dabber

To equalize the ground a dabber was used, which was made of cotton-wool under horsehair, the whole inclosed in silk.

Then try it by bringing down the dabber upon a clean sheet of paper with a smart blow.

Some engravers prefer the dabber to the roller even for regrounding entire plates.

But if you desire to do your own proving, you will have to use a dabber, the manner of making which is described in the next note.

The chafing-dish and the ball (or dabber) are now replaced by the gas flame and the inking-roller in most printing establishments.