Colonial
The moveable type printing press has been around since the 1500s. Therefore, it is no surprise that in the colonial period of the U.S., there were printers. Colonial printers look completely different from printers today. While a printer today can be set up on top of a desk, a colonial printer was huge. And printers in colonial times were not automated like the large printers used today to print of hundreds of newspapers in seconds. Indeed, a colonial printer and binder make take hours to do just one book.

Printing In Colonial Times
The colonial U.S. was an interesting period. There were almost no colonial printers who were women; they were almost all men. We can see from pictures of the colonial printer that it was a messy job. Ink had to be applied to the plates, carefully set with type, and this could be quite a messy job. Special clothes had to be worn for the colonial printer — clothes that printers and their apprentices, servants and slaves didn’t mind getting dirty! Pictures and colonial printers did not make a great mix. However, using etching techniques on metal plates or wood blocks, it was possible to transfer images to papers and pamphlets. Photography hadn’t been invented, so etchings from illustrations were all that were possible with printers in colonial times. Also, different fonts could be used with a colonial printer. The metal bits with the letters were in sets that had different looks, providing a variety of fonts for the printer to choose from. For the most part, large projects were simply brought from England. In colonial times, only pamphlets, copies of laws and small books, such as cookery books, were printed using colonial printers.

Collecting Colonial Printers
Because they are considered interesting and old antiques, finding cheap colonial printers is not easy. A printer in good condition could cost thousands of dollars. Many collectors like them, though, and some even use them to print small projects as a hobby. When one uses such colonial artifacts, however, it is important to remember that it is still a messy and time consuming job. Especially if you want to get the type right.