Falcon Safety Platen Press

The Border Telegraph tells us that the Falcon Platen Press at Robert Smail’s Printing Works in Innerleithen has been restored to working order. This means that all six presses at Smail’s are once again up and running. Innerleithen is a small town on the Tweed about 30 miles south of Edinburgh. Smail’s Falcon, which has been out of commission for ten years, is believed to be the only press of its kind which is still operating. Here’s a video recounting the rehabilitation process, and taking us through the press’s inaugural run. After watching it you’ll feel almost capable of popping over to Innerleithen and operating the press yourself. Simple but beautifully simple. If you don’t see a video here, please click on the title of this post in order to view it in your browser. Is that an Australian accent? There’s another video at The National Trust for Scotland’s website, looking at the Printing Works as a whole. “Robert Smail’s, described as the UK’s oldest working commercial letterpress…