Colonial
Effect on the Community
In colonial times a printer had great impact and influence over its community. A colonial printer was responsible for editing and publishing the newspaper and running the post office.

Colonial printers created pamphlets, books, and letters that fueled the desire for independence. Some say they are at least in part responsible for planting the patriotic seed in Americans.

In addition, up until the start of the nineteenth century all school books and even bibles were printed in Europe and bought to America. The invention of the colonial printing press allowed Americans to publish their own writings and preserve their own history.

Colonial printers also provided much needed crafts jobs to people of the community.

Who Ran Them
Pictures of colonial printers indicate that it was a tedious and dirty job. That is why many are surprise to find out that many women were colonial printers. Other print shops were run by journeyman printers themselves. The owner usually has several other journeymen to help them with the daily operations of the printing presses. There were also apprentices who were there to help and learn the skill. These apprentices were usually teenagers who lived with the owner.

The Inventory
A normal colonial printer and binder would have one or two wooden English presses. There would also be clothes for colonial printers and several types of fonts in different shapes and sizes.

The type was a tool that made the letters or characters. It was a piece of metal that almost worked as a branding iron. The coffin was the part of the printing press that held the type in place. Then the composing stick would hold the type in place as it assembled words or strung together sentences. There was also an inking pad to spread ink on the type.

The press is what they called the machine that transferred the characters onto paper. And the stone is what they referred to as any large flat surface that held the work while it was being printed.

The most important component of any colonial printing press was the skilled labor. Each journeyman had indentured servants or slaves that would assist with the printing operations.