tympan

American  

[tim-puhn] / ˈtɪm pən /

noun

1. Printing. a padlike device interposed between the platen or its equivalent and the sheet to be printed, in order to soften and equalize the pressure.

2. tympanum.

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tympan British  

/ ˈtɪmpən /

noun

1. a membrane stretched over a frame or resonating cylinder, bowl, etc

2. printing packing interposed on a hand-operated text between the platen and the paper to be printed in order to provide an even impression

3. architect another name for tympanum

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Etymology

Origin of tympan

before 900; Middle English: drum, Old English < Latin tympanum tympanum

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tympan

After the impression had been taken, the platen was screwed up, the bed "run out," the tympan frame and frisket lifted, and the printed sheet taken off.

From The Building of a Book A Series of Practical Articles Written by Experts in the Various Departments of Book Making and Distributing by Frederick H. Hitchcock

Over the cylinder is supported a diaphragm or tympan T, provided with a conical mouthpiece M for speaking into.

From The Story of Electricity by John Munro

Setting off may be prevented by slightly greasing or oiling a sheet which may be placed on the tympan if in press work, or the cylinder if at a machine.

From Paper and Printing Recipes A Handy Volume of Practical Recipes, Concerning the Every-Day Business of Stationers, Printers, Binders, and the Kindred Trades by J. Sawtelle Ford

We may call him toad-hopper or spittle-bug, or as Fabre says, "Contentons-nous de Cicadelle, qui respecte le tympan."

From Edge of the Jungle by William Beebe

The composition, which fills the tympan of the scarcely-pointed arch, represents Christ surrounded by the twelve Apostles.

From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Edward Harrison Barker