Near the raised, detail of the subject, cut away the composition on a bevel.
Eighth, run the press at regular speed for about five minutes, allowing all of the fine lines in the female die to work up as perfectly as possible. After the detail has been “pounded up” sharply in this way, stop the press and with make-ready knife clear away any additional composition which may have “squeezed out” from the detail into the flat edges of the counter die.
Ninth, take still another sheet of French folio, large enough in size to cover the entire counter die, including blank edges. Cover one side of this sheet with a thin film of LePage glue, and then glue this sheet over the surface of the counter die. Take a number of impressions on this final sheet so that all detail will again work up sharply.
Tenth, the counter die is now complete. Allow it to stand and harden for a couple of hours before going ahead with the regular embossing.
REGULATING IMPRESSION
On either platen printing presses or regular embossing presses of the Hartford or John Thomson type the impression can be regulated by means of the adjustable slides and nuts which hold the throw-off bar in place. These slides are held with bolts in notches, and by loosening the bolts, the slides can be moved upward or downward in their notches, thereby increasing or lessening the amount of impression for each job. Before making a counter die on either a Hartford or John Thomson press, first put on the steel platen plate; glue on the sheet of straw-board, and then regulate the impression by means of the slides holding the throw-off bar. By inking and re-inking the female die, and by taking impressions of the die, on a sheet of news-board, the right amount of impression can be obtained (moving the slides accordingly), before applying the embossing composition.
On other styles of printing presses like the C. & P., for example, the impression screws should not be moved, but with a Golding press the impression can be adjusted with the screws which are at the right-hand side of the platen.
In a case of embossing where it is not advisable to move the impression screws, it may be necessary to glue two or more sheets of straw-board or news-board to the platen to obtain sufficient impression before applying the embossing composition.
The feeding guides for close-register embossing can be made of three-em 12-point quads. Attach the quads with LePage glue to the foundation board, following the same positions held by the feeding guides which had been used when the sheets were printed. This helps in making perfect register of the embossing with the printed subject. When printing the sheets, mark the positions of the feeding guides on one of the printed sheets. Use this marked sheet, and follow the marks, when placing the feeding guides for embossing.