How to Make a Wooden Printer’s Tray: Letterpress Type Tray Plans
A printer’s tray is a shallow wooden compartment box, originally used by typesetters to sort individual pieces of lead type. Today it’s a popular DIY project because the same grid of small compartments makes a great wall-mounted display case for collectibles, stones, or trinkets. This guide covers where the tray got its name, the tools and cut list for building one from scratch, and how it compares to buying a genuine antique tray to restore.
Why Is It Called a Printer’s Tray?
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Printers trays (also called type trays or type cases) are shallow, rectangular wooden boxes with dozens of small compartments, one for each letter, number, and punctuation mark of a print shop’s lead type. Typesetters kept them close at hand so they could grab the right piece of type without hunting through a mixed pile. The word “tray” stuck because the compartmentalized layout resembled a food or cutlery tray.
Letterpress printing was largely phased out by the mid-20th century, which left thousands of these trays without a job. Collectors and crafters picked them up as-is because the compartment grid is a ready-made shadow box — hang one on a wall and each little slot becomes a frame for a small object.
Tools and Materials You’ll Need
- 1/4″ plywood (birch or maple ply looks closest to an original tray) for the base and dividers
- A jigsaw or a table saw with a fine-tooth blade for the divider strips
- Wood glue and clamps
- 120-grit and 220-grit sandpaper
- A picture-hanging cleat or D-rings, since a full tray of dividers is heavier than it looks
- Stain, or a clear coat if you want to keep the natural ply color
Decide your outside dimensions first — a common size for a wall-mounted display tray is about 9″ x 12″ to 14″ x 20″, roughly matching real antique type trays. Cut your plywood to that outside size, then rip narrower strips (roughly 3/4″ to 1″ tall) for the internal dividers.
How to Build a Wooden Printer’s Tray
- Cut the base panel and the four outer frame pieces to size, then glue and clamp the frame to the base.
- Sketch the compartment layout on the base before cutting dividers — real type trays mix large and small compartments rather than one even grid, which is part of what makes the finished piece interesting to look at.
- Cut the divider strips with a jigsaw or table saw. If the layout is intricate, drill a small pilot hole at tight corners first so the blade doesn’t wander.
- Dry-fit every divider before gluing anything — it’s much easier to trim a piece now than to pry apart a glued joint later.
- Glue the dividers into the frame one row at a time, checking each with a square, and clamp until the glue sets.
- Sand the whole assembly with 120-grit, then 220-grit, paying extra attention to the inside corners of each compartment.
- Finish with stain or a clear topcoat, or leave it raw if you like the plain plywood look. Attach a hanging cleat or D-rings to the back before loading it up.
Buying a Salvaged Tray vs. Building Your Own
Genuine antique printer’s trays turn up regularly at flea markets, estate sales, and antique malls, usually for $15–$60 depending on condition and compartment count. Buying one gets you real age and character — ink stains, worn corners, sometimes original paper labels — that a new build can’t fake, and it’s often cheaper than buying enough plywood and hardware for a large tray. The tradeoff is you’re stuck with whatever compartment layout the tray already has, and old trays sometimes need re-gluing loose joints before they’re sturdy enough to hang.
Building your own is the better call when you want a specific outside size to fit a particular wall, or when you want to size the compartments around objects you already own instead of the other way around. It’s also the only option if you can’t find a real tray in your area at a reasonable price — original trays have gotten harder to find secondhand as more of them get bought up for exactly this kind of project.
Finishing and Displaying Your Tray
Once the tray is built and finished, group similar objects by color or size rather than filling every compartment — leaving a few slots empty (or lined with felt) reads as more deliberate than cramming something into every square. Small stones, sea glass, miniature figures, dice, buttons, and vintage type blocks are all common choices. Mount the tray with two hanging points instead of one; a full 9×12 tray loaded with objects is heavier than the empty box, and a single hook lets it tip forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is It Called a Printer’s Tray?
It comes from letterpress printing, where typesetters used these shallow, compartmentalized wooden boxes (also called type trays or type cases) to sort individual pieces of lead type by letter so they could find each one quickly while setting a line of text.
How Do You Make a Homemade Printer’s Tray?
Cut a plywood base and outer frame, sketch a mixed-size compartment layout, cut and glue in dividers one row at a time, then sand and finish. See the step-by-step build above for the full cut list and order of operations.
What Size Should a Printer’s Tray Be?
There’s no fixed standard — original type trays run anywhere from about 9″x12″ up to 16″x32″ depending on the print shop and typeface they held. For a wall display, size the outside dimensions to fit your wall space first, then design the compartment grid around the objects you plan to display.
Is It Cheaper to Buy an Antique Printer’s Tray Than to Build One?
Usually yes for a single tray — antique trays typically run $15–$60 secondhand, which is often less than buying plywood, glue, and finish for a comparable build. Building makes more sense when you want a specific size or compartment layout that a secondhand tray won’t have.
Conclusion
Whether you build one from a sheet of plywood or restore a real letterpress tray, the result is the same: a compartmentalized wooden case that turns small odds and ends into a wall-mounted display. Start with the outside size that fits your wall, work out the compartment layout on paper first, and take your time on the divider cuts — that’s the step that makes or breaks the finished look.
