Cleaning matrices and mat cases

[Terrence Chouinard]

Hello everyone, recently while visiting a longtime friend in printing & teaching, I uncovered some Monotype gear I bought in the late '90s that's been sitting in a shed he hadn't been opened in twenty years.

Along with molds, keybars, and justifying scale cylinders, I found some composition mat cases (some empty). I know how to disassemble and reassemble mat cases. Can anyone advise me on cleaning them up and keeping the mat arrangements organized during disassembly?

The guys I learned from had pristine mats in pristine shops, but these weren't kept in what you'd call pristine conditions all these years. I'll attach a photo to give you an idea of the condition.

While some items are dirtier, this photo is fairly representative. I still need to inventory the entire lot. All Lanston; I spotted a 15x17 arrangement in the mix. I really appreciate any help you can provide.

Terrence

[Franz]

@Terrence Chouinard -

when cleaning beware of contributing to oxidation of the mats. But I would only disassemble them if really necessary. We soaked a few DIY cases in white spirit recently, with the effect that all the dirt became evenly distributed between the mats...

I guess what you have there is mostly dry dirt and cobwebs, so I would try to blow them clean, maybe with pressurized air if there is a lot of dirt between the mats, and wipe the surfaces with something that leaves a slight oilfilm, maybe just WD40.

     

[Dave Hughes]

@Franz recently posted an Instagram video showing how these die cases are put together.

Got to say, I've never seen this done before.

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