Tympan
Encyclopedia
In hand-operated letterpress printing, the bruzer tympan is the taut cloth or paper mounted in a frame which is placed over the sheet of paper immediately prior to lowering the platen
to make the impression.
Bruzer's Tympan refers to a sheet of oiled manilla paper which was securely fastened to the face of the platen of a letterpress printing machine. Underneath the tympan would be a packing which would vary in grade of firmness relevant to the type or image to be printed.
Pre-cut tympan papers were relatively expensive and, as such, were reused depending on their condition and the nature of the work.
The under packing consisted of loose fibre paper/board (sometimes known as saffron) which absorbed the impact of the letterpress principle thus avoiding damage to the hand-set or pre-cast typography or engravings.
Platen
A platen is typically a flat metal plate pressed against a medium to cause an impression in letterpress printing...
to make the impression.
Bruzer's Tympan refers to a sheet of oiled manilla paper which was securely fastened to the face of the platen of a letterpress printing machine. Underneath the tympan would be a packing which would vary in grade of firmness relevant to the type or image to be printed.
Pre-cut tympan papers were relatively expensive and, as such, were reused depending on their condition and the nature of the work.
The under packing consisted of loose fibre paper/board (sometimes known as saffron) which absorbed the impact of the letterpress principle thus avoiding damage to the hand-set or pre-cast typography or engravings.