Octavo Half-Sheet Imposition for Work-and-Turn Presswork (from Pressman's side of press)

Cut Here

         Cut Here

        After the first side of the sheet was printed (in two pulls of the press handle), the paper was turned on its long axis so that the back of Page 1 faced the type of Page 2, the Back of Page 4 faced the type of Page 3, etc.  After the second pair of pulls "perfected the sheet," it would be cut in half to make two identical eight-page, four-leaf gatherings that could be folded, cut, and bound.  Especially for small pamphlets, this method of printing allowed rapid production of printed copies while using only half the type of a layout of "common octavo" (see below).

Common Octavo Outer Forme

Common Octavo Inner Forme