In the home stretch now, with a long run of red ink to impress on the cover and colophon, as well as on the reprinted first and last pages.
The use of roller bearers has made a world of difference in preventing the roller slurs I had been struggling with – especially with so little type on the press for this print run.
And I MacGyvered a home-made humidor (courtesy of a model inspired by Lunada Bay Letterpress) to store my damped paper between print runs. Refrigeration allowed the precious luxury of time between print runs. From the re-print of the first leaf in black to the second (and, hopefully, final) impression of red ink, I had an interval of seven days with dampened paper — and, happily, no mold!
I continue to struggle with inking (too much?! too little?!) – and I am fast becoming acquainted with “monks” and “friars” and every other ink blot to paper that can plague the newbie. I’m nearly done, and then I need to sit down and properly document what I’ve done and what I’ve learned.