Blind embossing

Blind embossing and hand gilding side by side on a calfskin binding

In book production , blind embossing , blind pressing or blind printing is the name given to the embossing of patterns, motifs or writing on leather and parchment bindings without color or gold. Blind pressing describes the embossing with large stamps or plates using mechanical aids, blind printing the purely manual work.

history

Blind printing is the oldest technique of cover decoration. Blind-printed Coptic bindings are already known from late antiquity . The Nag Hammadi Codex II is one of the earliest known copies. Blind printing first appeared in Europe around 700 AD and remained the dominant type of binding until the Renaissance . In the 19th century the technology was revived again. Today, blind printing is usually only made for enthusiasts in individual production.

Manufacturing

For blind printing, bookbinders heat their tools to 80 to 90 ° C. It is crucial to check the temperature precisely, as excessive heat would burn or even cut the leather . Then the tool is embossed into the moistened leather with constant pressure. The interaction of temperature and humidity results in a darker coloration of the embossed areas in soft leather (calf or cow leather). There is no discoloration in pigskin. The evenness of the impression and the sharpness of the contours depend on the pressure exerted, the temperature of the tools and the humidity of the leather.

Vegetable tanned leathers with an open surface are best suited for blind embossing. They may be colored, but not coated with opaque colors. The so-called covered leathers are suitable for use in the press , but they do not have the characteristic coloring.

Book cover from the 15th century with blind embossing by means of a stamp and a streak iron
Book cover from the 16th century with blind embossing through plate and roll, additionally gilded
Renaissance book cover with blind embossing and gold pressing

Tools

Toggle press for use in blind pressing and gold-plating from the Karl Krause factory

In the Middle Ages , blind printing was done solely with the help of stamps and the printhead, the bookbinder's oldest tool that was used for lines. The book cover was then divided up for further design. The motifs of the stamps varied from geometric and ornamental to human, animal and vegetable forms. Names (e.g. of saints) on scrolls and even heraldic representations were also part of the repertoire.

In addition to these simple tools, others developed over time:

The plate , which was too big and too heavy to be stamped by hand and therefore required a press, found its origin in the Netherlands in the 13th century. It first came to England and France by the 15th century, but then quickly spread to the rest of Europe. In Germany, blind pressing with plates played a major role, especially in the Renaissance. It was both possible to cover the entire surface of the lid with one large plate and to arrange several small ones next to and one below the other.
The roll , a cylinder provided with a pattern that could print it in any length. Regular pattern sequences no longer had to be laboriously stamped individually, but could be rolled out in one pass. A problem arose when the patterns met in the corners. Usually they were just run over. Only a few innovative bookbinders (e.g. Georg Freyberger, Mainz and Würzburg) found a remedy by introducing a "corner ornament" such as "X".
The fillet , a long, curved punch that was mainly used to decorate uneven areas such as the back and edges.
The sets of lines or arcs , series of stamps for producing straight or curved lines of different lengths.

Both stamps and plates can be cut positive or negative. However, the more common is the negative stitching, so that the contours and background are depressed and the motif appears raised. A more detailed representation can be achieved with relief stamps, which give the print a three-dimensional appearance.

Web links

About blind embossing in the finishing dictionary

Individual evidence

^ Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 6 f.
^ Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 30.
↑ Ernst Ammering: Book covers (= Die bibliophilen pocket books 475). Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1985, ISBN 3-88379-475-9 , p. 223 f.
^ Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 31 f.
↑ Ernst Ammering: Book covers (= Die bibliophilen pocket books 475). Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1985, ISBN 3-88379-475-9 , p. 224.

[1] Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 6 f.

[2] Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 30.

[3] Ernst Ammering: Book covers (= Die bibliophilen pocket books 475). Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1985, ISBN 3-88379-475-9 , p. 223 f.

[4] Otto Mazal : Binding customer. The history of the book cover (= elements of the book and library system 16). Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-88226-888-3 , p. 31 f.

[5] Ernst Ammering: Book covers (= Die bibliophilen pocket books 475). Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1985, ISBN 3-88379-475-9 , p. 224.