A professional who operates machines to mount finished stereotype and eletrotype printing plates on wood, synthetic, or metal blocks, and to trim, square, and smooth edges of mounted plates. Responsibilities include:

• Places plates face up on flat metal surface and taps plates with hammer and wooden block to straighten irregularities due to warping or bending.
• Cuts blocks to size on power saw.
• Lays plates on adhesive-coated block or inserts sheet of thermosetting bonding film between plate and block and places assembly on sliding table of heat press.
• Places bearers (steel bars) around assembled cut and covers assembly with heat resistant blanket to prevent mechanical damage to plate.
• Adjusts controls to regulate pressure and temperature of press.
• Pushes sliding table with plate into press cavity (oven) and depresses lever to apply pressure for specified time.
• Nails plate to block, using hammer or nailing machine.
• Operates machines, such as trim saw, rotary trimming machine, block planer, and block leveling machine to trim, square, and smooth edges of mounted plates and reduce blocks and mounted plates to type-high thickness.
• Adjusts microgauges, guides, and cutting blades of machines to produce specified cuts and verifies dimensions of blocks and mounted plates, using try square, snap gauge, and dial indicator type gauge.
• Patches plates with solder and sweats electrotypes to metal base, using electric soldering equipment.
• Cuts notches and mortises in mounted plates, using drill press and jig saw, to make openings for inserting type on other plates.
• May mount plates with double-coated pressure-sensitive tape and tap with woodblock and hammer to form bond.
• May operate routing machine to cut excess metal from nonprinting areas of electrotype, stereotype, and photoengraved printing plates (router).