The American Printer: A Manual of Typography / Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.

Mr. Bullock, born in Greene County, New York, was a mechanical genius, and was the author of many inventions in various departments of machinery.[18] About the year 1860, he began to work out the idea of a rotary self-feeding, or web perfecting press. After making a large working model, which is still in existence, he adopted a simpler plan, and in 1861 constructed a machine for the Cincinnati Times, which was successfully operated, but it was far from perfect. Three of these machines were used for a considerable time in the office of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He continued his efforts, and in 1865 he produced a press which met his original anticipation, and a company was formed to manufacture it. In 1867, while setting up a machine for the Public Ledger in Philadelphia, he suffered a serious injury which terminated his life. More than fifty of the presses are now in use in the United States. The New York Herald press, printing and cutting two copies at each delivery, is said to produce, with but three men to attend to it, 30,000 copies per hour. The New York Sun states: “When our seven Bullock Presses are working, we can turn off, without extravagant assertion, 210,000 copies an hour.” This assertion must be taken with some grains of allowance. The press is twelve feet long by five and a half feet wide.

THE WALTER PERFECTING PRESS.

The Bullock press was not long allowed to be the only press for rapid printing from cylindrical stereotype plates fed by a so-called endless roll of paper. The principle was applied to a machine constructed in the London Times office, called, after the name of its celebrated proprietor, the Walter press. This appears to be an effective press, but it seems more complicated than either the Bullock or Hoe machine, and from its mode of delivering the sheets, it is excessively noisy. The New York Times was printed on it at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

THE HOE PERFECTING PRESS.

The enterprise of R. Hoe & Co., of New York, soon gave birth to a web perfecting press combined with a folding machine that answers every requirement.

The groundwork principle is the same as in other presses of this kind. The first pair of cylinders over which hangs the roll of paper consists of one type and one impression cylinder, and by it the first side of the paper is printed. The second pair, printing the second side, consists likewise of one type and one impression cylinder, but the latter is below the former and is of much greater size, so that the “set off” from the fresh ink shall not fall continuously on the same surface of blanket. There is a third pair of cylinders which cuts off the sheet, and a fourth (in which, however, one cylinder is replaced by a brace of rollers) gives the first fold and shoots the doubled sheet in the circular cutter, which slits it into two papers, sending them on to be folded again separately and delivered in their respective places in piles at the side of the press; or the papers are rolled up exactly on the top of each other, six in number, and flown perfectly on the fly-board.

This machine printed and folded at the rate of more than 28,000 sheets an hour at the Centennial Exhibition, printing and folding at one time two copies of the Philadelphia Times. It is already in use in a dozen newspaper establishments in various parts of the world.

All these machines were in operation at the great Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. A fourth press exhibited,—claimed by its inventor, Mr. A. Campbell of New York, to be capable of printing much faster than any other,—was set up too late to prove its capacity by actual test. No press however, can be made more simple and with fewer parts than this.

RAILROAD-TICKET PRINTING AND NUMBERING PRESS.

These presses not only print, but at the same operation number consecutively, tickets and coupons of every size and pattern, which are also indented or cut apart by the machines as fast as printed. Ten local tickets twenty-six inches in length can be printed at one operation. The average rate of speed is about fourteen hundred impressions an hour,—equivalent to fourteen thousand tickets.

JOB PRESSES.

The invention of machines for printing small work elegantly as well as swiftly is of vast advantage to the printer, and has greatly increased the jobbing department of typography. Here, as in other matters, American ingenuity has taken the lead of all nations; and the presses invented by Ruggles, Hoe, Gordon, Degener, Wells, and Gally,—not to mention numerous other inventors,—defy competition. The Ruggles presses formerly commanded the trade; but the beautiful machines of Geo. P. Gordon, a man of decided genius, and the presses of other makers above named, have entirely displaced them. Hoe’s half medium cylinder job press will run 2500 impressions an hour.

Gordon’s Firefly press is unique, and requires a so-called endless card-board, which it prints and cuts of the required shape as it goes, at the rate of about ten thousand per hour. This is not in general use; but his eighth medium, quarto medium, and half medium Franklin presses, have achieved a high reputation for expedition and excellent performance. Gordon’s Franklin press has been reproduced in Europe under a different name.

We here present an engraving of another press which has achieved not a little reputation. It is called the Liberty press, and is manufactured by Degener & Weiler, of New York. In sizes as well as in prices, it corresponds with the Franklin. This press also is manufactured in Europe.

The Nonpareil, the Globe, the Peerless, and the Universal job presses all have special points which commend them to favour. Indeed, with so many good machines at the command of the printer, he is without excuse who does not produce handsome work.

What are called amateur presses may do well enough to amuse the boys of a family and keep them out of mischief; but when they are employed by fledgelings in competition with properly trained printers, they become mere paper-smearers, the work produced on them being simply detestable to an educated eye.

FOLDING MACHINES.

Book and Newspaper Folders are entitled to a high rank among modern labour-saving machines. For newspapers of large circulation and in book establishments they have become indispensable. The finest books may be folded by them with accuracy, speed, and economy; and periodicals can be folded, pasted, and covered at about one-fourth the cost of hand-folding alone; while the daily folio newspaper can be folded in two, three, or four folds as fast as the machine press can print; or an eight-page daily or weekly can be folded three or four times, and all the pages pasted together at the back fold, and the head margin trimmed. All these processes are successfully accomplished by the various machines made by Chambers, Brother & Co. of Philadelphia. The engraving given above represents a book-folding machine.

SETTING UP A WASHINGTON PRESS.

All the connecting parts being marked, or indented by points, if these be observed carefully, the press may be put together without difficulty.

After setting the frame upon its legs, and putting on the ribs and bed, lay the platen on the bed, placing under it two bearers about type high. Then put the springs in their places, and the nuts over them, and pass the suspending-rods through them, observing to place the rods so that the number of indentations on them correspond with those on the platen. Give the nuts two or three turns, then run in the bed so as to bring the platen under the rods, and screw them fast to the platen; after which, put in the bar-handle, standard, and lever, (or wedge and knees, if a Smith press.) Turn the nuts on the suspending-rods, so as to compress the springs just enough to give the platen a quick retrograde motion, observing at the same time to get the surface of the platen parallel with the surface of the bed.

After having put the press together and levelled it by means of a spirit-level, be particular not to raise the end of the ribs by the gallows, but let it go under rather loose, which will have a tendency to make the bed slide with more ease on the ribs.

SETTING UP THE ROLLER-STAND.

The roller-stand containing the distributing cylinder should be regulated to the height of the press, bringing the shelf or bridge even with the corner irons, and at sufficient distance from the bed to allow it to run clear; the stand should then be firmly braced, as the constant turning of the rounce is very apt to loosen it; meanwhile being cautious to observe that the rounce, in its revolutions, does not come in contact with the frame of the tympan when up. The position of the distributing cylinder should be sufficiently high to allow the two composition rollers, at least one inch apart, to rest on its top without danger of touching the shelf or bridge in front. It is advantageous to nail two narrow strips of sole leather on the face of the shelf, about eight or ten inches from each end, which, acting as bearers, cause the rollers to pass very smoothly over them.

The roller-handle while in use should lie in a horizontal position, the back end being supported by a bar of wood or iron running parallel with the distributing cylinder. There should be a notch, or hook, about two inches from the end of the handle, to catch on the wooden supporter, to prevent the rollers from jumping forward while distributing or changing. It is also necessary to have a back-board for the end of the roller to strike against in coming off the form, to prevent the rollers from falling backward.

The ink-block is placed about five or six inches to the right of the roller-handle, and about on a level with it. It is furnished with the ink-slice, and a brayer, or a small roller about four or five inches long, and of the same circumference with the larger rollers, being cast in the same mould.

COMPOSITION ROLLERS.

Put the glue in a bucket or pan, and cover it with water; let it stand until more than half penetrated with water, taking care that it shall not soak too long, and then pour it off and let it remain until it becomes soft, when it will be ready for the melting kettle. This is a double vessel, like a glue kettle. Put the soaked glue into the inner vessel, and as much water in the outer boiler as it will contain when the inner vessel is placed in it. When the glue is all melted, (if too thick, add a little water,) the molasses may be slowly poured into it, and well mixed with the glue by frequent stirring. When properly prepared, the composition does not require boiling more than an hour. Too much boiling candies the molasses, and the roller, consequently, will be found to lose its suction much sooner. In proportioning the material, much depends upon the weather and temperature of the place in which the rollers are to be used. Eight pounds of glue to one gallon of sugar-house molasses, or syrup, is a very good proportion for summer-time, and four pounds of glue to one gallon of molasses for winter use. Glue for rollers should be clear and bright in body, and even in texture, when held up to the light: it should break short, and with a clear, sharp edge like glass.

For hand-press rollers more molasses should be used, as they are not subject to so much hard usage as cylinder-press rollers, and do not require to be as strong; for the more molasses that can be used the better will be the roller. Before pouring a roller, the mould should be perfectly clean, and well oiled with a swab, but not to excess, as too much oil makes the face of the roller seamy and ragged. The end pieces should then be oiled, and, together with the cylinder, placed in the mould, the upper-end piece being very open, to allow the composition to pass down between the interior of the mould and the cylinder. The cylinder must be well secured from rising, before the composition is poured in, by placing a stick upon the end of it, sufficiently long to reach above the end of the mould, and be tied down with twine. The composition should be poured very slowly, and in such a manner as to cause it to run down only one side of the cylinder, allowing the air to escape freely up the other.

If the mould is filled at night, the roller may be drawn the next morning; but it should not be used for at least twenty-four hours after, except in very cold weather.

To determine when a roller is in order for working, press the hand gently on it: if the fingers pass smoothly over its surface, it may be said to be in order; but should it be so adhesive that the fingers cling to it, it is not sufficiently dry, and should be exposed to the air.

Rollers should not be washed immediately after use, but should be put away with the ink on them, as it protects the surface from the action of the air. When washed and exposed to the atmosphere for any length of time, they become dry and skinny. They should be washed about half an hour before using them. In cleaning a new roller, a little oil rubbed over it will loosen the ink: and it should be scraped clean with the back of a case-knife. It should be cleaned in this way for about one week, when ley may be used. New rollers are often spoiled by washing them too soon with ley. Benzine may be substituted for oil; but, owing to its combustible nature, it is objectionable, as disastrous accidents have ensued from its use.

Mr. Hansard, an eminent English printer, says, “Take glue, made from the cuttings of parchment or vellum, fine green molasses, pure as from the sugar-refiners, and a small quantity of the substance called Paris-white, and you will have every ingredient requisite for good composition. The proportion as follows:—

• Glue, 2 lbs.
• Molasses, 6 lbs.
• Paris-white, ½ lb.

Put the glue in a little water for a few hours to soak; pour off the liquid; put the glue over the fire, and when it is dissolved add the molasses, and let them be well incorporated together for at least an hour; then, with a very fine sieve, mix the Paris-white, frequently stirring the composition. In another hour, or less, it will be fit to pour into the mould.”

Various patented compositions for rollers may now be had from type-founders.

COVERING TYMPANS.

Tympans are generally covered with parchment, which should be of an even thickness, and about two inches and a half wider and three inches longer than the tympans. Tympans have been sometimes covered with linen, which, on account of its evenness, would answer the purpose; but it is so apt to stretch, that the tympans become slack in a short time, and bag (as it is termed), and thus slur the impression. Silk is excellent for fine work.

The pressman spreads as much good paste on the edges of the skin as will cover the frame of the tympan, which is also well pasted. He then lays the skin on the inner side of the frame, with the flesh side to face the type, and draws it regularly, as tight as possible, on all sides. The part of the skin that comes on the grooves of the tympan which receive the point-screws, is cut and wrapped round the inside edge of the grooves, which admits a free passage for the screws. After having fastened the skin on the sides of the tympan, he draws it toward the joints which receive the frisket, and with a knife cuts across these joints to let them through the skin; he then puts the frisket-pins through the parchment, and makes that end of the tympan fast. He next proceeds to the lower joints, and brings the skin as tight as he can round that part of the tympan. The point-screws and duck-bill are then put on, which prevent the skin from starting. The inner tympan, or drawer, is covered in the same manner. To prevent their warping when the skin begins to draw, pieces of furniture or wood of any kind should be placed across the centre till they are perfectly dry.

The skins are put on either wet or dry: if dry, they should be afterward well wet, which will make them give somewhat; but when they dry they will contract, and by this means will be rendered much tighter than they would be if put on wet.

WETTING PAPER.

The size of the wetting-trough should be about two inches longer and wider than the largest-sized paper, folded, that is to be wet in it, and about six inches deep. It should have a cover with hinges on the left side, that the cover may fall over on that side, and, resting horizontally, serve for a shelf to lay the paper upon previous to wetting it.

Having received a certain amount of paper from the warehouseman, the pressman lays one heap on the shelf attached to the wetting-trough, laying the first token across the heap with the back of the quires toward his right hand, that he may know when to turn the token-sheet, and that he may more readily catch at the back of each quire with that hand, for the purpose of dipping it. He then places the paper-board with its breadth before him on his right, on a table, laying a wrapper or a waste sheet of paper on the board, to prevent soiling the first sheet of the heap.

He then takes a quire by the centre of the back with his right hand, and the edge of it in his left, and, closing his hands a little, that the quire may bend downward between his hands, he dips the back of the quire into the left-hand side of the trough, and, relinquishing his hold with the left hand, draws the quire briskly through the water with his right. As the quire comes out, he quickly catches the edge of it again in his left hand, and brings it to the heap, and, by lifting his left hand, bears the under side of the quire off the paper previously laid down, till he has placed the quire in an even position; if the paper be weak and spongy, he draws the quire through the water quickly; if strong and stubborn, slowly. To place the quire in an even position, he lays the back of it exactly upon the open crease of the former, and then lets the side of the quire in his left hand fall flat down upon the heap, and, discharging his right hand, brings it to the edge of the quire, and, with the assistance of his left thumb, still in its first position, opens or divides either a third or a half of the quire, according to the quality of the paper; then, spreading the fingers of his right hand as much as he can through the length of the quire, turns over his opened division of it upon his right-hand side of the heap.

A different process must be used in the wetting of drawing and plate papers. These papers are usually sent in quite flat; that is, not folded into quires or half-quires. The best method of wetting these papers is to use a brush, such as is called a banister brush; and, instead of dipping the paper into the trough, he lays it on the paper-board by the side of the trough, and, dipping the brush into the water, he shakes it gently over the whole surface, to give an equal degree of moisture to all parts; and then proceeds as before described. The drawing-paper, being very hard-sized in the making, will require the brush, and much water, three, four, or even five times a quire; while the plate-paper should have as little water as it is possible to give it, so as to cover it all over; and twice a quire will often be too much. This same mode must also be adopted in wetting paper of extraordinary dimensions.

Having wet his first token, he doubles down a corner of the upper sheet of it on his right hand, so that the farther corner may be a little toward the left of the crease in the middle of the heap, and the other corner may hang out on the near side of the heap about an inch and a half. This sheet is called the token-sheet, being a mark for the pressman, when he is at work, to show how many tokens of that heap are worked off.

Having wet the whole heap, he lays a wrapper, or waste sheet of paper, upon it; then, three or four times, takes up as much water as he can in the hollow of his hand, and throws it over the waste sheet, to moisten and soak downward into the wet part of the last division of the quire; after which, he places in the heap the label which the warehouseman must always furnish for each heap, and upon which are written the title of the work and the date of wetting, one-half hanging out so as to be easily read.

The paper should be pressed for twelve hours, and then carefully turned by each three or four sheets, so that no lift be relaid in the same position with respect to the adjoining lift; at the same time, every fold and wrinkle must be carefully rubbed out by the action of the hand, so that nothing but a flat and even surface shall remain; the heap should then be pressed for about twenty-four hours in a screw-press, and it will be in good order for working.

The wetting of paper must, in all cases, depend entirely upon its fabric; and, since the printer has seldom the choice of the paper, it will require all his skill and patience to adapt his labours to the materials upon which he is to work. The texture of the paper must be suited to the fineness and tenacity of the ink. To attempt doing fine work upon common paper is lost labour. A paper to take the best ink must be made entirely of linen rags, and not bleached by chemicals. A fine hand-made paper, fabricated a sufficient time to get properly hardened, and well and equally saturated with size, so as not to imbibe more water in one part of the dip than in another, nor resisting the water like a duck’s back, is most suitable for fine printing.

Machines for wetting paper are now used in most large printing-offices.

BLANKETS.

Woollen blankets are unnecessary when a book is printed from new type. Nothing more should be used than a sheet or two of paper, as in fine work only the face of the type should show in the impression. But when the types or plates are worn and rounded, fine cassimere or broadcloth should be used in the tympan. In this, as in all matters connected with artistic typography, the pressman must display good judgment and discretion.

MAKING READY A FORM ON A HAND-PRESS.

Before a form is laid on the press, the pressman should carefully wipe the bottom of the type and the bed perfectly clean; for, if a particle of sand remain on it, it will cause a type or two to rise, and not only make a stronger impression, but probably injure the letters.

An octavo form should be laid on the press with the signature-page to the left hand, or nearest the platen; a duodecimo, or its combinations, with the signature at the right hand, or nearest the tympan. The form should be laid under the centre of the platen, and properly quoined up. The tympan is then laid down, and wet if necessary, and paper or blanket put in. It was formerly customary to wet the tympans for all works, and even jobs of almost every description; but, since the introduction of fine printing, and particularly iron presses, the custom is well-nigh banished, excepting for very heavy forms, composed with old letter, which, of course, require more softness to bring them off. After the inner tympan or drawer is put in, it is fastened with the hooks for that purpose, which serve to keep it from springing out. The tympan being lifted up, a sheet of the paper to be worked is folded in quarto, and the short crease is placed over the middle of the grooves of the short cross, if it lie in the centre of the form, as in octavo. In a form of twelves, the paper is folded in thirds, and the long crease placed in the middle of the long cross, and the short cross over the grooves. The sheet lying evenly on the form, the tympan is brought down, and a gentle pull will cause the paper to adhere, when it should be pasted to the tympan and fully stretched. The points are next screwed to the tympan, for large paper short-shanked points being used, and long-shanked for small paper. In twelves, the points must be placed at precisely equal distances from the edge of the paper. In octavo, the off-point may be a little larger than the near one, as it enables the pressman to detect a turned heap when working the reiteration or second side.

When a press is continued upon the same work, the quoins on the off-side of the bed may remain and serve as gauges for the succeeding forms; for, if the chases are equal in size, the register will be almost, if not quite, perfect.

The following operations are comprised in the term of making ready the form:—

1. The frisket should be covered with stout even paper, in the manner described for putting on parchment, the paper being carefully placed on the inside of the frame so as to lie close to the tympan, and to confine the sheet in its place when laid on for printing. When the paste is dry, the frisket is put on the tympan, and, after inking the form, an impression pulled upon it. The frisket is then taken off and laid on a board, or on the bank, and the impression of the pages cut out with a sharp knife about a Pica em larger than the page. After being replaced on the tympan, it is advisable to put a few cords across, to strengthen the bars of paper, and to keep the sheets close to the tympan. When the margin is too small to admit bars of paper, it is necessary to work with cords only.

2. The form should be examined, to see that it is properly locked up and planed down; that no letters or spaces lie in the white lines of the form, nor between the lines in leaded matter.

3. White pages which occur in a form must not be cut out; but, if the page be already cut out, a piece of paper must be pasted on the frisket, to cover the white page in the form, and a bearer put on to keep the adjoining pages from having too hard an impression. Some pressmen use reglets, others furniture cut to a proper height, and a third class adopt cork, which, from its elasticity, is very useful. Spring bearers, made of hard paper rolled up, are also employed to guard the sides and bottoms of light and open pages, when there is an inclination to slur.

4. The pressman must examine whether the frisket bites; that is, whether it keeps off the impression from any part of the pages.

5. He must consider whether the catch of the frisket stands either too far forward or backward: if forward, he may be much delayed by its falling down, and, if backward, it will come down too slowly, and thus retard the progress of the work and not unfrequently cause the sheet to slip out of its proper place. He must, therefore, place the catch so that the frisket may stand a little more than perpendicularly backward, that, when lightly tossed up, it may just stand, and not come back.

6. He must fit the gallows so that the tympan may stand as much toward an upright as he can; because it is the sooner let down upon the form and lifted up again. But yet he must not place it so upright as to prevent the white sheets of the paper from lying secure on the tympan.

7. The range of the paper-bank should not stand at right angles with the bed of the press; but the farther end of the bank should be placed so that the near side may make an angle of about seventy-five degrees with the near side of the bed.

8. The heap of paper should be set on the horse on the near end of the paper-bank, near the tympan, yet not touching it. The uppermost or outside sheet should be laid on the bank; and the pressman then takes four or five quires off his heap, and shakes them at each end, to loosen the sheets, till he finds he has sufficiently loosened or hollowed the heap. Then, with the nail of his right-hand thumb, he draws or slides forward the upper sheet, and two or three more commonly follow gradually with it, over the hither edge of the heap, to prepare those sheets ready for laying on the tympan.

9. He must next pull a revise sheet, which must be sent up to the overseer for a final revision, and for examining whether any letters have dropped out of the form in putting it on the press, &c.

10. While the sheet is undergoing a revision, the pressman should proceed to make register, if half-sheet-wise, which is done by pulling a waste sheet, and turning it, (without inking, as the sheets may afterward be used for slip sheets,) being particular not to stretch the point-holes in the least, or to draw the hand along the sheet in leaving it. In making register, the points must be knocked up or down in such a direction as will bring the first impression under the last, knocking the point only half the distance apparent on the sheet. If register cannot be made with the points, the difficulty must then be either in the furniture, the length of the pages, or in the springing of the cross-bars, from the forms being locked up by careless compositors, who commence at one quarter of the form, and lock it up tightly, and so go around, instead of gently tapping it at opposite sides till the whole is equally tightened. In locking up a form, the quoins at the feet should be gently struck first, to force up the pages and prevent their hanging; but, in unlocking, the side quoins must be first slackened.

Altering the quoins will not make good register, when the compositor has not made the white exactly equal between all the sides of the crosses. The pressman, therefore, will ascertain which side has too much or too little white, and, unlocking the form, will take out or put in as many leads or reglets as will make good register.

PULLING.

In taking a sheet off the heap, the pressman places himself almost straight before the near side of the tympan, but nimbly twists the upper part of his body a little backward toward the heap, the better to see that he takes but one sheet off. This he loosens from the rest of the heap by drawing the back of the nail of his right thumb quickly over the bottom part of the heap, and, receiving the near end of the sheet with his left-hand fingers and thumb, catches it by the farther edge with his right hand, about four inches from the upper corner of the sheet, and brings it swiftly to the tympan: having the sheet thus in both his hands, he lays the farther side and two extreme corners of the sheet down even upon the farther side and extreme farther corners of the tympan-sheet. In the reiteration, care should be taken to draw the thumb on the margin, or between the gutters, to avoid smearing the sheet. The sheet being properly laid on, he supports it in the centre by the fingers of the left hand, while his right hand, being disengaged, is removed to the back of the ear of the frisket, to bring it down upon the tympan, laying at the same moment the tympan on the form. He then, with his left hand, grasps the rounce, and quickly runs the form under the platen; and, after pulling, he gives a quick and strong pressure upon the rounce, to run the carriage out again. Letting go the rounce, he places the fingers of his left hand toward the bottom of the tympan, to assist the right hand in lifting it up, and also to be ready to catch the bottom of the sheet when the frisket rises, which he conveys quickly and gently to the catch: while it is going up, he slips the thumb of his left hand under the near lower corner of the sheet, which, with the aid of his two forefingers, he raises, the right hand at the same time grasping it at the top in the same manner. Lifting the sheet carefully and expeditiously off the points, and nimbly twisting about his body toward the paper-bank, he carries the sheet over the heap of white paper to the bank, and lays it down upon a waste sheet or wrapper; but, while it is coming over the white paper heap, though he has the sheet between both his forefingers and thumbs, yet he holds it so loosely that it may move between them as on two centres, as his body twists about from the side of the tympan toward the side of the paper-bank.

When the pressman comes to a token sheet, he undoubles it, and smooths out the crease with the back of the nails of his right hand, that the face of the letter may print upon smooth paper; and, being printed off, he folds it again, as before, for a token-sheet, when he works the reiteration.

Having worked off the white paper of a form of twelves, he places his right hand under the heap, and, his left hand supporting the end near him, turns it over on the horse, with the printed side downward. If the form be octavo, he places his left hand under the heap, supporting the outside near end with his right hand, and turns it one end over the other. All turning of the paper for reiteration is treated in one of these modes. In performing this operation, he takes from the heap only as much at once as he can well handle without disordering the evenness of the sides of the paper.

Having turned the heap, he proceeds to work it off, as before described, except that with the left hand he guides the point-holes over the points, moving the sheet with the right hand, more or less, to assist him in so doing. The token-sheets, as he meets with them, he does not fold down again.

RULES AND REMEDIES FOR PRESSMEN.

About every five or six sheets a small quantity of ink should be taken; yet this rule is subject to some variation from the nature of the work and quality of the ink. A form of large type or solid matter will require ink to be taken more frequently, and a light form of small type less frequently. During the intervals in which the roller-boy is not employed in brayering out or taking ink, he should be almost constantly engaged in distributing or changing his rollers. He should invariably take ink on the back roller, as it will the sooner be conveyed to the other roller, and, consequently, save time in distributing. When, through carelessness, too much ink has been taken, it should be removed by laying a piece of clean waste paper on one of the rollers, and working it off till the ink is reduced to the proper quantity.

If letters, quadrates, or furniture rise up and black the paper, they should be put down, and the quarter locked up tighter.

If any letters are battered, the quarter they are in must be unlocked, and perfect ones put in by the compositor.

When bearers become too thin by long working, they should be replaced by thicker ones.

When the form gets out of register,—which will often happen by the starting of the quoins which secure the chase,—it must be immediately put in again, as there can scarcely be a greater defect in a book than the want of uniformity in this particular.

If picks, produced by bits of paper, composition, or film of ink and grease or filth, get into the form, they must be removed with the point of a pin or needle; but if the form is much clogged with them, it should be well rubbed over with clean ley, or taken off and washed: in either case, before the pressman goes on again, it should be made perfectly dry by pulling several waste sheets upon it, in order to suck up the water deposited in the cavities of the letter.

The pressman should accustom himself to look over every sheet as he takes it off the tympan: he will thus be enabled not only to observe any want of uniformity in the colour, but also to detect imperfections which might otherwise escape notice.

In order to make perfect uniformity in the colour, the roller-boy should keep his ink well brayered out with the small roller, in proper quantities for the work in hand, and also should change his rollers well after taking ink, and at other times. The rollers are changed by moving the roller-handle slowly to the right and left, while the crank is being turned briskly with the left hand.

Torn or stained sheets met with in the course of work are thrown out and placed under the bank. Creases and wrinkles will frequently appear in the sheets when the paper has been carelessly wet: these should be carefully removed by smoothing them out with the back of the nails of the right hand.

If the frame of the tympan rub against the platen, it will inevitably cause a slur or mackle: this can easily be remedied by moving the tympan so as to clear the platen. The joints or hinges of the tympan should be kept well screwed up, or slurring will be the consequence. When the thumb-piece of the frisket is too long, it always produces a slur: this can be prevented by filing off a part of it. Loose tympans will at all times slur the work, and great care must therefore be observed in drawing them perfectly tight. The paper drying at the edges will also cause a slur: this may be remedied by wetting the edges frequently with a sponge.

Slurring and mackling will sometimes happen from other causes: it will be well in such cases to paste corks on the frisket, or to tie as many cords as possible across it, to keep the sheet close to the tympan.

The pressman should make the boy roll slowly, or the rollers will be apt to jump, and cause a friar. To prevent the rollers from jumping or bounding, bridges or springs made of thin steel, to reach across the gutters, may be used: these springs should taper off at the ends, and having an oblong hole in each end, through which they may be tacked to the gutter-sticks. In very open forms, it may be necessary to put bearers or pieces of reglet where the blank pages occur at the end of the form, to prevent one end of the roller from falling down and leaving a friar at the opposite end. This difficulty may be obviated in a great measure by imposing the form in such a manner as to bring the blank pages in the centre. This mode should always be adopted for title-pages and other light matter.

Before the pressman leaves his work, he covers the heap of paper by first turning down a sheet like a token-sheet, to show where he left off, and then putting a quantity of the worked-off sheets on it, and a paper-board if convenient. Laying the blanket on the heap after leaving off work is a bad custom. If the paper be rather dry, it will be well to put wet wrappers on it, after damping the edges well. If the form be clean, he puts a sheet of waste paper between the tympan and frisket, and lays them down on the form; if it be dirty, it must be rubbed over with clean ley, and several waste sheets pulled on it, as before directed, to suck the dirty ley out of the cavities of the letter. On his return to work in the morning, he takes care to wet the tympan, provided the type be worn. If there should be any pages in the form particularly open, the parts of the tympan where they fall must not be wetted.

THE LEY-TROUGH.

The form being worked off, it is the pressman’s duty to wash it clean from every particle of ink, not only for the cleanly working and well standing of the letter in the subsequent composing, but to save his own time in making ready when the same letter gets to press again. Many an hour is lost from not bestowing a minute or two in thoroughly cleansing and rinsing the form.

For this purpose, printing-offices are provided with a ley-trough, suspended on a cross-frame, and swinging by iron ears fixed somewhat out of the precise centre, so that the gravity of the trough will cause it to fall in a slanting position forward. This trough is lined with lead, the top front edge being guarded from the pitching of the forms by a plate of iron. The form having been placed in the trough, on its side, the pressman takes hold of the rim of the chase by the hook, or instrument for that purpose, and, laying it gently down, pours the ley upon it, and sluices it by swinging the trough on its pivots two or three times to and fro; then, taking the ley-brush, he applies it to the whole form, type, furniture, and chase; the ley is then let out into a receptacle, and the form well rinsed with clean water, by swinging the trough as before; the form is then lifted out, and consigned to the care of the compositor.

The ley is made of pot or pearl ash, or, what is better, of concentrated ley. A large earthen jar is usually chosen for the purpose; a sufficient quantity of ash or concentrated ley is added to the water to make it bite the tongue sharply in tasting.

The ley-brush is made large, the hairs close, fine, and long, in order not to injure the type, while sufficient force is applied to search every interstice in the letter where the ink can have insinuated itself.

MAKING READY ON CYLINDER PRESSES.

Make clean the bed of the press and the impression segment of the cylinder. Adjust the bearers a trifle above ordinary type height. See that the impression screws have an even bearing on the journals, and that the cylinder fairly meets the bearers. Select a suitable tympan or impression surface.

The tympan may be the India-rubber cloth which is furnished with the press, a thick woollen lapping cloth or blanket, several sheets of thick calendered printing paper, or one or more smooth and hard pasteboards. Each of these materials has merits not to be found in any other. Upon the proper selection of the tympan the presswork in great measure depends, and the pressman should be thus guided in making choice.

A pasteboard tympan is most suitable for wood-cuts, for perfectly new type, and for the best kinds of presswork. It is not suitable for miscellaneous work, nor for heavy forms, nor mixed old and new type. If the overlaying is properly executed, a pasteboard tympan will enable the pressman to show a sharper edge and a more delicate impression of the type than can be possible with any other, and it will wear the type less than any other. But it will require a very tedious and careful making ready, or it will prove very destructive to type.

A woollen blanket is best adapted for old stereotype plates, for very old type which has been rounded on the edges, for posters with large wood type, and for all common work which requires a clear but dull impression. For such work a woollen blanket will enable the pressman to make ready a form more quickly than with any other material; but it is injurious to new type, and incapable of producing a fine and sharp impression.

Thick paper is much used for book-work. It also answers well for script circulars and leaded forms. It will not answer so well for mixed old and new type, nor for table-work with unequal heights of brass rule, nor for mixed large and small type. It will prove most serviceable for the average of light and fine presswork.

The India-rubber cloth combines many good qualities not found in other tympans: it has something of the density of the pasteboard, the hardness and evenness of paper, and the flexibility of the blanket, combined with an elasticity peculiarly its own. It will compass a greater variety of work than any other: posters, script circulars, news and book forms, stereotype plates, and old or new type, can all be well printed with an India-rubber blanket. When it is intended to make one tympan answer for all kinds of work, the India-rubber blanket will be found decidedly superior to all others; but when very extra presswork is wanted, the tympan must be specially adapted to the form of type.

There are forms for which none of these tympans are specially suitable. For such cases careful pressmen combine two or more together,—as Welsh flannel over rubber, or thin rubber over pasteboard or under paper. These, however, are exceptional cases, and are only thus combined when very good presswork is wanted from imperfect materials. Careful observation of the quality of the impression given by each style of tympan will teach a pressman how to combine to the best advantage. As it requires experience and discrimination, an arbitrary rule cannot be given.

Whatever may be the material selected, the tympan must be stretched very tightly over the cylinder. All labour in overlaying is but thrown away if this is not carefully attended to. A rubber or woollen blanket can be secured at one end of the cylinder by small hooks projecting inward, while it may be laced tightly with saddler’s thread at the other end; or, by sewing on that end of the blanket a piece of canvas, it may be wound tightly around the reel, and kept secure by the pawl and ratchet.

But paper and pasteboard require a different process,-viz.: Take a piece of Nonpareil cherry reglet of the full length of the cylinder. Trim down the paper or pasteboard to the width of the bed between the bearers, but leave it a little longer than the impression segment of the cylinder. Then crease the pasteboard at a uniform distance of half an inch from the narrower end, and lay this creased part on the flat edge of the impression segment of the cylinder, under the grippers. Put the reglet over this, and bring down the clamps hard on the reglet, so as to bind all securely. When this is done, a thin web of muslin may be stretched over the whole, in the same way in which a blanket is laid on, and rolled up tightly, which will prevent any slipping of the board or of the overlays pasted on it.

A large poster, or newspaper form, or any large form with old type, will require a soft roller with much suction. Book-work, wood-cuts, or fine job-work, will require a harder roller, with very smooth, elastic, and clinging surface. Coloured inks are best printed with a still harder roller and with much less suction. All rollers should be perfectly clean, and free from cracks or holes. The suitableness of these rollers cannot well be explained by words: such a knowledge will be best acquired by observation and experience. It may, however, be necessary to state that one roller will not answer for all styles of presswork: the quality of the work, the size and wear of the type, and the speed of the press, must control the pressman in his choice.

Posters, with large wood type, require a semi-fluid ink, but not surcharged with oil. Ordinary news-work requires a better grade, more tachy, and finely ground. Good book-work should have a stiffer-bodied ink, soft, smooth, and with little oil. Job ink, which is made expressly for presswork on dry paper, should be used only for such work. Book and job inks are not convertible: an ink for wet paper will not work well on dry paper, and vice versâ. Very fine presswork—such as wood-cuts, or letter-press upon enamelled paper—calls for an ink impalpably fine, very stiff, of brilliant colour, and nearly or absolutely free from oil.

Every job-office should keep four grades of ink,—news, book, job, and wood-cut. They can be compounded (if no ink-manufacturer is near) with each other, or reduced with varnish to suit any form. Good presswork is impossible without good inks.

Charge the ink-fountain with the ink selected, and keep it well covered, to protect it from paper dust. Turn down the screws, and cut off all the ink evenly. When the form is ready, turn on the ink cautiously, and wait for ten or twelve impressions before again altering the screws. For small forms and short numbers of any piece of presswork in coloured ink or extra ink, a fountain is not necessary. The ink may be applied with a brayer or palette-knife.

The adjustment of the margin is the next process. Although type can be printed from any quarter of the bed, it will be found most judicious to lay all forms close to the back part of the bed, and equidistant between the bearers. This will secure a good impression, give a fair average margin to every form, and allow the full use of the bed for a large form, without resetting the cylinder. The bed and cylinder travel together, and the grippers, which bring down the sheet to the form, should barely lap over the back part of the bed. So long as the toothed cylinder wheel, and the short toothed rack on the side of the bed, remain undisturbed, the grippers will always pass over the bed in exactly the same place. When the grippers are in this position, (slightly lapping over the back of the bed,) take measurement of the distance between the back edge of the bed and the point of one of the nearest grippers. With a piece of reglet cut a gauge exactly corresponding to this measurement. Let no form be laid upon the press until the distance between the type and the edge of the chase tallies with the gauge. This will prevent the grippers from closing on the form and crushing the type. If the chase will not admit of so wide a margin, or if an extra margin is wanted on the sheet, put a piece of furniture of the extra width behind the chase: the margin can thus be increased or diminished at pleasure.

A book form may be locked up in a chase so large, with the type so far from the edge of the chase, that the grippers will bring down the sheet in such a position that it will be printed with the margin all on one side. To remedy this, the cylinder must be reset. Proceed thus. Remove the screw and washer, and draw the intermediate wheel out of gear, loosen screws in the gauge rack, then turn the cylinder to the point required, connect the intermediate wheel, adjust the gauge rack, and screw up tight.

The press having been adjusted, next examine the form to be printed. Not only see that it is gauged correctly, but also see that it is not locked up too tightly,—that chase, quoins, letter, and furniture are all level, and lie flat upon the bed. If the form springs, the quoins must be slackened; if this loosens the type too much, the justification should be amended. Make clean the type by rubbing it over with a dry brush. The rollers are often made foul and the colour of the ink changed by dust and particles of dirt clinging to the type.

Fasten the form so securely on the bed that it will not be moved by the action of the cylinder or the rollers. Take a proof on its own paper, using very little ink. Proceed to adjust the drop guides so as to bring the sheet exactly in the right position. Push out the iron tongues at the edge of the feed-board, and at equal distances from each other, so that they will equally sustain the paper. Slide the drop guides along the rod until they fall squarely over the tongues. Set the side guide so that it will give a true margin in length to the sheet to be printed. Adjust the grippers so that they will seize the sheet at proper intervals, making the margin exactly even by lengthening or shortening the drop guides. Then take a clean proof on its own paper, exactly in the right position, before making ready, when it may be shown to the reader. It frequently happens that an error in the margin, or an imperfection in the register, is thus noticed; and its timely discovery and correction before overlaying will save much time and trouble. A readable proof may be taken before overlaying, by running through a sheet or two of proof paper. Make register, if it is a book form, before underlaying.

When every thing has been found correct, then proceed to regulate the impression. If the type is fair, the proof should show a decently uniform impression; but if the form is large, or if it contains old and new or large and small type, then the proof will show an uneven impression. To rectify this inequality, pressmen use many expedients.

1. By lowering the bearers and putting on more impression. This, of itself, is a very poor way; for it wears down new type in order to show the face of the old, and invariably produces thick and coarse presswork.

2. By raising the low type to a proper height with thicknesses of paper under them, which is called underlaying.

3. By giving additional thickness to the tympan over every part of the form which shows a weak impression, which is called overlaying.

It is very rare that any one of these modes will prove sufficient: all should be used in conjunction. When the larger part of the proof-sheet shows a weak impression, almost approaching illegibility, then more impression should be added. When one side of the proof-sheet shows a weak impression, while that on the other side is full and clear, then more impression should be given to the paler side. The impression should be made decently uniform before any attempt at overlaying or underlaying. But the bearers should follow the impression screws, both being raised and lowered together, in order to secure the type from the unimpeded force of the impression cylinder. Not only should the bearers be of even height, but the cylinder shaft should always revolve on a true level. If the impression screws are carelessly used, and the bearers are rashly raised and lowered, this even bearing will soon be lost; the difficulty of obtaining a good impression will be much increased, and the press will receive a serious injury. For the same reason, the bearers should never be packed, (by the addition of cards, as is usual on a hand-press,) for it strains the cylinder and all its bearings with an irregular resistance. The bearers should be tampered with even less than the impression screws. When the impression screws are so set that the cylinder gives a fair uniform impression, they have done all that can be expected, and nothing more should be attempted by them. Sometimes the proof may show that a cut, or a line of type, or a set of brass rules, are higher than any other material in the form. But the impression should be set regardless of this: it will be found quicker and neater to reduce the impression on one or two such high lines, by cutting out the tympan-sheet over them, than it would be to underlay and bring up all other types to such an irregular height. Pitch the impression so that it will face the larger portion of the type, and make the less conform to the greater. Those parts which are high must be cut out of the tympan, and those which are low should be raised by underlays, and all inequalities regulated by overlays.

When any part of the form is very low, it will not answer to attempt facing it with overlays: it must be brought up to meet the inking rollers as well as the impression cylinder. When the proof shows low type, cut out the impression of it, raise the form, and paste it over the feet of the letter. If some types are high and some are low, make proper distinction, and carefully avoid increasing the height of any type or rule which seems to have a full impression. Pursue the same course when a marked depression appears in the centre, or a dwindling impression at the edges. Cut out that section which is light, and affix it to the defective part. If the impression dwindles in any part, the underlays must be cut of irregular thickness to suit the tapering off of the impression. Cut out an underlay from the edge where the impression begins to fade; then cut another of smaller size where it is utterly illegible; paste one over the other, laying them carefully in their proper positions, and then paste them all on the bottom of the form, where it is needed, taking care to lay the smallest underlay nearest the bed. This will restore the type to a proper level, and the next proof should show a uniform impression. The same plan will answer for a low corner. Use as little paste as possible, thin and free from lumps. Be careful that the underlays are laid on smoothly, without fold or wrinkle. Cut all underlays from a proof; for the proof serves as a guide both in cutting and in affixing to the form.

Underlaying should not be done to any great extent upon a cylinder press. It is a valuable means of bringing up an old line of type, a hollow, or a low corner. The underlays of any type form should not constitute more than one-fourth of the surface; if more than this is attempted, they will rarely ever fail to work up the quadrates and furniture. The action of the quickly moving cylinder upon a form of type underlaid with yielding paper, must create a spring and a rocking of all the materials in the chase.

Of all materials, old stereotype plates need underlays most, as they are usually very irregular in height. Thin card or pasteboard will be found preferable to paper for the underlaying of plates secured on wood bodies. When the plates are on patent blocks, always underlay between the plate and the block. Always cut the underlay for a plate less in size than the faint impression would seem to require. This will allow for the spring of the plate. If it is cut of full size, the next impression will disappoint the pressman, by being much harder at the edges than he intended. Never attempt to build up a type form to a proper impression entirely or chiefly by underlaying.

Underlays should be put under all large and bold-faced types when used with much smaller types, so as to raise them above the level of the others. This is needed to give it closer rolling, extra supply of ink, and that extra force of impression to transfer the ink to paper which all large types require.

When the type has been so levelled by underlays that all parts receive proper bearing from the inking rollers, and when the cylinder has a corresponding even impression, then overlaying may be commenced. For ordinary news, posters, or job-work, overlaying may be entirely unnecessary; the tapes and fly may be set, and the printing of the form may proceed without further delay. But fine press-work cannot be done without overlays. Underlays are chiefly valuable for securing an even impression; while overlays are indispensable for giving delicacy and finish to that impression.

To overlay a form properly, the tympan should be covered with a sheet of thin, smooth, and hard paper, stretched tightly. Then take a pale impression on the tympan-sheet, and also run through the press two or three proofs on thin and hard paper. Examine the proofs carefully on both face and back. If any brass rules or letters appear too high, cut them out of the tympan-sheet in one or two thicknesses, as their varying height may require. Go over the whole proof, examining every line carefully, and, by cutting out, reduce the impression of all projecting letters to a uniform standard. For this, as for all other work on overlays, use a very sharp knife with a thin point, and cut on a smooth surface, so that there will be no dragged or torn edge to the cut.

The next step should be to raise the impression of those parts of the form when the type appears dull or weak. Cut out carefully, and paste the overlays over the tympan smoothly. Overlays are worse than useless if they are not laid on firmly and smoothly, as the slightest bagginess will cause slur or mackle. If, by accident, the tympan-sheets or overlays should bag or wrinkle, tear them off, and commence anew.

Cut out and overlay the more prominent parts first; then try another impression, and from that cut new overlays for minor defects. Thus proceed until a perfectly smooth and even impression is obtained.

With common work it will be sufficient to cut overlays in masses, as pages or parts of pages; but with fine work every line and letter needs examination, and letters and parts of single letters are often overlaid by careful pressmen. When the pressman is expert at making ready, it is not necessary that he should take a new impression with every successive set of overlays. Many pressmen take a dozen proofs of a form on different styles of paper, and proceed to cut out and overlay on one of the proofs, and finally paste this proof on the tympan. But this boldness and precision can be acquired only by long practice. It is better for the young pressman to feel his way step by step.

The Impression.—A diversity of opinion exists among good printers as to the proper force of the impression: by some a heavy and solid indentation of the paper is considered necessary; while others insist that an impression which does not indent the paper is preferable. But the indentation of the paper is no test of the force of the impression. A light impression against a woollen blanket will show more forcibly than a strong impression against a paper or a pasteboard tympan.

Type is worn out not so much by the direct impression of the platen or cylinder on the flat face of a form, as by a grinding or rounding impression on the edges of the type, caused by the forcing of the tympan between the lines and around the corners of every letter. Every fount of worn-out type, whether from cylinder or platen press, has suffered less from a reduction in height than from a rounding of the edges. When the type is new and the tympan hard and smooth, the impression can be made so flat that the type will not round at the edges, and the impression will not show on the paper. But this cannot be done with old type or with a soft tympan: the impression must be regulated to suit the tympan. On fine work, a rounding impression should be avoided, as it not only destroys type, but also thickens the hair-line and wears off the ceriphs.

It is not sufficient that the paper should barely meet the type: there must be sufficient force in the impression to transfer the ink from type to paper. If there is not sufficient impression, it will be necessary to carry much ink on the rollers; and this produces two evils: the type is clogged with ink, and the form becomes foul; too much ink is transferred to the paper, which smears and sets off for want of force sufficient to impress it in the paper. Distinction must be made between a light and weak impression and a firm and even impression. The latter should be secured even if the paper is indented; though that is not always necessary. But a form of old type, a poster, or other solid form, must have a heavy impression, or else a very tedious and careful making-ready.

To set New Tapes.—Pass the tape around and close to the cylinder. Lap it over one of the tape pulleys, and then pass it around the small guide pulley on the shaft above. To increase its tightness, throw up the guide pulley from the shaft, and set the binding screw more tightly. All these pulleys are movable on their shafts, and distance between them may be altered at pleasure. Let the tapes rest upon the outer margin of the sheet, and see that the overlays on the tympan over which the tapes pass are of equal thickness; if not of equal thickness, the sheet will wrinkle.

To set the Fly.—Run through a sheet of the paper to be printed, and let it run down the fly so far that it is barely held by the fly pulleys. Then set the cam which works the fly, so that its point just clears the small friction roller on the shaft, and it will throw down the sheet correctly. Tighten the spring according to the size of the sheet, and set the spring crank so that it will prevent the fly from striking too hard on the table.

It will be seen that good presswork does not depend entirely upon the press, nor yet upon the workman or the materials. Nor will a superiority in any one point compensate for a deficiency in another: the newest type will suffer from a poor roller, and the most careful making-ready will be of no avail if poor ink is used. It is necessary that all the materials should be of the best kind,—that they should be well adapted to each other, and fitly used. Although a good workman can do much with insufficient materials, there are cases where a neglect to comply with one condition is equal to a neglect of all.[19]

FINE HAND-PRESSWORK.

Fine presswork is the art of printing perfect impressions from the surface of type or engravings in relief: that is, the subject transferred to paper should be an impression from the surface, and the surface only, of the types or engraved lines, of such a tone as to produce all the effect of which the subject is capable, without either superfluity or deficiency of colour.

The press ought to be in the best condition; otherwise it will be impossible to get an equal impression without much trouble and loss of time. The joints of the tympan should not have any play, or the correctness of the register will be affected, and slurs and doubles be caused.

The parchments on the tympans should be thin, and of a uniform thickness, and stretched on the tympans so as not to be flaccid. On account of its thinness, smoothness, and uniformity, silk is probably preferable.

The face of the platen ought to be a true plane, and parallel to the press-stone, or table.

The advantage of having a good press is unavailing for the production of fine work if the types are much worn; for it is impossible to produce a sharp, clear impression when the type is worn and the fine lines are rounded by much use. In consequence of this roundness of the letter, it is necessary to use a thick blanket in the tympan to bring up the type; thus producing a gross and irregular impression of more than the surface.

Ink for fine work should be characterized by the following peculiarities:—

Intenseness of colour.

Impalpability.

Covering the surface perfectly of the type or engraving.

Quitting the surface of the type or engraving when the paper is pressed on it, and adhering to the paper.

Not smearing after it is printed.

Complete retention of colour.

Ink ought to be reduced to an impalpable smoothness, either in a mill or on a stone with a muller. This is essential, as the process gives it the next quality,—that of completely yet very thinly covering the surface of the type or the lines of the engraving, and insuring an even and perfect appearance to the impression on the paper. Another important requisite is, that the ink shall not only cover the surface of the lines on the paper printed, but that it shall also quit the face of the type or engraving and leave it quite clean when the paper is impressed on it, and attach itself to the paper, so as to give a perfect impression of the subject represented, without the colour of the paper appearing through the ink; and that this peculiarity of quitting the type or engraving and becoming attached to the paper shall continue the same through any number of impressions, without any accumulation of ink on the surface printed from. After having obtained these results, and when the printing is as perfect as it can be made by workmanship, something more is requisite,—viz.: that the ink shall not smear on being slightly rubbed, and that it shall retain its colour and appearance without spreading at the edges or tinging the paper.

The rollers should be in good condition; otherwise the pressman may exert his skill in vain, with a great loss of time and waste of paper.

The quality of the paper is of great consequence in fine printing; but it is frequently overlooked by the printer’s employers, who are apt to pay more attention to a showy appearance and a low price than to quality.

The best paper for printing on is that which is made of fine linen rags and moderately sized, without the use of acids in bleaching, and without being adulterated with cotton rags: this paper takes water kindly, is easily got into good condition, receives a good impression, is durable, preserves its colour, and does not act upon the ink.

The use of cotton rags, the introduction of gypsum into the manufacture of fine and other papers, the application of acids and bleaching powders to improve the colour and produce apparently good paper from an inferior staple,—these form the grand hinderances to the American printer in his efforts to equal or excel foreign productions. Hence it is that works printed in this country are less valued than those from the English press, which are printed on paper of fine fabric, made mostly of linen rags, and sufficiently strong to bear a fine ink.

A pressman should, as a matter of course, be well acquainted with the entire routine of presswork; in addition to which, to form his judgment, he should examine the most splendid productions of the press, and study them as patterns of workmanship.