pick

In letterpress printing, a pick is a dried fragment of ink, paper fiber, or foreign matter that lodges inside the recessed face of a type character and prevents ink from flowing properly into that space. When the type is pressed against paper, the pick creates a white spot or void in the printed character, making it appear incomplete or ghostly on the finished sheet. This was a chronic problem in high-speed printing before photographic and digital composition replaced metal type.

Picks form for several reasons. Ink that is too stiff, or paper that sheds excessive fiber, contributes most often. A poorly cleaned type form left standing overnight can accumulate dried ink that hardens in the character depressions. Paper dust, dried sizing, or fragments from torn sheets can also pack into letterforms, especially in the bowls of lowercase letters like 'e', 'a', and 'o'. Once lodged, a pick is difficult to dislodge without deliberately cleaning the type face.

The practical consequences were significant. A single pick in a frequently used letter like 'e' would cause a systematic fault across an entire run. Printers had to stop the press periodically, examine printed sample sheets, identify the faulty character, and use a fine needle or specialized pick remover to extract the blockage. On large runs, this downtime added measurable cost. Some shops maintained staff who did nothing but monitor for picks during operation.

The remedy in the pressroom combined prevention and inspection. Printers cleaned type regularly with lye solutions or specialized solvents, dried it thoroughly, and chose inks formulated for fluidity at the press temperature. Controlling paper quality and humidity reduced fiber shedding. During the run, the press feeder or a dedicated inspector examined sample sheets at intervals and signaled the operator when picks appeared.

The term survives in printing history and in the vocabulary of older craftspeople, but the problem itself is largely historical. Offset lithography and digital printing eliminated recessed letterforms and the mechanical contact that caused picks to form and manifest visibly. The word remains in trade dictionaries and technical retrospectives, a concrete reminder of the physical constraints that shaped letterpress production.