Flong

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Flong is a term in printing which refers to a kind of stereotype used in a rotary press.

Invented in Lyon in 1829 by the French printer Claude Genoux, a flong was a papier-mâché mould taken of a set of type which could then be curved to fit the cylinder of a rotary press. A further improvement to the technique was made in 1893 when the dry flong replaced the wet flong. More recently, flongs have been made of plastic and rubber. They remained widely in use until the invention of offset lithography in the 20th century led to rotary presses being mostly replaced by the new technology.

The word is derived from the French flan; or the Latin word "flana".