This tool consists of a wooden handle attached to a rounded pad stuffed with wool or horsehair and covered in treated leather. Pressmen worked them in pairs, rocking and twisting the pads together to distribute the ink, then beating them across the type form to coat the metal faces. They were entirely replaced by composition rollers, which provided faster and more even coverage.
Heard on the job
The museum relies on a pair of replica inkballs to demonstrate how the wooden handpress was operated.