the background with the Miehle V50 to the right. Is Joe's shop this organized and neat when he's hot on a print job?

Photos by Jim Daggs BRINGIN’ 11 ’EM BACK TO LIFE... by Jim Daggs

In the more than 40 years that I have been in the printing business, and the letterpress hobby, I can't begin to count up the number of discarded, dismantled, left-for-dead, rusty-crusty, stuck-tight, destined for the scrap-yard, presses and printing and binding equipment that I have rescued and brought back to life. In fact, I enjoy doing that sort of thing, and consider it a part of my letterpress hobby (and/or my thrifty Scot bloodline). Right after the first of this year, I acquired a 1951 vintage 10x15 Hei- ally that made the hose lengths 12 delberg Windmill, very complete, it easier to refin- that need to be but very dirty. Almost within the ish - because I replaced on a same time frame as that acquisition, battled little, if Windmill. With a 12x18 Chandler & Price handfed any rust. that done, reas- platen came along that had been in Before bring- sembly begins, damp, dirty quarters for who knows ing the press then a complete how long, and was almost completely inside, I hooked lubrication of stuck tight. But, the price was right. up the air com- the press, instal- Not that I needed another project, pressor and lation of the but I was confident that I could get thoroughly blew rollers, and trial both presses back in full operating it all off and out run. By the way, condition - with "sweat-equity" being while outside the rollers were the main ingredient applied to both. on the loading in fairly good dock. Once in- condition, so I Windmill restoration side, I rolled it scrubbed them onto some sheets down with hot The easiest way that I have found of cardboard soapy water and to clean up a Windmill is to strip it and started water-miscible down, and the way they are built, it dismantling it, roller wash and is not hard to dismantle one. As the spraying it down and cleaning off the they are fine. parts come off I clean them. How do grunge, and polishing the cleaned With the Windmill done, put into I clean off the grunge? Here's my se- parts and components - storing them place in the shop, and hooked up to cret: I use 3M ScotchBrite pads, steel in a corner away from the press itself. electricity and given a good trial run, wool and WD-40, Silicone spray, and Once everything has been cleaned it was time to cover it up and start on water-miscible roller wash, and finish and polished, I checked out the mo- the C & P. up with Mother's Cleaner-Polish (for tor and controls, and all was fine. autos and trucks). A good share of the air hoses were The C & P revival The Windmill had been stored for shot, and I have found it most eco- a long time in a small shop that was nomical to buy a complete black rub- Knowing that the C&P was virtually also used for woodworking, so it was ber, commercial-grade garden hose, stuck tight when it came in, I started covered with oil and sawdust. Actu- 5/8" inside diameter, and cut it into a routine of dousing all of the oil holes and crevices with "Kroil" - "The but it was rust- Rosback perfo- 13 Oil That Creeps". Good stuff. So, ed tight, and rator - so, yes, about every day - while I'm work- I saw no need there was some ing on the Windmill - I'm going over to have a foun- "transplant" the C&P spraying Kroil in all of the tain anyway, work that took oil holes and wherever there moving so salvaged place, too. parts. And, I would give the flywheel what I could Cleaning a tug or two, slowly gaining some from it and the bed of the real motion in the mechanism. put the rest in press revealed Now, ready to devote time to just the scrap pile. the serial num- the C&P, I discovered that the Kroil I had a good, ber, which had loosened up the main drive of old, three- dated the press the press, so that it could be com- phase 1100- at about 1919. pletely turned over. But, the throw- RPM motor, With new roll- off mechanism was still stuck tight. and decided ers ready to I closed up the press, and removed to belt it to go on, it was the side arms and discovered the rea- the flywheel. now time to son why the press was stuck: the ma- The press has a ink it up and jority of the oil holes were plugged Horton speed test the platen with dirt, to the point that oil was pulley on it, adjustment. barely - if any – getting tough. I but I aban- I like to set started taking everything apart and doned trying the platen for cleaning out oil holes. I even had to to restore that a pressboard drive some of the shafts out and pol- —but it does also function as a press and about 5 sheets of 80# packing. ish them up and clean and lube the brake, so I use it for that. The test is made by locking up large, bearing surfaces thoroughly. The rollers on the C&P were totally 96 pt. letters or numerals in the four Upon reassembling the C&P, the re- shot, and I had sent the cores in to corners of the chase and doing a test ward was a press that you could turn get them recovered while the rest of print. Some minor adjustments ap- the flywheel with one finger, and a the work was underway. The feed peared to be all that was necessary, throw-off that was free and smooth as board and delivery board were to- but another glitch was found when silk. tally rotted away, so I cut new ones trying to adjust the platen bolts - one The press had a long fountain on it, from oak boards saved from an old was broken. The platen was pulled and a re- Great! equity" to bring them back to life. 14 placement bolt was procured from I have an 8x12 C&P Old Series to I'm always glad to answer questions Roy Dunham of Dunham Printing tackle next — another winter project and offer advice for anything pertain- Machinery at Deep River, Iowa. Ev- . . . maybe. So, yes, there are old ing to letterpress and its equipment. erything was reinstalled and minor presses and equipment out there - If you need someone closer, just ask platen adjustments made, and the some working fine and ready to go, around. Most letterpress folks are first job was printed on it. and others needing some "sweat eager to help in any way they can.

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