library: Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA)

Collaert, Nova Reperta, 1600 (pl. 19)

In this depiction of copper engraving, you can see the full range of activities involved in printing an engraving. In the background a sheet of copper is being flattened and prepared for engraving; in the lower right, boys are being taught how to use a burin to draw on a plate; in the middle men are inking and preparing a plate for printing; on the left, a man is turning the wheel of a rolling press to print a plate; and in the background, finished prints are being hung to dry.

Collaert, Nova Reperta, 1600 (pl. 4)

In this illustration from the series The Inventions of Modern Times, you can see the full range of activities associated with common-press printing, from delivering blank paper to proofreading printed sheets.