Screw presses and iron presses

Antique presses

The early printing press is a simple machine: a wooden frame, a screw and a platen that comes down to press the paper against the inked type. This is how printing was done for more than three centuries.

In the 19th century iron presses replaced wooden ones: they were sturdier and could print larger sheets with less effort. At the same time specialized presses appeared for lithography, for binding books, for embossing (printing in relief without ink) and for perforating.

The MUNAG holds several of these machines: the Juan Pablos press, a sewing press, flywheel binding presses, a lithographic star-wheel press and fragments of iron presses.

Each one has its record with photographs.