Dab′ber.
1. (Printing.) The original in king-apparatus for a form of type. It consisted of a ball of cloth stuffed with an elastic material. Two of them were used, one in each hand. One of them being dabbed upon the inking-table to gather a quantity of ink, the balls were then rubbed together so as to spread it uniformly. This was done while the pull was being made, and when the bed was withdrawn from below the platen, and the printed sheet removed, the assistant, working actively with both hands, inked the surface of the form. Another form of dabber is a roll of cloth, the end of which is used for inking the engraved copperplate.
2. (Engraving.) A silk ball, stuffed with wool, for spreading the ground upon the hot plates.
3. (Stereotyping.) In the paper process, the insinuation of the damp paper into the interstices of the letters by dabbing the back of the paper with a hair brush. The term has also been applied to the cliche process, in which the form is dabbed down into a shallow cistern of type-metal which is just setting.
