Grandpa’s Printshop (Part 3 of 4)

When the type was all set, Grandpa would place the type in a square, iron framework along with blocks of metal and wood called “furniture.” I was impressed that some little blocks of wood would be called furniture. He turned a special key that made a vise-like grip on the type and locked everything up so the letters wouldn’t slip when they were in the printing press.
After this, the real fun began. Grandpa got out a can of ink. He would take a strip of metal and dip it into the thick, gooey ink and then splat it onto a round plate-like disk on the top of the printing press. Then he turned the press on. Some rubber rollers, about a foot and a half long and two inches in diameter came up and rolled over the disk. These rolled up to the top of the disk and then rolled back down. Right now the type wasn’t in the press yet, but if it had been, the rollers would have applied ink to the type. The rollers went all the way down into the depths of the press and then started to come back up again. When they rolled over the disk again, it had rotated a bit so the ink started to spread over the whole disk.
The ink itself underwent a transformation. It started out real sticky, but soon changed to a shinier, more pliable substance. It took several minutes of running to get everything ready. The rollers would meet the disk and as they rolled their way up the disk, they made a loud SSSHHHIIIUUUP sound. The press was now properly inked.