Ternes Burton Plastic Register Pins are an affordable alternative to the handcrafted stainless steel version. They are sturdy and designed to withstand repeated use, and are commonly used to align layers of paper while printing with lino or wood blocks.
Ternes Burton register pins enable tight registration on complex multi-colour projects. The pins work with Ternes Burton stripping tabs or can be inserted directly through holes made by a punch. The trademarked base shape features a narrow forward section to keep the button centred and prevent tilt. The wider section of the base includes a hole so that when the pin is taped down, there is adhesion on both sides as well as the centre, helping to limit movement.
The button height depends on the number of layers of paper and the thickness of the materials attached to the pin when aligning and taping the stripping tabs to the printing paper. Both heights are suitable when printing on an etching press set for relief printing and help prevent movement during the process.
As a basic guide, gather a base board of plywood or MDF, one pair of Ternes Burton Register Pins, two stripping tabs per sheet of paper for the whole edition, parcel tape for securing the pins, and masking tape for attaching the stripping tabs.
Before fixing anything in place, lay out the pins, block, and paper on the base board to plan the arrangement. This allows you to check that the paper is the correct size and that the block is positioned as desired for the print.
Secure the pins to the base board with the button oriented at the bottom. Tape them firmly in place, pressing inside the hole within the pin to ensure a secure hold. Fix the block to the baseboard well enough to carve in situ, or create a tight block registration set-up on the board so the block can be repositioned accurately after successive carvings. This second approach introduces a small risk of losing registration if the block is moved.
Place the first sheet of paper over the block and click the stripping tabs onto the pins. The paper should sit below the pin and under the lower half of the tabs. Secure both tabs to the paper with masking tape so they can be removed later without damaging the sheet.
Place the second sheet of paper over the first, carefully align both sheets, and attach two more tabs to the pins and paper in the same way. Repeat this process for all sheets in the edition.
You can then set the paper aside and begin working on the block. When printing, click the registration tabs onto the pins and lower the paper onto the inked block.
This is a pack of two Ternes Burton 1/4in x 0.065R Plastic Register Pins.
