monotype vs. foundry type & pale green printing, ewww, dirty.
hello. i am working on a project that i have set in 48 pt. futura (labeled as “monotype only! do not lay foundry type” on the drawer) and i am having a problem with a gray edge appearing on the top (mostly) and bottom edge of the letters in the print. i’m curious about other’s experiences; do you think it’s just that i’m trying to print super-translucent pale yellow-green on old type, regardless of whether it’s foundry or monotype? do you think it might have to do with the monotype thing? i cleaned it carefully. it seemed to get worse if more time elapsed between proofs.
i sort of love it - but it’s just too variable for me to print my whole edition. so i thought i’d ask here, since it’s sort of like cartalk for letterpressers.
i’ll try another font when i have time - but i was curious.
thanks.
check this link.
http://www.apa-letterpress.com/T%20&%20P%20ARTICLES/Press%20&%20Presswor...
I’m guessing that the case was labeled as such to prevent someone from mixing monotype-cast type with the harder, more durable, and more dimensionally stable foundry type. To ‘lay’ type is to put it somewhere, usually in a case.
Foundry type, or stuff sold as foundry type often says ‘proof before laying’ on the package. This is so you quality-check the amount and casting quality before mixing the new stuff with the old stuff. The location of the baseline on the body should also be checked for consistency, but I digress.
As for your problem, I defer to those who know more:
Either you have slurring, like cmcgarr mentions, or you have corroded alloy transferring to the paper, unlikely. My money is on slurring. Perhaps you can post a picture of what your results are?
Your problem has nothing to do with the type and everything to do with the ink. For lighter colors use opaque white rather that transparent white when mixing.
thank you so much for the suggestions.
it is printing well (i’ll see if i can get a photo up…), no slurring, but it’s within the actual letter (it’s 48 point futura condensed so it has a nice surface area) the tops of the h’s and k’s are slightly grayed. does that make sense? i’m thinking you are right, john horn. i love the look of a transparent ink, but maybe i just need to buck up and opaque the light yellowy-greens for this project. i set all my type, but interestingly, i printed a very similar color off a polymer plate for the illustration and it printed well - that’s what got me rolling on the foundry vs. monotype ball.
i really appreciate the feedback.