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O do good presswork one must have good presses, ink, and rollers. If a cylinder press, the tympan should be made of thin, hard press-boards held firmly to the cylinder by a sheet of fine muslin, and on top of the muslin there should be drawn a sheet of fine, heavy manilla paper; on top of this there should be not to exceed two or three sheets of thin book paper of the best quality. When the tympan is so constructed its surface should be a little below the surface of the cylinder bearers, so that when the over-lays are pasted in their proper places on the tympan, and a sheet of fine manilla paper drawn over the whole, the surface of the tympan will then be exactly on a line with the surface of the bearers on the cylinder. A tympan made up in this manner is specially suitable for a high class of job and illustrated catalogue work.

The platen of a job press should be so adjusted, that when the tympan is made up of two sheets of fine three-ply bristol, covered with three or four sheets of thin manilla or book paper, it is then in proper condition for printing delicate scripts and other light-face letters. For heavier forms it will, of course, be necessary to add more sheets of paper and sometimes an extra card. The tympan must always be drawn as tight as possible to insure good work.