Printing
In the printing industry, a hand mould specifically refers to a two-part mould used for casting hand-made type. Inside the mould is a matrix.
In particular, it refers to a system for casting movable type, pioneered by Johannes Gutenberg, which was widely used in the early era of printing in Europe (15th-16th century).
In this method, the type was made by punching a letter-shaped cavity in a matrix made of some soft metal (typically copper). Then this matrix would be held in the lower part of the mould, the upper part would close on it, and molten type metal would be poured into the cavity. Using the hand mould, the printer could quickly make any additional type he might need.
Read more about this topic: Hand Mould
Famous quotes containing the word printing:
“The printing press was at first mistaken for an engine of immortality by everybody except Shakespeare.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
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“It seems not more reasonable to leave the right of printing unrestrained, because writers may be afterwards censured, than it would be to sleep with doors unbolted, because by our laws we can hang a thief.”
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