the Papertrail
type: channel
date: 2026-08-31T17:11:44Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
generator agent: https://wordpress.org/
items: Marshville Heritage Festival 2026
items: Found some Whitlock press accessories!
items: More tororo-aoi updates
items: Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair 2026
items: Mackenzie Printery’s Albion Press
items: Tororo-aoi in full bloom
items: Tororo-aoi Fast Growth (in the smoke)
items: Tororo-aoi in Bloom Already
items: Growing Tororo-aoi Again
items: Papermaking Workshop, August 15th, 2026

Marshville Heritage Festival 2026
type: item
date: 2026-08-31T17:09:27Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum
subject: Upcoming Events
description: This is a rather late notice, but the Marshville Heritage Society will be holding its annual Marshville Heritage Festival this Labour Day weekend, September 5th, 6th, and 7th, 2026, at the fairgrounds in Wainfleet, Ontario. The Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper… Read more ›
encoded: This is a rather late notice, but the Marshville Heritage Society will be holding its annual Marshville Heritage Festival this Labour Day weekend, September 5th, 6th, and 7th, 2026, at the fairgrounds in Wainfleet, Ontario. The Mackenzie Printery & Newspaper Museum, as part of the festival, will be hosting the print shop which is part of the permanent facilities on the fairgrounds. We will be running the Whitlock Pony press to print commemorative posters, the Ludlow will be hot to cast slugs with people’s names, the Adana press will be set up for you to print your own bookmark, and we will have various odds and ends for sale including some ephemera, old cuts (illustrations), and type cases. These items are all available in return for a donation to the Printery. There will be many other attractions at the Festival including an operating sawmill, music, food, crafts, old farm machinery on display (and some in operation), and a car show. You can check out the festival’s web site for more details. The fair is open from 10am to 5pm every day, admission is only $8, children 10 and under get in free, and there is plenty of free parking.

Found some Whitlock press accessories!
type: item
date: 2026-08-31T16:52:47Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance
subject: Kevin
subject: Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum
description: The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum maintains a Whitlock Pony press in Wainfleet, Ontario, in a building at the local Fairgrounds. Every Labour Day weekend, the Marshville Heritage Festival is held on the fairgrounds, and as part of that, we… Read more ›
encoded: The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum maintains a Whitlock Pony press in Wainfleet, Ontario, in a building at the local Fairgrounds. Every Labour Day weekend, the Marshville Heritage Festival is held on the fairgrounds, and as part of that, we at the Museum run the Whitlock as well as other printing equipment. We have long had a few nagging minor issues with this press. One is that, on the second (delivery) rotation of the cylinder when the grippers open up, there is nothing holding the sheet to the cylinder except for the suction between the sheet and the tympan surface. This makes delivery unreliable because it is essentially relying on the inertia of the sheet of paper to keep it moving until it reaches the delivery tapes. With large sheets, the weight of the tail end of the sheet will pull the sheet back, where it will land on the returning bed and make a messy paper jam. On a somewhat similar (but much, much cleaner) Miehle press at the Howard Iron Works museum, there are idler rollers which apply a bit of pressure to hold the paper in place on the cylinder until it is delivered to the tapes. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4691" class="wp-image-4691 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-895x1024.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="692" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-895x1024.jpg 895w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-262x300.jpg 262w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-768x879.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-1343x1536.jpg 1343w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-prevent-sheet-slippage-on-delivery-100x114.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rollers-p…

More tororo-aoi updates
type: item
date: 2026-08-31T15:35:00Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Home-grown supplies
subject: Kevin
description: One of the larger tororo-aoi plants seems to be dying back and losing all its leaves, though the pods are still on it and some are showing signs of ripening. The other large plants seem fine, so I don’t know… Read more ›
encoded: One of the larger tororo-aoi plants seems to be dying back and losing all its leaves, though the pods are still on it and some are showing signs of ripening. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-4686 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-597x1024.jpg" alt="" width="597" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-597x1024.jpg 597w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-175x300.jpg 175w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-768x1317.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-896x1536.jpg 896w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-1194x2048.jpg 1194w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-100x171.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-150x257.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-200x343.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-300x514.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-450x772.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-600x1029.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-900x1543.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132310-scaled.jpg 1493w" sizes="(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px" />The other large plants seem fine, so I don’t know what’s bothering this one. One of the other large plants has a fully-ripe pod on it: <img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4687" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132321-546x1024.jpg" alt="" width="546" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_132321-546x1024.jpg 546w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260826_1…

Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair 2026
type: item
date: 2026-08-31T15:18:15Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Howard Iron Works Print Expo & Fair
subject: Upcoming Events
subject: Us
description: Howard Iron Works will once again be holding its Print Expo & Fair, this year on Saturday, September 26th from 10am-4pm. This is the eighth fair since starting in 2018 (skipping one year but including one virtual year due to… Read more ›
encoded: Howard Iron Works will once again be holding its Print Expo & Fair, this year on Saturday, September 26th from 10am-4pm. This is the eighth fair since starting in 2018 (skipping one year but including one virtual year due to the COVID-19 epidemic). Along with about 15 or 20 other vendors of book arts materials and finished works, we will have a table at the fair selling our wares, including our handmade paper and marbling. If you order a few days ahead we can also bring along your order so you can avoid shipping costs. In addition to the vendors, there are usually demonstrations and workshops—check the above link for updates—and of course, you can visit the museum where several pieces orf printing equipment will be running with many hands-on activities. The fair will be held at 800 Westgate Road in Oakville, Ontario, which is just west of Toronto and Mississauga. This is about a 15-minute walk from the Bronte Go station if you want to take public transit. Admission is free and the location is fully accessible.

Mackenzie Printery’s Albion Press
type: item
date: 2026-08-09T13:37:12Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Equipment Acquisition, Repair, and Maintenance
subject: Kevin
description: The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum in Queenston, Ontario has a small Albion press which needs a bit of work to get it into top form. The pull handle does not retract all the way when released, so it interferes… Read more ›
encoded: The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum in Queenston, Ontario has a small Albion press which needs a bit of work to get it into top form. The pull handle does not retract all the way when released, so it interferes with opening the frisket frame. Over the years this has chewed up the pull handle a bit. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4668" class="wp-image-4668 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1024x591.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="349" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-300x173.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-768x443.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-100x58.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-150x87.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-200x115.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-450x260.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-600x346.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail-900x519.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260808_detail.jpg 1645w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /> Pull handle damage from frisket frame. Bare wood is modern damage, but you can see older damage a bit to the left, though the latter might be due to not cranking the bed all the way out before opening the frisket The handle is not retracting all the way because the pivot end is striking one of the bolts that hold the platen to the column. The bottom of the column actually has a land cut into it to place the nut a bit lower so the handle clears it, but the pull handle is h…

Tororo-aoi in full bloom
type: item
date: 2026-08-09T12:31:46Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Home-grown supplies
description: The tororo-aoi plants I’m growing come from several seed sources, with one producing plants much obviously larger than the others. Up until now only the larger plants had bloomed, and they now have several very large seed pods on them.… Read more ›
encoded: The tororo-aoi plants I’m growing come from several seed sources, with one producing plants much obviously larger than the others. Up until now only the larger plants had bloomed, and they now have several very large seed pods on them. But finally, the smaller plants have started blooming, at least the ones seeded indoors, though the direct-seeded plants are still behind in development. This variety seems to produce numerous flower buds from a single spot at the growing tip of the plant, and the flowers are noticeably larger than the ones on the larger plant. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4662" class="wp-image-4662 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-574x1024.jpg" alt="" width="574" height="1024" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-574x1024.jpg 574w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-168x300.jpg 168w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-768x1369.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-862x1536.jpg 862w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-1149x2048.jpg 1149w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-100x178.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-150x267.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-200x356.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-300x535.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-450x802.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-600x1069.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-900x1604.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20260723_170037-scaled.jpg 1436w" sizes="(max-width: 574px) 100vw, 574px" /> Buds on one of the smaller p…

Tororo-aoi Fast Growth (in the smoke)
type: item
date: 2026-07-16T14:41:21Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Home-grown supplies
subject: Kevin
description: My last post, from four days ago, only showed details of some of the plants. Here is what the tororo-aoi patch looks like overall: The difference between the four larger plants, the smaller indoor-sprouted medium plants, and the smallest direct-seeded… Read more ›
encoded: My last post, from four days ago, only showed details of some of the plants. Here is what the tororo-aoi patch looks like overall: <img class="aligncenter wp-image-4657 size-large" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1024x361.jpg" alt="" width="605" height="213" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1024x361.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-300x106.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-768x271.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-1536x542.jpg 1536w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-2048x722.jpg 2048w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-100x35.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-150x53.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-200x71.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-450x159.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-600x212.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115346-900x317.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" />The difference between the four larger plants, the smaller indoor-sprouted medium plants, and the smallest direct-seeded plants is evident. I’m also managing an uncharacteristically (for me) good job of controlling the weeds. The largest plant in the centre has a pod about 15cm long: <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4658" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-180x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-180x300.jpg 180w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260715_115407-615x1024.jpg 615w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-conten…

Tororo-aoi in Bloom Already
type: item
date: 2026-07-11T13:31:17Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Home-grown supplies
subject: Kevin
description: Some of my tororo-aoi plants are already producing flowers, about 3 weeks after transplanting into the garden. The flowers don’t last long so I don’t have a photo of one in full bloom yet, but in one of the photos… Read more ›
encoded: Some of my tororo-aoi plants are already producing flowers, about 3 weeks after transplanting into the garden. The flowers don’t last long so I don’t have a photo of one in full bloom yet, but in one of the photos you can see the dropped blossom with the young seed pod on the plant.<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4649" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-210x300.jpg" alt="" width="210" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-210x300.jpg 210w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-715x1024.jpg 715w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-768x1100.jpg 768w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-1073x1536.jpg 1073w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-1430x2048.jpg 1430w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-100x143.jpg 100w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-150x215.jpg 150w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-200x286.jpg 200w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-300x430.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-450x644.jpg 450w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-600x859.jpg 600w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-900x1289.jpg 900w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154337-scaled.jpg 1788w" sizes="(max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px" /><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4650" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-238x300.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="300" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-238x300.jpg 238w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260710_154409-814x10…

Growing Tororo-aoi Again
type: item
date: 2026-07-06T15:24:49Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Home-grown supplies
subject: Kevin
subject: Alexandre Bonton
description: This year, after my encouraging results in workshops both at Bishop’s University last August and in Japan this March, I wanted to try growing my own tororo-aoi plants again. The roots of this plant are used to produce neri, a… Read more ›
encoded: This year, after my encouraging results in workshops both at Bishop’s University last August and in Japan this March, I wanted to try growing my own tororo-aoi plants again. The roots of this plant are used to produce neri, a slimy formation aid used in Japanese-style papermaking. I had previously grown some in 2007 in my vegetable garden with moderate success, using seeds I obtained from Tim Barrett at the IAPMA conference in Banff, and also in 2017 in my front garden using seeds from various sources. The 2007 effort gave me several good roots, some of which I’ve used and some of which are still in the freezer. I have yet to thaw them to see if they still produce good neri after 19 years frozen. The more recent crop yielded almost no useful roots, but I don’t know if the problem was growing conditions, soil quality, or plant variety. This time, I have seeds from at least four sources: From the 2017 season I had seeds left over from Richter’s and from AliExpress. From the workshop at Bishop’s University, I had seeds provided by Alex (the workshop lead) and seeds that we had gathered from the 2025 crop during the workshop. I planted the seeds in a covered tray under grow lights on May 6th, and by the 14th they had pretty much all sprouted. I had thought the seed coats would need nicking so I cut a chunk of the seed coat on half the seeds, but it appears this was unnecessary, and perhaps even detrimental as some of the sprouts pushed themselves up instead of pushing their root into the soil. <img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4640" class="wp-image-4640 size-medium" src="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" srcset="https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-300x224.jpg 300w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https://papertrail.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260516_110225-768x575.jpg 768w, https://p…

Papermaking Workshop, August 15th, 2026
type: item
date: 2026-07-06T13:58:12Z
creator: kpmartin
subject: Our own courses and workshops
subject: Past Events
description: We will be holding our Introductory Papermaking workshop on Saturday, August 15th, 2026. The workshop runs from 9am to 4pm with a 1-hour lunch break, at our shop in New Dundee, Ontario. The cost for the workshop is $80 plus… Read more ›
encoded: We will be holding our Introductory Papermaking workshop on Saturday, August 15th, 2026. The workshop runs from 9am to 4pm with a 1-hour lunch break, at our shop in New Dundee, Ontario. The cost for the workshop is $80 plus HST, for a total of $90.40, including materials.