Chase (printing)

{{short description|(metal) frame that is used to contain a printing forme}}

File:New Testament in chase.jpg" for printing the front page of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The black frame surrounding it is the "chase"; the pieces of wood are the "furniture", and the two objects each on the bottom and left side are the "quoins".]]

A chase is a heavy steel frame used to hold type in a letterpress.{{cite book|last=Haynes|first=Roscoe E.|title=American Printer and Lithographer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA143|accessdate=18 June 2016|year=1922|publisher=Moore Publishing Company|language=English|page=143|quote=This brings the quoins at the top and right end of the chase and opposite the guides to which the sheets are fed.}} Most of the space in the chase not occupied with type is filled with blocks of wood called furniture. The type and furniture are locked in place by quoins.{{cite web |title=Letterpress Commons |url=https://letterpresscommons.com/general-tools-and-supplies/ |accessdate=June 18, 2016}} When a chase is locked up with type, furniture, and quoins, it is called a forme.