[Avodah] silk-screened sifrei torah (STAM) and megillot

[Simon Montagu via Avodah]

On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 8:53 PM, Micha Berger via Avodah <
avodah at lists.aishdas.org> wrote:

>
> Revisiting a topic from 13-1/2 years ago because AhS Yomi got to something
> relevant.
>
> See http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/getindex.cgi?section=S#SILK%20
> SCREEN%20TORAH%20SCROLLS:SCROLLS
> or <http://j.mp/2bnPOgd> and subsequent subjects.
>
> So, here's the "new" data point -- AhS YD 271:39 <http://j.mp2aQI4EP>.
> RYME opens the se'if citing the Taz, MA, and Bash that printing is just
> like kesivah, and Chavos Ya'ir, Benei Yonah and Rashdam against.
>
> His own position is that the old style printing press, which was a real
> press (mental image: Benjamin Franklin's apprentice screwing down a
> block onto the page) is "kekeisah mamash", as long as the ink is kosher.
> However, nowadays, "with a machine that rolls the paper on the letters,
> and the machine runs on its own without a person moving it, this is
> certainly not kesivah."
>
> Leshitaso, I don't see why silk screening by hand, lesheim qedushas
> sefer Torah, would be a problem.


After looking inside, I'm not so sure. RYME lists three characteristics of
old-fashioned printing which make it like ketiva mamash: the letters are
set in the page; all the letters of the page are spread with ink; and then
the paper is pressed on the page and the ink gets transferred to the page
from the letters. He doesn't explicitly say that all three stages are
necessary for it to be considered ketiva, but it seems to be implied that
every letter needs to be processed individually with kavvana likdusha,
which IIUC is not the case at any stage of silk screen printing.
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