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, and particularly where the same press does
the whole or great part of a 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, with very little trouble. On the same principle,
where this method is not adopted, preserving and using the same
tympan sheet with its overlays, will be more expeditious than having
to repeat the operation with every form.
Where short pages occur in a form, the bottoms of them and the
edges of the adjoining pages will print too hard, and not prove a
clear impression; it will therefore be necessary to have bearers to
protect them, which are generally of double pica reglet pasted on the
frisket, so as to bear on some part of the furniture or chase; but
high bearers, made to the height of the types, are better, when they
can be placed so that the balls do not touch them during the process
of beating: in such a case they are liable to tear the frisket, from
their closely adhering to it by their inky surface and the pressure.
They may be placed where the regular foot of the page would have
been had it been a full one, to prevent those hard edges which would
otherwise be produced. This principle will hold good in all cases
of short pages, blank pages, and the edges of wood cuts; but where
it happens that some of the edges, or a particular page of a full
form, come off too hard, and where there is not room to place a high
bearer, then a piece of double pica reglet pasted on the frisket in
the usual way will answer the purpose.
It is not necessary that these bearers should be placed close to
the part requiring to be eased; they will produce the same effect
if placed at a distance, keeping the direction, so that they take a
good bearing on the platen, avoiding the frame of the frisket and the
points; in using reglet as low bearers, I would recommend that the
flat side of the furniture should be turned uppermost to receive the
pressure of the bearers, provided they do not bear upon the chase.
When a high bearer does not ease the pull sufficiently on particular
parts, its effect may be increased by pasting slips of stout paper on
it, as overlays or underlays, and a bearer of reglet may be amended
in a similar manner.
It happens occasionally that the tympan causes the paper to touch
the form partially on being turned down, and occasions slurs, and
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 paper, similar to bookbinders headbands, and paste it on the
frisket adjoining the part; this roll of paper takes a slight bearing
on the furniture, and is a remedy. Many pressmen prefer pieces of
cork cut to about the thickness of double pica, and pasted on the
frisket.
It is neither customary nor advisable to fly the frisket in the
best work, and more particularly when large heavy paper is used; it
is a convenience in such cases to have a button screwed on the off
side of the frame of the tympan, to confine the frisket flat to the
tympan; it keeps the paper in its place, assists it in rising from
the face of the form, to which it adheres owing to the strength of
the ink; it helps to prevent slurring, and the paper from slipping,
which occasions waste when it happens: altogether the button is of
consequence in preventing accidents in the impression.
In working the white paper, instead of pins stuck into the tympan,
to prevent the paper slipping, a duck’s bill 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 turning down the tympan. _See_ DUCK’S BILL.
In proceeding with the work the balls should be well cleaned, that no
dirt or extraneous matter may be on their surface. They should not be
too moist, which would prevent the ink distributing equally on them,
and would also prevent it lying equally on the surface of the types
or engraving; nor should they be too dry, as in that case they will
not dispose of the ink so smoothly as to produce a fine impression;
neither will they retain particles of dirt on their surface, but part
with them to the form, which will cause picks. The moisture ought to
be just so much as to make the pelt or composition soft, when the ink
will distribute kindly and equally, which will be perceived by their
lugging; they will also part with it to the form equally where they
touch, so that the impression will be sharp and clear.
The ink ought to be rubbed out thin and regular on the ink block,
so that in taking ink it shall at the very first be diffused
tolerably smooth on the surface of the balls, which causes a greater
probability of producing good impressions. It is likewise advisable
to keep rubbing the ink out on the block with the brayer, as also
to be almost constantly distributing the balls; the consequent
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, I would
recommend that the pressman should take ink for every impression
where the form is large; this I am aware will be thought too
troublesome, but I am decidedly of opinion that it is advantageous
in producing regularity of colour: it is unpleasant to the eye to
see in a splendid book two pages that face each other, the one of a
full black, rather surcharged with ink, the other rather deficient
in quantity and of a grey colour; yet this must happen when, as is
frequently the case, three or four sheets are printed with one taking
of ink.
Beating for fine work should not by any means be slighted. The form
ought to be gone over two or three times, not with heavy thumps, but
slowly and regularly with a firm hand, just raising the balls each
time completely clear of the types, and advancing but a little way,
so that in fact each part will be beat five or six times over, or
more; the face of the type will then be completely covered with ink:
but the pressman should be careful not to beat too far over the edges
of the pages, nor, if the margin be wide, to let the balls scrape
against the edges of another page, as in both cases ink or extraneous
matter will be scraped from the balls, and accumulate about the types
at the extremities, and thus cause picks and rough lines.
In splendid books, and particularly where the paper is large and
heavy and the type large, set-off sheets are used to interleave the
whole impression while working, and are continued in it till the
printed paper is taken down from the poles, when they are removed
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, which it
would otherwise do from the weight of the paper, and also from fine
printing being usually worked of a full colour.
For the uniformity of impression I would advise that the pull should
be adjusted in the first instance so as to cause a proper degree of
pressure on the form to produce a good impression when the bar is
pulled home, and then invariably to cheek the bar, and allow it to
rest in that position during a short pause; this is easily done in
the Stanhope, the Ruthven, the Columbian, and Sherwin and Cope’s
presses, as the increased power is obtained by a compound lever,
which is generally so adjusted as that the lever shall come a small
portion beyond the centre of the circle it partially describes when
the bar is pulled home, and as it has then reached a point beyond
its maximum power, it is easily retained in this position to rest on
the pull: the same observation applies to all other presses having,
what is usually termed, the increased power, which is the application
of a compound lever to a press on the common construction; but
in a one pull wooden press, instead of this application, which
I must acknowledge I never knew to answer well when applied to
these presses, I would recommend when fine work is doing a simple
contrivance that I adopted in two presses, which answered the purpose
uncommonly well, and enabled the pressmen to rest on the pull
uniformly, without too much effort to keep the bar to the cheek,
which with a heavy form and a large platen becomes very fatiguing to
continue through a number of impressions, if not impossible, with the
unaided exertion of the arm. _See_ CATCH OF THE BAR.
It will thus 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, and that press to be in
good condition; to have new types, or types the faces of which are
not rounded by wear; to have good balls, and those balls in good
condition; the ink should be strong, of a full black colour, the
oil well boiled, to prevent it separating from the colouring matter
and tinging the paper, and it should be 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 an acid which has a tendency to
decompose the ink; the beating should be carefully and well done,
not in a hurried manner, 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 paper only in
the tympans, perfect impressions of the face of the type only will be
obtained in the most superior manner, and a splendid book will thus
be produced in the best style of printing.
FIRE EATER.
Compositors who are expeditious workmen are styled _Fire Eaters_, and
also _Swifts_.
FIRST.
The pressman who has wrought the longest at that press, except an
apprentice, for he must allow any journeyman, though new come,
that style, is distinguished by the name of _First_, the other his
_Second_, these call one another companions: generally the master
printer reposes the greatest trust upon the care and curiosity for
good work of the First; although both are equally liable to perform
it. All the privilege that the First has above the Second is, that
the First takes his choice to pull or beat the agreed stint first:
and that the Second knocks up the balls, washes the forms, teazes
wool, and does the other more servile work, while the First is
employed about making register, ordering the tympan, frisket, and
points, &c., or otherwise making ready the form, &c.--_M._
At the present day there is no such distinction; both the pressmen
are equal, are equally responsible for the work, and take all the
respective parts without any distinction; unless one of them be an
acknowledged superior workman, and then he will, as a matter of
course, take the lead in making ready, but in nothing else.
FIRST FORM.
The form the white paper is printed on, which generally by rule
ought to have the first page of the sheet in it.--_M._ This is the
reverse of the present custom, which is invariably to lay on the
inner form first, viz. the one that has the second page in it; except
it is directed to the contrary, for some particular reason. _See_ LAY
ON.
FIRST PAGE.
First page of the sheet, which is always placed to the left hand in
the first or outer form on the stone, when imposing.--_M._ In Hebrew
works it is placed to the right hand, as in books printed in that
language the order of the pages is reversed.
FIRST PROOF.
The first impression of any matter after it is composed, for the
purpose of comparing it with the copy; it is usually printed on a
cheap hard sized paper, that will bear writing ink well, to mark
the literal errors, and any variations from the copy that may have
occurred, in order to assist their correction in the metal.
FIRST PULL.
In a two pull press of the common construction, the platen only
covers half a full form, and to obtain an impression of the whole,
the carriage is run in at twice; the first pull prints one half, and
the second pull the other half.
FLARING BALLS.
When pelt balls are too soft, from having imbibed too much moisture,
and are wanted for immediate use, they are flared; that is, the
pressman will take a sheet of waste paper, and having rolled it up
slightly, will light it, and holding the face of one of the balls
downwards, will pass it backwards and forwards over the flame,
and then treat the other ball in a similar manner: this not only
evaporates the moisture, but also communicates a small degree of
warmth to the balls, which causes them both to take ink and to
distribute it better than before the operation.
Composition balls are liable to crack, both in distributing, and also
when separating them after they have been left in the rack upon each
other, particularly when they are new and soft; to remedy this, they
are flared, which, when it is judiciously done, melts the surface of
the composition and fills up the cracks. They are also flared when
the face begins to fail, which melts the composition, and forms a new
and smooth surface.
FLARING A FORM.
In working by candle light, when imposing, correcting, or laying
a form on the press, it sometimes happens that melted tallow will
be spilt on the pages and choke up the letter. To get rid of this
tallow, and clean the form again, the compositor lights a piece of
paper and puts it on the grease, to melt it; he then brushes it with
the letter brush, and, if necessary, repeats the operation.
FLOWERS.
Types with ornaments cast on their face instead of letters. They are
used for borders round jobs, cards, pages, and wrappers of books; and
for other embellishments.
Luckombe, in his work on printing, gave many specimens of borders,
head pieces, &c. composed of flowers by Mr. Hazard, of Bath; and
lately, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Nichols have produced some large and
elaborate pieces with this material, by combining an immense number
of pieces of different patterns and sizes, to represent pillars and
arches; but after all the ingenuity they have displayed, and the
patience they have exerted, their productions are inferior to the
effect of an engraving; and only tend to prove, in my opinion, that
ingenuity and patience are misapplied.
Flowers are cast on bodies from a Pearl up to a Four Line Pica, and
of a great variety of patterns. Of late years our letter founders
have greatly improved their specimens by the addition of many new
designs.
The practice formerly was to cut the pattern perfect on each piece,
and many patterns had a line at the foot of each, so that when a
border was formed, there was a continual line round the inside. I
pointed out to the late Mr. Catherwood, of the firm of Caslon and
Catherwood, the inconvenience of both these modes of cutting flowers:
in the first case, when the pattern had a solid ground, the flowers
joined in that solid part, and, after being used a few times, the
angle became rounded, and always showed a separation between each
piece; I recommended that the junction should be in the most open
part of the design, so that a little rounding of the angle would not
be so perceptible: and in the second case, the same cause produced
the same effect; for after being used a few times, the angles became
rounded, and instead of a continued line, it became a series of short
lines, separated from each other by intervals: to remedy this, I
suggested to him to discard the line, and that a piece of brass rule
should be substituted by the printer, which, being in one piece,
would form a continued line, and not be liable to injury from the
same cause. He adopted both these plans, and the junction of the
flowers that have been subsequently cut has been much improved;
but the abolishing of the line has not produced the neat effect I
anticipated, for it rarely happens that the printer will take the
trouble of placing a rule within the flowers; in consequence, many of
the designs present, when printed, a meagre and unfinished appearance.
FLY.
_See_ DEVIL.--_M._ A boy who takes the printed sheets off the tympan
as soon as the pressman turns it up, for the sake of despatch: it was
most frequently done with newspapers, as they are always pressed for
time, and are obliged to work with the greatest expedition. These
boys are not now called devils, as in the time of Moxon, but _Flies_,
or _Fly Boys_.
FLYING FRISKET.
In working at press, the act of turning down the frisket and the
tympan upon the form by the same motion, for despatch; it is always
done in the regular way of working, but not in very superior work
where the paper is heavy.
FOLDING.
In the warehouse. As the person who collates the books turns them,
the gatherings lie ready to be folded, and as they are pushed a
little over each other they are readily taken up separately; they
are knocked up at the ends and sides, and evenly folded in the back,
which is rubbed down with a folder; after this, from a dozen to
twenty-five gatherings in thickness are knocked up together and put
into the press, which is thus filled and screwed down. After lying a
sufficient time in the press, they are taken out and are ready for
booking.
Books are never folded across a page; of course some require to be
folded the shortest way of the paper, and some the longest way.
FOLIO.
The running number of the pages of a work. When there is no running
title, the folios are placed in the middle of the head-line, in
Arabic figures, sometimes enclosed in brackets, sometimes in
parentheses, but more frequently now without either; when there is a
running title, the folios are placed at the outside corners of the
pages. The prefatory matter has the folios generally set in Roman
lower case numerals, and sometimes the folios of an appendix are done
in a similar manner.
A sheet of paper folded in two leaves, is also termed folio; as folio
post, folio demy, &c.; but when the size of a book is spoken of, it
is styled a post folio, demy folio, &c.
FOLLOW.
_See if it follows_, is a term used as well by the corrector, as
by the compositor and pressman. It is used by the corrector and
compositor when they examine how the beginning matter of a succeeding
page agrees with the ending matter of a precedent page: and how the
folios of those pages properly and numerically follow and succeed one
another, lest the pages should be transposed. But the pressman only
examines that the folio and beginning word of the second page, and
signature of the first and third page (when the reiteration is on
the press) follow the folio and direction of the first page, and the
signature of the third page follows the signature of the first page,
orderly according to the volume, lest the form should be laid wrong
on the press.--_M._
FOOT NOTES. _See_ BOTTOM NOTES.
FOOT OF THE LETTER.
The break end of the shank of a letter.--_M._
FOOT OF A PAGE.
The bottom or end of a page.--_M._
FOOTSTEP,
is a board nailed upon a piece of timber seven or eight inches high,
and is bevelled away on its upper side, as is also the board on
its under side at its hither end, that the board may stand aslope
on the floor. It is placed fast on the floor under the carriage of
the press.--_M._ It is made of elm; and gives the pressman great
advantage in pulling when he has a heavy form on the press.
FOOTSTICK.
Footsticks are placed against the foot or bottom of the page: the
outer sides of these footsticks are bevelled or sloped from the
further to the hither end, which allows the quoins to wedge up the
pages within the chase.--_M._ They, as well as sidesticks, which are
precisely the same, and used indiscriminately for each other where
the length suits, are made of oak; their width is in proportion to
their length; for a form of demy octavo the broad end will be about
an inch wide, and the narrow end about half an inch; but where a
chase is small in proportion to the size of the pages, they are made
narrower to allow of quoin room. Their height is the same as that of
the other furniture; the outer angle at each end is bevelled off. A
careful compositor, when he is making up furniture from the drawer,
will cut off the bruised broad end from the old side and footsticks
that will suit as to length, and thus economise the furniture, which
for jobs and pamphlets will answer every purpose of new.
FORE EDGE.
The fore edge, in making margin, is that edge of a sheet of paper,
which, when folded to the proper size of the book, forms its outer
edge.
FOREIGN BILLS or NOTES. _See_ FORGERY.
FORESTAY.
An upright support to the fore end of the frame and long ribs on
which the carriage runs. It is fastened to the floor, and screwed to
the frame.
FORGERY.
1 Geo. 4. c. 92. “An Act for the further Prevention of forging and
counterfeiting of Bank Notes.”
“Whereas the Forgery of Bank Notes hath of late very much
increased in this Kingdom; and as well for the Prevention
thereof, as to facilitate the Detection of the same, the
Governor and Company of the Bank of _England_ have, after
great Consideration, Labour and Expence, formed a new Plan for
printing Bank Notes, in which the Groundwork of each Bank Note
will be Black or Coloured, or Black and Coloured Line Work, and
the Words “Bank of _England_” will be placed at the Top of each
Bank Note, in White Letters upon a Black, Sable, or Dark Ground,
such Ground containing White Lines intersecting each other, and
the numerical Amount or Sum of each Bank Note in the Body of
the Note, will be printed in Black and Red Register Work, and
the Back of each Note will distinctly show the whole Contents
thereof, except the Number and Date in a reversed Impression:
Therefore, for the better Prevention of the Forgery of Bank
Notes, and for the Security of the Public; be it enacted by
the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in
this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the
same, That from and after the passing of this Act, if any Person
or Persons (other than the Officers, Workmen, Servants, and
Agents for the Time being of the said Governor and Company, to be
authorized and appointed for that Purpose by the said Governor
and Company, and for the Use of the said Governor and Company
only,) shall engrave, cut, etch, scrape, or by any other Art,
Means, or Device make, or shall cause or procure to be engraved,
cut, etched, scraped, or by any other Art, Means, or Device made,
or shall knowingly aid or assist in the engraving, cutting,
etching, scraping, or by any other Art, Means, or Device, making,
in or upon any Plate of Copper, Brass, Steel, Iron, Pewter, or
of any other Metal or Mixtures of Metal, or upon Wood or other
Materials, or any Plate whatsoever, for the Purpose of producing
a Print or Impression of all or any Part or Parts of a Bank Note,
or of a Blank Bank Note, of the said Governor and Company, of
the Description aforesaid, without an Authority in Writing from
the said Governor and Company, or shall use any such Plate so
engraved, cut, etched, scraped, or by any other Art, Means, or
Device made, or shall use any other Instrument or Contrivance
for the making or printing any such Bank Note or Blank Bank
Note, or Part of a Bank Note of the Description aforesaid; or
if any Person or Persons shall, from and after the passing of
this Act, without such Authority as aforesaid, knowingly and
without lawful Excuse, have in his, her, or their Custody any
such Plate or Instrument, or without such Authority as aforesaid,
shall knowingly or wilfully utter, publish, dispose of, or put
away any such Blank Bank Note, or Part of such Bank Note, of the
Description aforesaid, every Person so offending in any of the
Cases aforesaid, and being thereof convicted according to Law,
shall be adjudged a Felon, and shall be transported for the Term
of Fourteen Years.