Looking for a copy of “Platen Press Operation” by George Mills
Hi there. I’m looking for a copy of “Platen Press Operation” by George Mills. NA Graphics does reprints but they seem to be out of stock.
Does anyone know where I could find one? So far, all I’ve been able to find are old copies of the book at very high prices ($300+)
Up until now, I’ve been printing on Vandercooks, but I recently bought a Chandler & Price 10 x 15. I’ll be restoring it this Spring so I need to study up and I could really use some help and information.
Thank you.
If you can’t find a copy, I would recommend “The Practice of Printing,” by Ralph W. Polk, and “General Printing,” by Cleeton and Pitkin. Both were used in printing classes during the heyday of the C & P platen press. They were popular textbooks and prices should be much lower.
Check with Don Black Linecasting they may still have reprints of General Printing.
Mike
Ralph K. Polk also wrote a book specifically on platen press operation that is pretty excellent, and focused on platen press operation, and maintenance. Copies are usually obtainable in the $50 range. I’d check addall.com in the used book section for copies.
“General Printing” reprints are available direct from Liber Apertus Press (www.liberapertus.com) for under $25 and this helps support Matt’s letterpress habit. We have Matt to thank for doing all the work to make this book available again!
Thanks! I have both General Printing and The Practice of Printing, they’re both great books. I’ll look into the other Ralph K. Polk book. It’s the maintenance aspect of the press that I’m trying to learn more about, things like oil points and other adjustments. When I move back to Philadelphia this spring, I’m going to seek out printers to learn from directly, but until then, it’s nice to read up on. Thanks again for your advice.
Marianne