The letterpress demo was a really fun experience; it was great insight on how long the printing process took. The people that did this job for a living must have been were more than likely masters at their craft. The printers obviously had an easier time putting together words and phrases then we had because they probably knew where each letter was from memory. They were also probably well accustomed to the different types and had a better grasp on which would work best depending on the print. I don’t think proofreading would have been any different, because there might have been a number of eyes looking at the work. We were able to notice mistakes even if the pieces were upside down so I feel that aspect wouldn’t be any different from our demo.
It took about 30 minutes for each group to put together 15 words or less for it to be then placed on the furniture to be pressed or roll pressed. Once on the furniture, you had to make sure each case was tightly squeezed together so that when it was rolled over, the pieces wouldn’t shift. The idea is a simple one especially because the letters were already made. We didn’t have to mold each lead type, but assembling really gave everyone trouble.