platen

P3L1A1T1E1N1
/ˈplætən/

noun

The part of a printing press which presses the paper against the type and by which the impression is made.

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounplaten (plural platens)

plural platens

  1. mediaThe part of a printing press which presses the paper against the type and by which the impression is made.

    And the form is inked, the paper is applied, the bed is slid, and the platen is levered down and the proof is printed.

    2010, Andrea Levy, The Long Song, Tinder Press (2017), page 382
  2. The part of a typewriter or printer on which the paper rests to receive an impression.
  3. The movable table of a planer or other machine tool, on which the work is fastened, and presented to the action of the tool.
  4. The flat glass surface of a scanner or photocopier on which operators place items to be scanned.

Origin

  1. Frenchplatine
  2. Englishplaten

From French platine, from plat (“flat”). See plate, and compare platin.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian тигел, валяк
  • тигел (tigel)printing: part of a printing press
  • валяк (valjak)part of a typewriter or printer on which the paper rests
Czech deska, deska
  • deskaprinting: part of a printing press
  • deskamovable table of a planer or other machine tool
Finnish tela, tela
  • telaprinting: part of a printing press
  • telapart of a typewriter or printer on which the paper rests
  • työstötasomovable table of a planer or other machine tool
  • valotuslasiflat glass surface of a scanner or photocopier
  • valotustasoflat glass surface of a scanner or photocopier

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with platen

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

platen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platen

MLA

“platen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platen. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “platen,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/platen.

Source: platen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.