platen

noun

plat·​en ˈpla-tᵊn 

1

: a flat plate

especially : one that exerts or receives pressure (as in a printing press)

2

: the roller of a typewriter or printer

Examples of platen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Craftsman’s cordless 20-volt oscillating tool kit comes with a varied selection of attachments, including wood and metal blades, a scraper, and a sanding platen. —Tony Carrick, Popular Mechanics, 9 July 2023

By day, the watch boasts a sandwich dial (a layered dial with a luminous base disk covered by a platen with the index apertures cut out) that offers depth and dimension, and – by night – great luminosity thanks to the P51 Super-LumiNova that emanates from the dial architecture. —Roberta Naas, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023

Can anyone argue the clackety-clack-clack of a metal typebar hammering against the platen on a typewriter has a symphonic quality that a computer keyboard never will? —Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 28 Oct. 2019

The ceramic substrate, called a platen, will then be glued on with a thermally conductive adhesive. —David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 27 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English plateine thin metal plate, from Anglo-French, from plate

First Known Use

1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1