In making ready, it must be evident that, when a clear, sharp impression is wanted, the pressure should be on the surface only. Of course the tympan ought not to be very soft, neither should a woollen blanket be used: the most perfect impression will be obtained when fine thick paper alone is placed in the tympans; and even of this article but few thicknesses should be employed.
After an impression is printed, the pressman examines if it be uniform throughout; if it be,—which is very rarely the case,—he goes on with the work; if not, he proceeds to overlay, in order to produce regularity of pressure and of colour over the whole form. Wherever the impression is weak he pastes a bit of thin, smooth paper, of the size and shape of the imperfect part, on the tympan-sheet; he then pulls another impression, to examine the effect of his overlays, and continues to add to them where wanted, till the pressure of the platen is the same in every part and the impression is of a uniform shade of colour.
If the impression come off too strong in parts, or at the edges or corners of the pages or on the head-lines, it will be necessary to cut away the tympan-sheet in those parts, and, if that does not ease the pressure sufficiently, to cut away the same parts from one or more of the sheets that are within the tympans.
It is generally preferable to overlay on a sheet of stout smooth paper inside the tympan, particularly where the same press does the whole or great part of the work: this sheet is cut to fit the interior of the tympan, so as not to slip about, and has overlays pasted on it where wanted, to bring up the impression till it is very nearly equal. In all succeeding sheets it saves the pressman a great deal of time, as he will be certain that when he pulls a sheet of another form of the same work it will be nearly right, and he will only have to place thin overlays on occasional parts to make the impression perfect.
It is necessary, where short pages occur in a form, to have bearers to protect their bottom lines and the edges of the adjoining pages. These may be of double pica reglet, pasted on the frisket, so as to bear on some part of the furniture or chase; but bearers made to the height of the types are better, when they can be used.
It happens occasionally that the tympan causes the paper to touch the form partially on being turned down, and occasions slurs. This may occur from the parchment being slack or the paper being thin and soft. To prevent this inconvenience, it is customary to roll up a piece of thick paper and paste it on the frisket adjoining the part. Many pressmen prefer pieces of cork cut to about the thickness of double pica, and pasted on the frisket.
In working the white paper, instead of pins stuck into the tympan, to prevent the paper slipping, a duck’s bill (a tongue cut in a piece of stout paper) is frequently used: it is pasted to the tympan at the bottom of the tympan-sheet, and the tongue projects in front of it; indeed, the tympan-sheet appears to rest in it. The bottom of each sheet is placed behind this tongue, which supports it while the tympan is turned down.
The rollers should be kept clean, but should not be too moist, as this will prevent the ink from distributing equally over them, and from covering evenly the surface of the types or engraving; nor should they be too dry, as in that case they will not dispose of the ink smoothly enough to produce a fine impression, neither will they retain particles of dirt on their surface, but it will part with them to the form, thus causing picks.
The ink ought to be rubbed out thinly and equally on the ink-block, so that when it is taken it may be diffused smoothly over the surface of the rollers. It is advisable to keep rubbing the ink out on the block with the brayer, and to distribute the roller almost constantly; the continual friction produces a small degree of warmth, which is of advantage, particularly in cold weather.
As uniformity of colour is requisite for beauty in printing, where the form is large the pressman should take ink for every impression: this may be thought troublesome, but it is advantageous in producing regularity of colour. It is unpleasant to see in a fine book two pages that face each other differing in colour,—the one a full black, surcharged with ink, the other deficient in quantity and of a gray colour; yet this must happen when, as is frequently the case, three or four sheets are printed with one taking of ink.
In fine books, particularly where the paper is large and heavy and the type large, set-off sheets are used to interleave the whole impression while working: these remain till the printed paper is taken down from the poles by the warehouseman. These set-off sheets are put in when the white paper is working, and moved from one heap to the other during the working of the reiteration. They prevent the ink from setting off from one sheet to another while they are newly printed, from the weight of the paper.
To secure uniformity of impression, the pull should be so adjusted in the first instance as to give a proper degree of pressure on the form when the bar is pulled home; then, checking the bar, it should be allowed to rest in that position during a short pause.
It will be perceived that, to produce presswork of a highly superior character, great expense and much time are required; and that it is requisite to have a good press in good condition; to have new types, or types whose faces are not rounded by wear; to have good rollers in good condition; that the ink should be strong, of a full black colour, that it will not fade nor stain the paper, and ground so fine as to be impalpable; the paper should be of the best quality, made of linen rags, and not bleached by means of acids or bleaching powders, which have a tendency to decompose the ink; the rolling should be carefully and well done; the face of the type should be completely covered with ink, without any superfluity, so as to produce a full colour; and the pull should be so regulated as to have a slow and great pressure, and to pause at its maximum in order to fix the ink firmly upon the paper. These particulars observed, with nothing but paper in the tympans, perfect impressions of the face alone of the type will be obtained, and a splendid book will be produced in the best style of printing.[20]
PRINTING WOOD-CUTS.
A single block, when imposed in a large chase, may spring out of the chase while being inked, from the quantity of furniture about it. A good plan is to impose it in a job-chase, and to impose this chase in a larger one: this will cause it to lie flatter on the press and firmer in the rolling, the large chase being secured firmly on the press by quoins and the corner irons.
Before pulling the first impression, the workman should see that the surface of the cut is perfectly clear from particles of dirt, and that no pin or lump of paste is on the tympan. He ought then to pull very gently, or he may injure some of the fine lines of the engraving.
Neither the pressure nor the impression of an engraving on wood should be uniformly equal: if it be, the effect intended to be produced by the artist will fail; and, instead of light, middle tint, and shade, an impression will be produced that possesses none of them in perfection: some parts will be too hard and black, while other parts will have neither pressure nor colour enough, nor any of the mildness of the middle tint, which ought to pervade a large portion of an engraving, and on which the eye reposes after viewing the strong lights and the deep shades.
To produce the desired effect, great nicety and patience are required in the pressman: a single thickness of thin India paper, (the best for overlaying,) with the edges scraped down, is frequently required over very small parts. The overlay should never be cut at the edges; but, even where great delicacy of shape is not required, it should be torn into the form wanted: this reduces the thickness of the edges, and causes the additional pressure to blend with the surrounding parts As particular parts of the impression will frequently come up too strong, and other parts too weak, it will be necessary to take out from between the tympans a thickness of paper and add an additional tympan-sheet, cutting away the parts that come off too hard, and scraping down the edges. Scraping away half the thickness of a tympan-sheet in small parts that require to be a little lightened will improve the impression. The light parts require little pressure; but the depths should be brought up so as to produce a full and firm impression.
If a block be hollow on the surface, underlaying the hollow part will bring up the impression better than overlaying it, at least so nearly that only a thickness or two of paper will be needed as overlays. If a block be too low, it is better to raise it to the proper height by underlays than to use overlays; as the latter act in some measure as blankets, and are pressed into the interstices, rendering the lines thicker than in the engraving.
It will be necessary sometimes, when the surface of the block is very uneven, to tear away parts of the paper in the tympan, to equalize the impression where it is too hard.
The pressman will find it convenient to pull a few impressions, while he is making ready, on soiled or damaged India paper. Out of these he can cut overlays to the precise shape and size wanted, which are always necessary when great accuracy is required in overlaying particular portions. He should be provided with a sharp penknife and a pair of good small scissors. A fine sharp bodkin and a needle or two, to take out picks, are also needful; but he should be particularly careful so to use them that he do no injury. The best way is, to draw the bodkin or needle point cautiously in the direction of the lines.
Engravings in vignette form require great attention to keep the edges light and clear, and in general it is necessary to scrape away one or two thicknesses of paper in order to lighten the impression and keep it clean: the edges being irregular and straggling, they are likely to come off too hard. Bearers type-high placed beside the block will be found advantageous; if they cannot be used, pieces of reglet, pasted on the frisket in the usual way, and taking a bearing on the furniture, must be substituted; but the high bearer is to be preferred where it can be adopted. The bearers equalize the pressure on the surface of the engraving, and protect the edges from the severity of the pull, which is always injurious to the delicacy of the external lines. They also render the subject more manageable, by enabling the pressman to add to or diminish the pressure on particular parts, so as to produce the desired effect.
When great delicacy of impression is required in a vignette, it will be found beneficial, after the engraving is inked, to roll the extremities with a small roller without ink: this will not only take away any superfluity of ink, but will prevent picks, and give lightness and softness to the edges, particularly where the effect of distance is required.
If the extremities are engraved much lighter than the central parts, underlays should be pasted on the middle of the block, which will give a firmer impression to the central parts of the subject. It would save trouble and aid in getting a good impression if the block were engraved a little rounded on the face.
When highly finished engravings on wood are worked separately, woollen cloth, however fine, should never be used for blankets, as it causes too much impression; a sheet or two of hard smooth paper between the tympans is better; sometimes even a piece of glazed pasteboard is used inside the outer tympan. The parchments ought to be in good condition, stretched tight, of a smooth surface, thin, and of regular thickness, so as to enable the pressman to obtain an impression as nearly as possible from the surface only of the engraved lines.
The rollers must be kept in perfect order; and the pressman should be very particular in taking ink and inking the block. He ought to use the best ink that can be procured.
When a wood-cut left on the press all night has become warped, lay it on its face upon the imposing-stone, with a few thicknesses of damp paper underneath it, and place over it the flat side of a planer, with sufficient weight upon it: in the course of a few hours the block will be restored to its original flatness. This method is preferable to steeping the block in water; as the steeping swells the lines of the engraving, and, consequently, affects the impression. To preserve the original effect of the cut as it came from the hands of the artist, the block should never be wet with water; and, when it has been worked in a form with types, it should be taken out before the form is washed.
To prevent warping during the dinner-hour or the night, turn the tympan down upon the form, run the carriage in, and, pulling the bar-handle home, fasten it so that it will remain in this position during the interim.
However long boxwood may be kept in the log, it will always twist and warp when cut into slices for engraving, on account of fresh surfaces being exposed to the air. Large blocks may be restored to their flatness in the course of a night by laying them on a plane surface, with the hollow side downward, without any weight on them.
A fine engraving on wood should never be brushed over with ley: the best method is to wipe the ink off with a fine sponge damped with spirits of turpentine, and, if it get foul in working, clean it with a soft brush and spirits of turpentine; then wipe the surface dry and pull two or three impressions on dry waste paper. Spirits of turpentine take off the ink quicker, and affect the wood less, than any other article. The facility with which the block is again brought into a working state more than compensates for the trifling additional expense incurred.
When a few proofs only are wanted from a small engraving, good impressions may be obtained with little trouble on dry India paper, with about six thicknesses of the same sort of paper laid over it, and pulled without the tympan. If proofs are wanted from large ones, it will be found advantageous to put the India paper for a few minutes into a heap of damp paper.
To do full justice to an engraving, the pressman should get a good impression from the engraver and place it before him as a pattern, and then arrange the overlays, &c. till he produce a fac-simile in effect. Better still is it for an unpractised hand to obtain the assistance of the artist at the press-side, to direct him in making ready the cut.[21]
CARD PRINTING
Has, since the introduction of enamelled or polished cards, made rapid strides toward perfection; the fine absorbing quality of the enamel, under proper management, producing the most beautiful results,—in many cases scarcely discernible from copperplate. A card, to be well printed, requires as careful treatment as a wood engraving, (see p. 280,) so far as making ready is concerned, and in working without blankets and using the finest ink. Having made a light impression on the tympan-sheet, place the pins so as to bring the impression as nearly as possible in the centre of the card, one pin at the lower side and two at the off side, taking care that the head of the pin does not come in contact with the types. The impression should be exceedingly light until properly regulated,—at no time more than is actually necessary to bring up the face of the type. Cards are now mostly printed on small card-machines, at the rate of one, two, and even ten thousand per hour. All cards should be printed dry.
A small quantity of varnish put on the rollers and well distributed will prevent the enamel from peeling. The addition of a little ultramarine blue will beautifully intensify the black ink used in printing enamelled cards.
The patent extension feed guides, or tympan gauge pins, shown on page 310, will be found very convenient and useful.
GOLD PRINTING.
The types being made ready for press in the usual manner, the surface is covered in the ordinary way with gold size instead of ink, and the impression taken upon the paper. For a large job, remove only the back from a book of leaf-gold; for a small one, lay a straight edge across the book, and cut it through, of the size required, with the point of a sharp penknife. This must be done before using the size. Slightly wet the end of the forefinger of the right hand, and, placing the thumb of that hand on the pile of gold, raise the edge of the paper with the forefinger sufficiently to dampen it with the moisture of that finger; then press the moistened edge of the paper on the gold, and it will adhere sufficiently to enable the fingers to lift gold and paper together and place it on the impression. Proceed thus until the size is entirely covered; gently pat the gold with the balls of the fingers, or any soft, pliable substance, until it is set; then, with a very soft hat-brush, remove the superfluous gold, when a clear and beautiful impression will appear. Its sharpness will depend on the judgment of the printer in applying the size to the type.
BRONZE PRINTING
Is used more extensively than gold printing, being attended with far less expense in the cost of the material. The method of printing is the same, except that, instead of laying on the gold-leaf, the impression is rubbed over with the bronze, by dipping a small block, covered with a short, fine fur, or a small wad of raw cotton, into the powder, and brushing off the superfluous bronze with a soft brush, as in gold printing. Bronze can be procured of various colours, and when laid on with judgment the effect is beautiful. The palest bronze is best. To produce a finished effect after bronzing, take finely-powdered soapstone, and apply in the same manner as bronze.
PRINTING IN COLOURS.
When red and black are to be printed on the same sheet,—the same process being applicable to all other colours,—the form is made ready in the usual way, and a chalk-line is traced around the outside of the chase on the press-bed, to show the exact situation in which the form must be replaced after having been lifted. The form is then laid with its face downward on a letter-board covered with the press-blankets. The words marked in the proof to be printed red are then forced down, and Nonpareil reglets nicely fitted into the vacancies, which raise the red lines and words an equal distance from the other matter. A sheet of paper is then pasted on the form, to keep the Nonpareil underlays in their proper places. The form is again laid on the press, observing the utmost care in placing it in its original position as indicated by the marks before made on the bed.
INK STONE AND MULLER.
It must then be made perfectly fast to the corner irons, as it is highly important that it remain firm and immovable during its stay on the press. The frisket (which is covered with strong paper) is then put on, the form rolled over with the red ink, and an impression made on it. The red words are then cut out with a sharp-pointed penknife, with so much nicety as not to admit the smallest soil on the paper from the other matter.
The red being finished and the form washed, the compositor unlocks it, (this should be done on the imposing-stone, as the pressman can easily lay it agreeably to the marks made on the press,) and draws out the red lines, filling up the space with quadrates. When this is done, the pressman cuts out the frisket for the black. An extra pair of points are used to prevent the black from falling on the red, or, as it is technically termed, riding. Generally, when a great number is to be printed, as many forms are used as there are colours to be printed. Another method of placing the underlays is adopted for broadsides, &c. with large letter and with but two or three lines of red. The red lines are taken out on the press, and underlays are put in, upon which the lines are placed, and the frisket is cut out as before mentioned.
A more expeditious method can be employed for forms in which the lines of one colour are not too numerous to be easily lifted. After the form is ready, and the various colours are marked on the proof, a skeleton form is made up, with labour-saving quotation furniture or wood furniture fitted into the spaces of all the lines except those of the colour to be first printed. When the first colour is printed, its lines are lifted from the form, and the spaces filled with furniture, and the lines for the next colour are set in their proper places and printed; and so on till the job is completed.
The custom of printing broadsides, &c. with several colours is so common that ink-makers generally now manufacture coloured inks; consequently the printer can be supplied without the delay and labour of making. We give the following particulars, however, for the benefit of those who wish to prepare their own colours.
Varnish is the common menstruum adopted for all colours in printing. Red is the colour generally used with black. Trieste or English Vermilion, with a small portion of lake, produces a beautiful red, which should be ground with a muller on a marble slab till it be perfectly smooth. If it be in the smallest degree gritty, it clogs the form, and consequently produces a thick and imperfect impression; no pains should, therefore, be spared to render it perfectly smooth; it may then be made to work as clear and free from picks as black. A cheaper red, but not so brilliant, may be prepared with orange mineral, rose pink, and red lead.
Prussian blue makes also an excellent colour, but will require much time and labour to make it perfectly smooth. It is also ground with the best varnish, but made considerably thicker, by allowing a greater portion of colour with the same quantity of varnish than the red; it will then work clear and free from picks. As this colour dries rather rapidly, the rollers should be frequently washed.
Other colours may be made,—viz., lake and Indian red, which produce a deep red; verditure and indigo, for blues; orpiment, pink, yellow ochre, for yellows; verdigris and green verditure, for green, &c. All these colours should be ground with soft varnish, being in themselves driers, or they will choke up the form. The consistency of the ink must be governed by the quality of the work to be executed. For a posting-bill or coarse job, the ink should be very thin, the proportion of varnish being much greater than required for fine work. Should the work be a wood-cut, or small type, the pigment should be made as thick as possible.
The best colours for printing are those of the lightest body and brightest colour.
HOW TO USE DRY COLOURS.
To produce fine qualities of coloured printing inks by mixing pure dry colours with varnish, the printer will do well to give heed to the following particulars:—
1. No more should be mixed at a time than will be required for the job in hand.
2. Coloured inks should be mixed upon a slate or marble slab, by means of the muller, and never upon an iron or other metallic table. The table, before mixing, should be thoroughly clean, and perfectly free from the slightest soil or trace of other inks.
3. For working coloured inks, the roller should not be too hard, and should possess a biting, elastic face. When change of colour is required, it should be cleaned with turpentine, and a moist sponge passed over the face, allowing a few minutes for the roller to dry before resuming its use.
For bronze printing, the roller should have a firm face, or the tenacity of the preparation may destroy it; yet it must have sufficient elasticity to deposit the preparation freely and cleanly on the type.
4. Various shades may be produced by observing the following directions:—
- Bright Pink Ink.—Use carmine or crimson lake.
- Deep Scarlet.—To carmine add a little deep vermilion.
- Bright Red.—To pale vermilion add carmine.
- Deep Lilac.—To cobalt blue add a little carmine.
- Pale Lilac.—To carmine add a little cobalt blue.
- Bright Pale Blue.—Cobalt.
- Deep Bronze Blue.—Chinese.
- Green.—To pale chrome add Chinese blue; any shade can be obtained by increasing or diminishing either colour.
- Emerald Green.—Mix pale chrome with a little Chinese blue, then add the emerald until the tint is satisfactory.
- Amber.—To pale chrome add a little carmine.
- Deep Brown.—Burnt umber, with a little scarlet lake.
- Pale Brown.—Burnt sienna; a rich shade is made by adding a little lake as above.
5. Gold Preparation. Print as with ordinary ink, then put on the bronze powder with a broad camel-hair brush; allow the impressions to remain a short time for the preparation to set, then clean off the superfluous bronze: the impressions will be much improved if passed through rollers.
HOW TO MULTIPLY COLOURS.
A printer who has on hand a stock of yellow, carmine, blue, and black inks, may produce other colours and shades by intermixing as follows:—
| Yellow and carmine, mixed, will give | Vermilion. |
| Carmine and blue | Purple. |
| Blue and black | Deep blue. |
| Carmine, yellow, and black | Brown. |
| Yellow and blue | Green. |
| Yellow and black | Bronze green. |
| Yellow, blue, and black | Deep green. |
Lighter shades may be obtained by adding proper proportions of white ink.
CONTRAST OF COLOURS.
It is wrongly supposed that the art of arranging colours so as to produce the best effects in printing is entirely dependent on the taste of the operator; for harmony is determined by fixed natural laws. The increasing demand for decorative or ornamental work renders it of some importance to the letter-press printer to make himself acquainted with these laws; as, without some attention to them, the most elegant designs of the type founder, and the finest inks that can be made, may yield but an indifferent, if not a decidedly unpleasing, result.
The following remarks will be of use to persons to whom the subject is new; but for a thorough explanation of it they should refer to Chevreul on Colours,—a valuable work in the French language, which has been translated into English.
I. We may, in the first place, consider WHITE LIGHT as composed of three primary colours—blue, red, and yellow—duly blended; these three, in an infinite variety of proportion, serving to produce all the hues in creation. If we take any two of these primaries and mix them, we have a secondary colour. Thus, blue and red form violet, blue and yellow give green, red and yellow make orange. Each of these secondary colours harmonizes perfectly with the primary which does not enter into its composition. Violet, for instance,—itself a mixture of red and blue,—harmonizes with yellow; green, having no red in its composition, agrees well with red; orange, in the same way, forms a perfect contrast with blue. Either of these contrasts has the effect of mutually brightening the colours employed; a red and a green, &c. being more beautiful when placed side by side than when viewed singly. This is termed the HARMONY OF CONTRAST OF COLOURS; and a good example of it is seen in the scarlet geranium, or the holly; the one showing a light green leaf opposed to a bright red flower, and the other a deep green leaf with a dark red berry.
The mixing of colours is a very different thing from contrasting them; for strange as it may seem, although one combination of the primary colours gives white, yet another proportion will produce black. While, then, red and green look beautiful side by side, it does not generally answer to print red ink on green paper. The reason is, that as the ink is slightly transparent, some of the green shows through it, and appears somewhat black, and thus lowers the brilliance of the red in the same degree as so much black ink would, if mixed with it. This remark will apply to orange or yellow on a blue paper, &c. The darker and fuller the body of colour used, the less it is affected in this manner.
The most perfect contrasts are those above mentioned, which are formed by the complementary colours; yet the primaries blue, red, and yellow also agree well together. But if such colours as are not in harmony are placed near each other, the effect is very damaging to their brightness. While red is made more brilliant by the proximity of green, it is dimmed and spoiled by placing it next an orange. Neither blue nor red contrasts well with violet, because the latter contains each of these colours in its composition. In any case where they must come into juxtaposition, the unpleasant effect may be lessened by adding a little of the opposite colour: so, if a violet is to contrast with red, it will be well to give it a shade of blue, making it more purple; if, on the other hand, it is to contrast with blue or green, it should be made redder.
II. Colours with Black. In all contrasts, the depth of the colour is an important element, but especially so in such as are to be affected by the presence of black. In but few instances will the latter bear the neighbourhood of a very deep colour to advantage, while it harmonizes with the lighter ones by contrast of tone. Yellow, from its near approach to white, should always be worked “full;” orange and green should also be full, and moderately deep in tone, to contrast with black. If a blue is employed, it should be light, or it will impoverish the black and be weakened itself. A very light blue border, with a broad margin of white between it and the body of matter enclosed, will give a clean, bright look to black ink, and whiteness to the paper. A light pink (such as carmine reduced with flake-white or with clear varnish) is also good; yet perhaps the preceding is preferable. Dark and heavy borders are frequently a positive injury to printing, where the working in a light shade would have secured a good effect; for the border should always be so far secondary to the matter enclosed as not to draw off the attention too much to itself.
III. Colours on Tinted Papers and Tinted Grounds. Besides the kind of harmony already mentioned, there is another, which is produced by the contrast of light and dark shades of the same colour. This might be employed in letter-press more frequently than it is at present, with some advantage, as the effects it is capable of yielding are very chaste and pleasing. In a photograph or an engraving, all the effect is dependent on difference of tones of one colour; and the beauty of a wood in summer consists chiefly in the contrast displayed by a variety of shades of green only. A deep green ink on a paper of a light tone of the same colour is especially good, if a heavy letter is used; and indeed in most printing in colours, full, solid-faced letter should be preferred to outlines or shaded ones, which are difficult to work, and have at best but an inferior appearance unless the darkest tones are employed. A deep blue on a light blue ground, or against a light blue border, is also good; and without the latter accompaniment it is not unpleasant on a blue wove writing-paper. To secure the proper effect, however, the tints should be of the same hue; that is, if the groundwork is of a bluish green, the colour that is to be worked upon it should also be a green inclining to blue; if, on the other hand, the ground is of a yellower green, the body of ink should also be yellower; and so on. This may easily be managed by adding a small portion of ink of the colour required, until the hue is matched.
IV. Neutral Tints. In selecting borders for the more chaste description of printing, it is a pretty safe rule to avoid such as cover much surface, if they are to be worked in any strong colour or in black. When lighter tints are used, they will bear extension over a larger surface; and in this case a pale gray or neutral border will have a beneficial effect on any body with which it is contrasted, as well as on black itself, which is purified by its proximity. If the central printing is in black only, or in black and yellow, a lavender gray may be substituted for the border. And in any case in which the central matter is all in one colour, it will improve it to have a border of gray which is slightly tinged with the complementary of such colour. Thus, if the body be red, a very small portion of green may be added to the gray; and so forth.
It must be remembered that in ornamental printing absolute cleanliness is indispensable. The same roller should never be used for different colours, even after it has been washed. Instead of hanging exposed to dust and to the air, rollers should be kept in a tightly-closed box; and in this manner they will remain a long time in good order. The tins of ink should be similarly preserved, and the lids never left off except at the moment of using from them. These are small matters; but it is only by patient attention to minute details that excellence can be attained in printing.
OILING A PRESS.
Excessive lubrication is wasteful, unclean, and hurtful to a press. A small quantity of oil should be used at a time, as a large amount will overrun on the press, and hold the dust and grit caused by sweeping the floor; these, working into the journals, will wear the press more than use. The best oil should be used, whether sperm, lard, or coal. Kerosene may be used to clean the ways of a press when they have become gummed by the use of improper oil. Presses should always be kept scrupulously clean.
HOW TO TREAT WOOD TYPE.
To prevent warping, all very large wood type should be set up on the edge when put away, so that both sides may be equally exposed to the air. In cleaning it, neither ley nor water should be employed under any circumstances. Turpentine, camphene, benzine, or kerosene oil may be used; but turpentine and camphene are the best. Procure a small, shallow pan; lay the form flat on a board; pour about six tablespoonfuls of turpentine into the pan; touch the face of the brush to the turpentine, and pass it quickly over the form before it evaporates. Six to eight spoonfuls of fluid will be found sufficient to clean a large form, if thus used.
PALETTE KNIFE.
WAREHOUSE DEPARTMENT.
THE WAREHOUSEMAN.
The warehouseman should be a man sober and upright, and thoroughly competent to the business, on whom entire reliance may be placed,—one who will act upon the principle of making his employer’s interest the end of all his action. The employer or foreman should frequently look to the concerns of the warehouse, and see that all the work is forwarded with despatch and accuracy.
The warehouseman should be provided with a book, termed “The Warehouse Book,” with pages annexed, on the following plan, and about the size of foolscap quarto:—
| Butler’s New American Arithmetic. (No. Printed, 5000.) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATE. | RECEIPT OF PAPER, AND OF WHOM. | NO. OF COPIES DELIVERED. | TO WHOM DELIVERED, AND RECEIPTED FOR. | FOR WHOM. | |
| 1878. | |||||
| May | 3. | 43 reams of E. C. & P. H. Warren. | |||
| June | 8. | 40 ditto. | |||
| ” | 24. | 2500 | Speel & Co. | J. H. Butler & Co. | |
| ” | 30. | 2000 | R. Eyelet, binder. | ||
| Aug. | 4. | 300 | Paul Picot. | ” | |
| ” | 5. | With waste | 230 | Wm. Crouse. | ” |
| 5030 | |||||
When the paper is brought, the warehouseman should at once compare it with the bill of delivery, and, if right, enter the quantity immediately into the warehouse book. The number of printed copies delivered to the binder or publisher should also be entered, and his signature be taken at the time of delivery. This plan will prevent disputes with the bookseller or author relative to the receipt of paper or the delivery of sheets.
Having entered the receipt of the paper, the warehouseman should then write on each bundle, with red chalk, the title of the book it is to be used for, and remove it into a convenient part of the warehouse, or into a store-room provided for that purpose.
GIVING OUT PAPER TO WET.
A bundle of paper consists of two reams, or forty quires, each quire containing twenty-four sheets. Formerly, the two outside quires were called cassie quires, as they were mostly made up of torn, stained, wrinkled, or otherwise imperfect sheets. At present, all the quires are considered good, although some outer sheets are injured by the twine used in tying up the bundles.
It is the general custom to print of every work what is termed an even number,—either 250, 500, 750, 1000, &c. These quantities are given out for the wetter in tokens,—viz.: for 250 sheets, one token, containing 10 quires 18 sheets; for 500, two tokens, one 11 quires, and the other 10 quires and a half; for 750, three tokens, two of them 11 quires each, and the other 10 quires 6 sheets; and for 1000, four tokens, three of them 11 quires each, and the other 10 quires. If a work is printed in half-sheets, it of course requires only half the above quantities.
It would be difficult to form any positive and invariable rule for the quantity to be given out for short numbers, as it must depend in some degree upon the quality of the paper. The more expensive papers, on which, generally, short numbers or line copies are printed, must be given out more sparingly than common paper, and the tympan and register sheets be supplied by a more common sort, cut to the size of the finer. For numbers up to 150, on ordinary paper, six sheets over will be sufficient. Some publishers are very testy on this point of allowance for waste.
In giving out paper for what are termed jobs, the amount necessary can easily be found by a simple calculation in division.
For example, a job, (label or any thing else,) 750 in number, 32 on a sheet, will require 24 sheets, which will give an overplus of 18. Where a sheet has to be cut into many parts, allowance must be made for accidents. The overplus sheets are allowed for tympan-sheets, register-sheets, and other incidents, such as bad sheets, faults committed in rolling, pulling, bad register, &c.; in any of these casualties, the pressman doubles the sheet in the middle and lays it across the heap. In laying out the paper, the warehouseman reverses every other token, to enable the wetter to distinguish the different tokens. When this is done, he labels the heap, thus: American Printer, May 10, 1878,—that the pressman may know how long it has been wet, and the state it is in for working.
| 32) | 750 | (23 |
| 64 | ||
| 110 | ||
| 96 | ||
| 14 |
HANGING UP PAPER TO DRY.
When the paper is worked off and counted, the warehouseman carries the heap to the drying-room, where the poles are fixed for the purpose of hanging the sheets upon to dry, and lays it down on a table of convenient height, with one end of the heap toward him. He then takes the handle of the peel in one hand, and lays the top part down upon the heap, so that the upper edge may reach near the middle of the sheet; then, with the other hand, he doubles over as much of the printed paper as he thinks sufficient to hang up at one lift, which should be about twelve sheets, according to the pole-room to hang them.
In hanging up the lifts, he places them so that each lift will lap about an inch over the preceding one. It is necessary, where the end of the pole is exposed to a strong current of air from a window, to lock the last lift. This is done by folding a lift two or three times, so as to concentrate its weight in a small compass, and hanging this over the last lift near the window.
TAKING DOWN SHEETS WHEN DRY.
When the sheets are sufficiently dry, the warehouseman takes his peel and begins with the last lift hung up, on account of the wrapper being with that lift, and proceeds in the reverse order of hanging them up, successively taking them down, and brushing them, if dusty, till he has finished the whole.
Another way of taking the sheets down from the poles is, to lay the flat side of the peel against the edge of that lift which hangs over the other sheets, and push the peel forward, forcing them to slide, one lift over another. But by this method the dust which settles on the sheets while hanging is rubbed in.
FILLING IN AND PRESSING SHEETS.
When the sheets are taken down, the warehouseman removes them to the warehouse, where they are filled in between smooth pasteboards made for the purpose. This operation is generally performed by boys, who, after a little practice, become exceedingly expert at it. We shall try to be somewhat minute in our description of this operation. We will suppose the pasteboards to have sheets between them, which will be the case after they have been once used. The warehouse being provided with long tables or benches, secured to the wall, and a sufficient number of movable tables about the size of the largest paper, the warehouseman places one of the small tables endwise against the long one, forming a right angle, upon which to lay the pressed sheets as they come out of the boards; the boy then takes his stand at the right side of the table, with the dry unpressed sheets at his right hand and the pasteboards at his left, somewhat elevated, leaving sufficient space before him to fill in the sheets. He then proceeds as follows. He first moistens the thumb of his right hand and reaches across to the pasteboards at his left, drawing one off with his thumb and placing it before him; he then catches a sheet of the dry paper also with his right hand and places it as near the centre of the pasteboard as possible; then, twisting his body nimbly round to the left, he slides the pressed sheet from the pile of pasteboards to the table at his left side, and, in resuming his former position, again draws off a pasteboard with his thumb; and so on, till the gross or bundle is filled. It is then laid aside, and another bundle filled and laid across the former, taking care always to keep the bundles separated until they are put in press, when they are separated by smooth boards made of cherry or other hard wood. The bundles being all filled in, the warehouseman proceeds to fill up the standing-press, putting in one bundle at a time and placing a pressing-board between them; there should also be a stout plank introduced between the top board and the platen. In case the press should not hold quite as much as desired, more may be got in by unscrewing the press after it has been once screwed down. The press is finally screwed down as tight as possible. It should remain so for at least twelve hours, when it should be entirely emptied before the sheets are taken out of the boards. The sides of the piles or heaps must be kept perfectly even. In large offices, hydraulic presses are used.