Nels Maher Print Shop
Our Print Shop is named in the memory of a friend to Grey Roots, Nelson Maher. Nels worked for what added up to hundreds of hours - first to restore the equipment, then to set it up so that it could be viewed, and then finally in giving tours, interviews and demonstrations. Nels’ love of printing started early when he worked as a boy in his father’s Owen Sound print shop, and lasted all of his life.
Every Thursday from 1:30-4 p.m. you have an opportunity to view demonstations and to ask questions when print shop veteran Doug Iles is on duty.
Included here are highlights of what you will see when you visit the Nels Maher Print Shop:
California Job Case
Foundry type was stored in the compartments of a drawer-like case which kept it positioned in a certain pattern deemed the most efficient during hand composition. This job case belonged to E. Richardson, an Owen Sound printer in the early 1900s.
Wooden Type Collection
19th century wooden type that was most likely used for printing broadsides (posters). Donated by Stan Brown and Jack Osadzuk, Owen Sound printers.
Furniture Case
This case is for organizing and storing precisely-sized wooden furniture (pieces of metal or wood used for filling out large blank areas in a chase). Manufactured by Hamilton Manufacturing Co., Wisconsin.
Type Cabinet (Type Bank)
This double-sided type cabinet has 22 drawers per side. It would be used in the composing area of a print shop. The top angled surfaces are working surfaces, where you could set a selected case (drawer) and work from it by moving the type into a composing stick. Manufactured by The Hamiltion Manufacturing Co., Wisconsin.
Imposing / Composing Stone
The composing stone is usually made of marble and provides a perfectly flat working surface. The composing (putting together) and imposing (arranging) of the type required is arranged on the stone. The type is arranged in a form (a complete assembly of type and engraving) which is in a chase (an iron frame in which type is locked for the press). A planer tool (wooden block) is then placed above the chase and pounded with a wooden mallet to ensure that all the typefaces to level the type to ensure that all are of the same height. This composing stone was donated by Dick Knight, who operated The Knight Press from 1929 until 1990 in Meaford, Ontario.
Job Stick (Composing Stick)
The job stick was used for hand setting type. It was held by one hand while type characters and spaces are added to it one at at time, line by line with the other hand. Job sticks came in a variety of sizes for different jobs.
Quoins and Quoin Key (Pressman's) Key
Quoins (metal wedges) were used in pairs to tighten type and cuts of a form (a complete assembly of type and engraving) within a chase (an iron frame in which type in locked for the press) and were locked by the quoin key. This tightening up work was done on the composing stone before the chase was carried over to the press. Donated by Wat Richards, who formerly worked at RBW, Owen Sound. Manufactured by The Challenge Co. Hempel, Hempel's Pat'd Improved and M.B. Improved circa 1870s to 1890s.
Roller Setting Gauge
The roller setting gauge was used to measure the roller settings on a press by placing it under each of the rollers. The rollers would pass over the gauge, leaving an ink band; this band was measured and the press rollers would be adjusted in order to get the ink band on the roller setting gauge to measure between 3/16" and 1/8" wide. The roller setting gauge pictured has ".918" imprinted and was manufactured by the Bacher Company of Germany.
Gullotine Cutter
This was used in the bindery area of a print shop and would precisiely trim thick stacks of paper, card stock, or cover board. The cutter uses a very sharp horizontally-positioned knife. The operator would pull a counterbalanced lever to lower the blade. Manufactured by Westman and Baker, Toronto est. 1877.
Padding Clamp
This clamp would also be in the bindery area of the print shop. It would keep printed pages tightly screw-clamped together for gluing work. Manufactuerer unknown, likely is from the 1890s.
Portland Multiple Punching Machine
This machine has interchangeable punches of different sizes and was used to punch precisely drilled holes though printed paper stacks to prepare the pages for binders. Patented in 1907 and 1910. Manufactured by Southworth Machine Co., Portland, Maine.
Linotype Machine
Before the invention of this type-casting machine in 1886, printing was achieved by handsetting the type needed. Creator Ottmar Mergenthaler created this machine which casts and trims lead slugs into lines of type that would be used for printing. When the lines were no longer needed they were melted down and used again. Manufactured by Mergenthaler Linotype Co., New York.
Miehle Press
This press is a two-revolution flat bed cyclinder press. This press was hand-fed and was suitable for the large sheets that were used to print newspapers. It was moved from Saskatchewan to Chatsworth, Ontario by Hugh McCullough who used it to print the weekly newspaper, "Chatsworth News", until 1935. After that it was occasionally used for job printing. Donated in memory of Hunter MacDonald from Chatsworth. Patented from 1897 to 1907. Manufactured by The Miehle Printing Press and Manufacturing Co., Chicago and New York.
Platen Press
This type of press was used for job printing. The round ink table revolved to keep the ink well-dispersed for the automated ink rollers. The operator would have to stand nearby in order to remove and feed a new paper sheet as each impression was made. Manufactured by Westmane Baker, Toronto.
Proof Press
This press was used so that the printer could create a quick proof (test impression) using the plate, ink and paper intended for a print job. The proof helped to predict the results and revealed any errors or flaws to be fixed before full production started on a press. Patented in 1912 and 1914 and it has two inking tables. Manufactured by Vandercook and Sons, Chicago.
Rotary Offset Web Press
This press was built by Owen Sound's RBW Company in the late 1920s and is an example of the first web press technology in the world. Instead of printing on paper one sheet at a time this press printed on a continuous roll of paper (called the web) and used offset lithography to print ruled forms that were hard to achieve with previous press technologies. Blank forms and form-printed books produced by RBW were used by banks, railways and industries all across Canada. The parts for the press were cast in Owen Sound foundries.
