Music printing in the United States between 1825 and 1900 was in a constant state of change as older techniques improved and new processes were invented. Beginning with techniques and traditions that had originated in Europe, music printers in America were challenged by the continuous problem of efficiently and economically creating ways of transferring a music image to the printed page. This study examines the music printing techniques, equipment, and presses of the period, as well as the progression from music type to engraved plate and lithograph stone. A study of the techniques of altering music printing plates helps explain the differences occurring in prints from the same edition and will help further our understanding of this important aspect of music historiography.