Make-ready is the process of preparing a printing press so that it produces clear, properly aligned, and evenly inked pages. The printer tests impressions, adjusts packing and pressure, corrects registration, and balances ink before the final run begins. For a poetry broadside or fine-press book, make-ready is crucial because delicate type, small punctuation, and generous white space reveal flaws readily. Careful preparation helps preserve crisp letters and prevents uneven impressions from distracting readers from the poem.

"Make-ready" refers to the intricate process of preparing a printing press before a run, including balancing impression pressure, adjusting ink flow, and aligning plates to ensure crisp print quality. For fine-press poetry printers, make-ready is a painstaking art: uneven pressure can cut through delicate handmade paper or leave faint, illegible letters. Teaching make-ready gives students a hands-on appreciation for poetry as a physical artifact, showing how pressmen carefully align visual craft with textual art to give a poem its physical presence. Related terms include impression, packing, registration, and presswork.