F is for Flong
A flong is a is a temporary negative paper mould used in stereotype printing often used for printing newspapers. It served as a crucial intermediate step in letterpress printing, particularly for high-volume tasks like newspaper production. It was mainly used between the early 19th century and the widespread adoption of offset lithography in the 20th century
How a Flong Was Used
The primary purpose of a flong was to create a durable, easily stored, and flexible negative impression of a page that had been set in metal type. Printers would first “set” the page using individual metal characters and illustration blocks locked into a frame called a forme. A damp, soft, and thick sheet -the flong- was placed over the surface of the set type. The flong was then subjected to intense pressure, forcing it into the recessed shapes of the metal type. This created a reversed impression of the entire page.
The flong was dried and hardened, becoming a “matrix” or “mat” that could withstand the heat of molten metal. This mat was placed into a casting box, and molten type metal poured over it. Once cooled, it formed a stereotype plate—a single, solid metal plate that exactly reproduced the original page. Because the stereotype was a solid, curved plate, it could be easily attached to the cylinders of high-speed rotary presses, which was impossible with individual pieces of metal type.
Our Flong
Our collection contains two flongs, but we will focus on the one that belongs to a specific set. This flong produced the stereo used by The Wiltshire Times on Duke Street to print their November 21, 1986, front page. Along with the flong, we hold the curved stereo printing plate, the printer’s trolley with hot metal type locked in a chase, and a copy of the featured newspaper. This issue marked the final time the Wiltshire Times printed in this manner at the Trowbridge site before moving production to Swindon.
If you would like to learn more about the Wiltshire Times we have a post that might interest you here .
