Type-founding, however, was only a part of Baskerville’s scheme. As has been said, he had conceived the idea of the perfect book, or at least a book nearer perfection than England had yet seen. It is one of the most interesting things about Baskerville that he did not arrive at his conceptions by a process of experimentation and production of mediocre work. He conceived his idea and elaborated it in his mind first and then undertook to realize it in a product. He was the artist who conceives rather than the craftsman who slowly elaborates. The designing and cutting of new fonts of type was only one step in that direction. He determined that he would attempt to produce the whole book himself and he therefore set up a printing office of his own. He selected the paper for his editions with the greatest care. It is not certain that he did not even go so far as to make the paper for some of them, but whether or not this is true he gave it great attention. He took equal care with his ink, using every precaution to secure the production of a bright, clear ink which should work well and be permanent. He also had a special press built. This did not involve any innovations in design, but was built with the greatest care so as to secure the best possible impression. In order to give smoothness and shine to his pages and prevent the type from pressing into the damp paper and making an impression on the reverse side of the sheet he devised what is known as the hot press method of finishing. As soon as the damp sheets came from the press they were placed between plates of hot metal and subjected to pressure. This gave the paper a perfectly smooth, shiny surface. This was another of the points of criticism of Baskerville’s work. Those who were familiar with the coarse paper and rough impressions in common use declared that the shine of the smooth paper hurt their eyes. Baskerville also gave great attention to the typographical design of his books. He used ample margins and developed a style of dignified simplicity, free from extraneous ornamentation and extremely reserved in the use of all forms of ornament.