The 78th Fool
I might be wrong but I'm fairly certain they were printed using the stone litho technique. This is one of the reasons the line thickness varies from deck to deck - the later the printing, the more blunted the stone plates became.
Even with mechanical printing presses, ink application would not always be as consistent as we expect from modern printing technology - I've worked with my own letterpress equipment in the past and line/letter thickness would often vary depending on whether the ink plate had recently been replenished or not.
Let's face it - Neither Waite, Pixie or even the publishers would have dreamed the deck would still be in print over thirty years after its publication. This would also explain why the several different known versions exist. Wear and tear and a much longer than expected publication life led to the plates having to be replaced on several occasions. I assume there would also be an individual set of plates for each print colour, ie. Black, pale blue, grey, yellow and red in the case of the Pam A. No doubt some of these might wear down quicker than others.
Chris. xx
Even with mechanical printing presses, ink application would not always be as consistent as we expect from modern printing technology - I've worked with my own letterpress equipment in the past and line/letter thickness would often vary depending on whether the ink plate had recently been replenished or not.
Let's face it - Neither Waite, Pixie or even the publishers would have dreamed the deck would still be in print over thirty years after its publication. This would also explain why the several different known versions exist. Wear and tear and a much longer than expected publication life led to the plates having to be replaced on several occasions. I assume there would also be an individual set of plates for each print colour, ie. Black, pale blue, grey, yellow and red in the case of the Pam A. No doubt some of these might wear down quicker than others.
Chris. xx
