_Alley._—The space between two stands.
_Ascending letters._—Letters that ascend into the upper
shoulder; as, b, d, l, &c. and all the capitals.
_Author’s proof._—The clean proof sent to an author after the
compositors’ errors have been corrected.
_Bank._—A table about four feet high, to lay sheets on at press.
_Bastard title._—A short title preceding the general title of a
work.
_Bastard type._—Type with a face larger or smaller than its
regular body: as Nonpareil on Minion body, or Minion on
Nonpareil body.
_Batter._—Types accidentally injured in a form.
_Beard of a letter._—The outer angles supporting the face of a
type and extending to the shoulder.
_Bearer._—A strip of reglet to bear off the impression from
a blank page. A long piece of furniture, type-high, used in
working jobs. A solid-faced type interspersed among the blank
parts of a page composed for stereotyping, to resist the
pressure of the knife when the plate is shaved.
_Bearer-lines._—The top line and bottom line in a page prepared
for stereotyping.
_Bed._—The flat part of the press on which the form is laid.
_Bevels._—Slugs cast nearly type-high, with a beveled edge,
used by stereotypers to form the flange on the side of the
plates.
_Bite._—An irregular white spot on the edge or corner of a
printed page, caused by the frisket not being sufficiently cut
out.
_Blanket._—A woollen cloth used in the tympan.
_Blank-line._—A line of quadrates.
_Blocks._—The mahogany forms on which stereotype plates are
placed for printing.
_Blocked up._—When the fount of type is all set, and none is
available for present use.
_Bodkin._—A delicate awl-like tool used for correcting errors
in type.
_Body._—The shank of the letter.
_Botch._—A bungling, incompetent workman.
_Bottled._—Type wider at the bottom than at the top.
_Boxes._—The compartments of a case in which the types are
placed.
_Brayer._—A wooden or glass rubber, flat at the bottom, used to
bray or spread out ink on the ink-block.
_Break-line._—A short line.
_Broad-side._—A form of one page, printed on one side of a
whole sheet of paper.
_Broken matter._—Pages of type disrupted and somewhat
intermingled.
_Bundle._—Two reams of paper.
_Bur._—Rough edge of a type which the founder neglected to take
off in dressing.
_Cabinet._—A receptacle for cases, chases leads, &c.
_Cancelled figures._—Figures cast with a line across the face.
_Caret._—A character [^] used in proofreading to denote the
place where omitted words should be inserted.
_Case._—The receptacle for type, divided into numerous
compartments.
_Cassie paper._—Formerly, the two outside quires of a ream,
consisting of defective sheets.
_Casting off._—Estimating how many pages a certain quantity of
copy will make in type.
_Cattie._—Imperfect or smutty look of a printed sheet caused by
an oily or unclean roller.
_Ceriphs._—The lines or cross-strokes at the ends of the stem
of a letter.
_Chapel._—A printing-office.
_Chapel laws._—Rules of a printing-office.
_Chase._—A rectangular iron frame in which pages of type are
imposed.
_Circular quadrates._—Blank types curved on one side.
_Clean proof._—A proof containing few faults.
_Clearing away._—Properly disposing of materials after a work
has been completed.
_Clicker._—The chief of a companionship.
_Close matter._—Solid matter with few break-lines.
_Companionship._—All the hands employed on a work.
_Composing._—Setting type.
_Composing-rule._—A steel or brass rule, with a beak at one
end, used in typesetting.
_Composing-stick._—An instrument in which types are arranged in
words and lines.
_Corner quadrates._—A quarter section of a hollow square or
rectangle.
_Correct._—A compositor is said to correct when he amends the
faults marked in a proof.
_Corrections._—The alterations or errors marked in a proof.
_Cut-in letter._—A type of large size adjusted at the beginning
of the first paragraph of a chapter.
_Cut-in note._—A note justified into the side of a page.
_Dead horse._—Matter charged and paid for before it is set.
_Dele, ₰._—A proof-reader’s mark, signifying to take out.
_Descending letters._—Letters that go down into the lower
shoulder of the body; as, g, j, p, q, y.
_Devil._—The errand-boy of a printing-office.
_Dished._—A defect in electrotyped plates, the centre of a
letter being lower than its edges.
_Distributing._—Returning types to their various boxes after
having been printed from. Spreading ink evenly over the surface
of a roller.
_Double._—Among compositors, repetition of words; among
pressmen, a sheet that is twice pulled and mackled.
_Dressing a chase or form._—Fitting the pages and chase with
furniture and quoins.
_Drive out._—To space widely.
_Duck’s-bill._—A tongue cut in a piece of stout paper and
pasted on the tympan at the bottom of the tympan-sheet, to
support the paper when laid on the tympan.
_Duodecimo_, or _12mo._—Twelve pages to a form.
_Em._—The square of the body of a type.
_En._—Half the dimensions of the preceding.
_Even page._—The 2d, 4th, 6th, or any even-numbered page of a
book.
_Fat._—Poetry and leaded matter.
_Fat face_, or _Fat letter_.—Broad stemmed letter.
_Father of the chapel._—President or chairman of a
composing-room or press-room chosen by the hands.
_Feed guide._—An implement attached to a press to aid in
correct feeding.
_Feeding._—Supplying the press with sheets.
_First form._—The form first printed, which generally contains
the first page of a sheet.
_Fly._—The person or apparatus that takes off the sheets from
the press.
_Folio._—Two pages to a form.
_Foot-sticks._—Sloping pieces of furniture placed at the bottom
of pages, between which and the chase the quoins are driven to
fasten the pages.
_Form._—The pages when imposed in a chase.
_Foul proof._—A proof with many faults marked in it.
_Fount._—A complete assortment of type, of the same nick,
body, and face, put up by type-founders in accordance with an
ascertained ratio.
_Fountain._—Reservoir for ink, attached to printing-presses.
_Friar._—A light patch in a printed sheet, caused by defective
rolling.
_Frisket._—An iron frame fastened by a hinge to the upper part
of the tympan, to hold the sheet of paper fast as it goes in
and comes from the press.
_Fudge._—To contrive without proper materials.
_Full press._—When two men work at the press with hand rollers.
_Furniture._—Strips of wood or metal placed around and between
pages to make the proper margin.
_Galley._—A wooden or brass flat oblong tray, with side and
head ledges, for holding type when composed.
_Galley-slaves._—An ancient term of derision applied by
pressmen to compositors.
_Gauge._—A strip of reglet with a notch in it, passed with the
make-up, to denote the length of the pages.
_Gauge-pin._—An instrument to aid in feeding job presses
correctly.
_Get in._—To set close.
_Good colour._—Sheets printed neither too black nor too light.
_Guide._—A strip of metal frequently used to denote the last
line of copy set.
_Gutter-sticks._—Furniture used in imposition to separate the
pages.
_Half press._—When but one person works at the press.
_Half-title._—The title of a book inserted in the upper portion
of the first page of matter.
_Hanging indention._—Where successive lines are set-in an em or
more beyond the first line.
_Head-sticks._—Furniture put at the head of pages in
imposition, to make margin.
_Hell._—The receptacle for broken or battered letters; the
old-metal box; the shoe.
_High-line._—Term applied to a type that ranges above the rest
in a line.
_High (or low) to paper._—Applied to a type cast higher or
lower than the rest of the fount.
_Hollow quadrates._—Metal quadrates mortised for the insertion
of types, &c.
_Horse._—The stage on the bank on which pressmen set the heap
of paper.
_Horsing._—Charging for work before it is executed.
_Imposing._—Arranging and locking up a form of type in a chase.
_Imposing-stone._—The stone on which compositors impose and
correct forms.
_Imprint._—The name of the printer or of the publisher appended
to jobs or title-pages.
_Inferior letters._—Small letters cast near the bottom of the
line.
_Inset._—Same as offcut.
_Jeff._—To throw for the first choice with em quadrates instead
of dice.
_Justifying._—Spacing out lines accurately.
_Keep in._—To crowd in by thin spacing.
_Keep out._—To drive out or expand matter by wide spacing.
_Kerned letter._—Type of which a part of the face hangs over
the body.
_Laying cases._—Filling cases with a fount of new type.
_Laying pages._—Placing pages of type on the stone in a proper
order for imposition.
_Leaders._—Dots or hyphens placed at intervals of one or more
ems in length, to guide the eye across the line to the folio in
tables of contents, &c.
_Leads._—Thin strips of metal cast of various thicknesses,
quadrate-high, to separate lines of type.
_Lean._—Close and solid matter.
_Lean face._—Light, thin type.
_Letter hangs._—When the page is out of square.
_Letter-press printing._—Printing from types.
_Ligatures._—Two or more letters cast on the same shank, as ff,
fi, fl, ffi, ffl, æ, œ.
_Line formers._—Brass rule bent in various shapes to aid in
making curved lines of type.
_Locking up._—Tightening up a form by means of quoins.
_Logotypes._—The same as ligatures.
_Long cross._—The bar that divides a chase the longest way.
_Long pull._—When the bar is brought close to the cheek of a
press.
_Low case._—When the compositor has set almost all the letters
out of his case.
_Lower case._—The case containing the small letters of the
alphabet, figures, points, &c.
_Low-line._—Applied to a type that ranges lower than the rest
in a line.
_Mackle._—When part of the impression appears double.
_Make-up._—To arrange the lines of matter into pages.
_Make-up rule._—A steel rule with a projection on the top, for
making up matter.
_Making margin._—In imposition, arranging the space between
the pages of a form so that the margin will be properly
proportioned.
_Making ready._—Preparing a form on the press for printing.
_Mallet._—A wooden hammer.
_Matter._—Composed type.
_Measure._—The width of a page.
_Monk._—A black spot in a printed sheet, owing to the ink not
being properly distributed.
_Naked form._—A form without furniture.
_Nicks._—Hollows cast in the front of the lower part of the
shank of a type, to show the compositor how to place it in his
stick.
_Octavo_, or _8vo._—Eight pages to a form.
_Octodecimo_, or _18mo._—Eighteen pages to a form.
_Odd page_ or _folio_.—The 1st, 3d, and all uneven-numbered
pages.
_Off._—Signifies that the pressman has worked off the form.
_Offcut._—A portion of a sheet that is cut off before folding.
_Off its feet._—When matter does not stand upright.
_Open matter._—Matter widely leaded or containing numerous
break-lines.
_Out._—An omission marked in a proof by the reader.
_Out of register._—When the pages do not back each other.
_Overlay._—A scrap of paper pasted on the tympan-sheet to bring
up the impression.
_Overrunning._—Carrying words backward or forward in correcting.
_Page-cord._—Twine used for tying up pages.
_Passing the make-up._—Passing to the next hand in order the
lines remaining (if any) after a compositor has made up his
matter, together with the gauge and proper folio.
_Peel._—A broad, thin board with a long handle.
_Perfecting._—Printing the second form of a sheet.
_Perforating rule._—Brass or steel rule, somewhat higher than
type.
_Pi._—Type promiscuously intermingled.
_Pick._—A particle of ink or paper imbedded in the hollow of a
letter, filling up its face and occasioning a spot.
_Pigs._—An ancient nickname given in derision by compositors to
pressmen. The press-room was called a pigsty.
_Planer._—A smooth block of wood used for levelling the surface
of pages of type when imposed.
_Planing down._—To bring down types evenly on their feet, by
laying a planer on the page and striking it firmly with a
mallet.
_Platen._—The part of a printing-press which, acted upon by the
lever, gives the impression to a sheet.
_Point-holes._—Fine holes made by the points to register the
second impression by
_Points._—Two thin pieces of steel with a point at one end,
adjusted to the tympan with screws, to make register.
_Quadrate._—A low square blank type, used to indent the first
line of a paragraph, and to fill up blank spaces.
_Quarters._—Octavos and twelves are said to be imposed in
quarters, not from their equal divisions, but because they are
imposed and locked up in four parts.
_Quarto_, or _4to._—Four pages to a form.
_Quire._—Twenty-four sheets of paper.
_Quoins._—Small wedges for locking up a form.
_Quotation furniture._—Quotations cast of various sizes in
length and width, used for blanking and as furniture.
_Quotations._—Large hollowed quadrates.
_Rack._—Receptacle for cases.
_Ratchet._—An instrument for turning the screws of stereotype
blocks.
_Ratting._—Working at less than the established prices.
_Ream._—Twenty quires of paper.
_Recto._—Right-hand page.
_References._—Letters or characters serving to direct the
reader’s attention to notes at the foot of a page.
_Register._—To cause the pages in a sheet to print precisely
back to back.
_Register sheet._—The sheet used to make register.
_Reglet._—Thin furniture, of an equal thickness all its length.
It is made to match the depth of type.
_Reiteration._—The form printed on the second side.
_Revise._—The last proof of a form before working it off.
_Riding._—One colour falling on another. Type at the end of a
line catching against a lead.
_Rise._—A form is said to rise when, in raising it from the
correcting stone, no letters drop out.
_Roller._—A wooden cylinder covered with composition, which,
set in an iron frame, revolves upon a rod, and is used for
inking type.
_Rounce._—The handle for running in and out the carriage of a
hand-press.
_Round pick._—A dot in a letter in a stereotype plate caused by
an air-bubble.
_Running title._—The title of the book or subject placed at the
top of the pages.
_Runs on sorts._— Requiring an inordinate proportion of
particular letters.
_Saw-block._—A box similar to a carpenter’s mitre-block, to
guide in cutting furniture, &c.
_Schedule._—A sheet of paper passed with the make-up,
containing folios, on which the compositor marks his name
opposite to the pages set by him.
_Set off._—When sheets that are newly worked off soil those
that come in contact with them, they are said to set off.
_Shank._—The metal body upon which the face of a letter stands.
_Sheep’s-foot._—An iron hammer with a claw-end.
_Sheetwise._—When the pages of a sheet are imposed in two
forms, which are backed in printing.
_Shooting-stick._—A wedge-shaped instrument for locking up a
form.
_Short cross._—The short bar which, crossing the long bar,
divides the chase into quarters.
_Shoulder._—The surface of the shank of a type not covered by
the letter.
_Side sorts._—Types in the side and upper boxes of a case,
consisting of letters not frequently used.
_Side-sticks._—Sloping furniture on the outside of the pages
next to the chase, where the quoins are inserted.
_Signature._—A letter or a figure used at the bottom of the
first page of a sheet, to direct the binder in placing the
sheets in a volume.
_Slice galley._—A galley with an upper movable bottom, called
a slice, used for pages and jobs too large to be lifted by the
fingers.
_Slug._—A thick lead. Sometimes with a word or figure on top,
used to denote the ownership of matter on galleys.
_Slur._—A blurred impression in a printed sheet.
_Solid pick._—A letter in a stereotype plate filled up with
metal, resulting from an imperfect mould.
_Sorts._—The letters in the several case-boxes are separately
called sorts, in printers’ and founders’ language.
_Space-rules._—Fine lines, cast type-high, and of even ems in
length, for table and algebraical work.
_Spaces._—Low blank types used to separate words.
_Squabble._—A page or form is squabbled when the letters are
twisted out of a square position.
_Stand._—The frame on which the cases are placed.
_Stem._—The vertical strokes of a type.
_Stereotype printing._—Printing from stereotyped plates.
_Stet._—Written opposite to a word in a proof, to signify that
the word erroneously struck out shall remain.
_Sub._—A compositor occasionally employed on a daily paper, to
fill the place of an absentee.
_Superior letters._—Letters of a small face, cast by the
founder near the top of the line.
_Table-work._—Matter consisting partly of rules and figures.
_Take_, or _Taking._—A given portion of copy.
_Token._—Two hundred and fifty sheets.
_Turn for a letter._—When a sort runs short, a letter of the
same thickness is substituted, placed bottom upward.
_Tympan._—A frame covered with parchment or muslin and attached
to the press-bed to lay the sheet on before printing.
_Underlay._—A piece of paper or card placed under types or cuts
to improve the impression.
_Uppercase._—The case containing capital and small capital
letters, fractions, &c.
_Verso._—Left-hand page.
_Wayz-goose._—A term given in England to the annual dinner
customary among printers there during the summer months.
_White line._—A line of quadrates.
_White page._—A blank page.
_White paper._—Until the second side of a sheet is printed,
pressmen call the heap white paper.
_Work and turn._—When a sheet is printed half-sheetwise, the
paper must be turned and worked on the second side.
_Working in pocket._—When the hands share equally their
earnings on a work.
[Illustration: PROOF PRESS.]
[Illustration]