Tympan
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223707557
2008-07-05T10:58:12Z
Tenpin369
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{{unreferenced|date=March 2007}}<!--What about a picture?-->
In hand-operated [[letterpress]] printing, the '''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.
{{printmaking-stub}}
[[Category: Printmaking]]
[[cy:Tympan]]
[[ru:Декель]]
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 inpact of the letterpress principle thus avoiding damage to the hand-set or pre-cast typography or engravings.