Printing _and_ Bookbinding _for_ Schools
_By_
S. J. VAUGHN
Head Department of Manual Arts, State Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois
[Illustration: Logo]
1919
PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING CO.,
BLOOMINGTON ILLINOIS
_Copyright 1912
by the Public School Publishing Co._
THE ART _of_ PRINTING
Printing is distinctly a social art. Setting type and striking off a
number of impressions presuppose, in the first place, a community to
read what is printed; and in the second place, that the information
printed is of value to this community.
—L. W. WAHLSTROM,
_In the Francis W. Parker School Year Book_.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PAGE
Introduction 1
The Art of Printing—Methods and Tools of Composition 5
Type Setting 14
Rules of Composition 25
Proof Marks 27
Imposition 28
Presswork 38
Cleaning and Distributing 42
What to Print and How to Proceed 45
Wood Cuts and Metal Plates 50
The Equipment—Its Selection and Cost 56
Arrangement and Disposition of Equipment 65
INTRODUCTION
Printing as a Manual Art in Schools.
Woodwork has been quite generally introduced into the high school and
grammar school. With all the defects of the earlier presentation of the
subject, not to speak of those in later efforts, it has made a
surprisingly general appeal, and has met with unusual and deserved
success. Some of the methods employed, tending to place a ban on
originality and thought, have brought it far short of its possibilities
in the aid of intellectual development. To a considerable extent the
woodwork has not touched, as intimately as it might, the vital interests
of the pupils and of the homes; and, by its own limitations, it has not
had an especially strong social bearing. The need is not less woodwork
but more original and thoughtful woodwork, and also a greater variety of
other constructive work which touches more and wider interests and which
may appeal to those not particularly adapted to that one line. In this
way it will be possible to strengthen the places where woodwork is weak.
So far experience with printing in school indicates that it makes quite
as general and permanent an appeal as woodwork.
Printing makes this very strong appeal to the boys because, in the first
place, the printshop comes as near to reproducing a great world industry
in the school as any other line of industrial work. Instead of doing
simply the “roustabout” work of the beginning apprentice the boys are
put to work with the regular shop equipment, and soon are ready to begin
turning out some printing. It is a common thing to hear a boy remark,
“This is just the way they do it down town.” So they look upon printing
as the work of real men, and feel that they are actually taking part in
some of the activities that are potent in the affairs of men. It’s
wonderful, the pull of this feeling of participation in the world’s
work.
Besides this, there is probably no other line of Manual Arts work in
which pupils, grade boys especially, get so practical a working
knowledge of the actual shop work as in printing. This fact is often
turned to good advantage by the boys, for there can scarcely be found a
commercial printshop anywhere which is not glad to employ one or two
boys during vacation time, if they know a little about the work and are
interested.
There is the still further fact that printing offers the concrete
embodiment of rules of punctuation, capitalization, syllabication,
sentence structure, paragraphing, etc. It is an indisputable fact that
work in the printshop influences in a remarkable way the disposition to
observe good form and to follow the best usage in all such matters. It
is a daily occurrence in the school printshop that some boy brings a
text book or newspaper to exhibit what he considers a glaring disregard
of some of these principles of composition.
Printing furnishes a distinctly different type of motor activity from
woodwork, for it is the arrangement of certain unyielding forms within
limited space to produce some desired effect.
In the matter of social significance printing is practically ideal.
Almost every problem is a community project, that is, a number of pupils
combine their efforts to produce it. Practically every task in the
printshop is undertaken with the consciousness of real service to a
great number of people in the school or in the community at large.
It is interesting to note that among the boys in school, the genuine joy
in the production of printed matter does not necessarily arise out of a
sense of the commercial value of the product. The class that has printed
and illustrated a little pamphlet of stories for the second or third
grade are proud and happy immeasurably beyond the pride and happiness
that would come from a job of office blanks worth so many dollars. In
other words, they are happy to the extent that the quality of their work
merits praise, and that they feel able to make others happy by their
services.
The school paper is an enterprise of very much the same nature. It is a
real influence and a genuine service performed for which they expect no
individual return except in the appreciation of those they serve, and
pride in the excellence of their work and the skill it shows. This is
certainly a kind of training for which there is a distinct need just
now.
There is no other one of the Manual Arts that can touch so intimately
the varied classwork, interests, and activities of school life as does
printing, especially when combined with bookbinding.
It brings a freshness and vigor to the elementary reading and language
work; it touches the athletics and social activities through
announcements, programs, and notices in the school paper; it becomes an
important factor in the celebration of special days, and in the
preparation of material bearing on them; and it bears an intimate and
vital relation to art.
Another interesting development is in the relation of printing to the
other lines of constructive work. It has proved extremely valuable to
have the completed problems written up in descriptive articles by the
pupils, and to have the best of these compositions printed.
THE ART OF PRINTING
Methods and Tools of Composition.
In printing, composition includes all the steps from receiving the copy
until the type is set up, proofed, corrected, and made up into page
forms.
This discussion presupposes a knowledge of spelling, syllabication,
punctuation, paragraphing, etc., all of which good composition really
includes. Practical rules bearing on these different phases may be found
in various handbooks for the printer.
The first essential in printing is, of course, a quantity of type
properly arranged.
Type is cast from a composition of metals—lead, tin, antimony, and
sometimes copper. This composition is melted and poured into moulds the
size and shape of the desired type.
_Accuracy in Size of Type._ Lead is used as the chief constituent of the
composition, because it shrinks very little in cooling. This makes
greater accuracy possible. Accuracy is an absolute essential in type,
for thousands of pieces of metal must be held together in one form by a
slight pressure at the sides and ends of the form.
Lead alone is too soft to wear well and to retain the shape of the type
under the constant pressure of the printing press. Tin is added to give
hardness, and antimony or copper to give toughness to the type metal.
_Type Described._ Type are small columns of the metal with a letter or
character in relief on one end of each column, as at Fig. 1. The surface
of this relief portion from which the letter or character is printed is
called the face.
The various faces are distinguished by names applied by the foundries,
as “Caslon Old Style,” “Engraver’s Old English,” “Banker’s Script,” etc.
The extreme length of type from the face to the foot is .918 inches, or
about eleven-twelfths of an inch.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1.
]
The column of metal on which the letter or character rests is the body
or shank of the type (a, Fig. 1) and the distance which the body extends
beyond the edge of the letter or character is the shoulder (b, Fig. 1).
On the side of the body next the base of the letter or character are one
or more nicks (d, Fig. 1). The chief purpose of such nicks is to
indicate the base of the letter or character, and thus to aid the
compositor in keeping the type right side up without constantly
referring to the face of the type.
To the manufacturer, these nicks indicate other things in addition to
that mentioned above, but these need not be detailed here.
The size of the type has to do with the body, and signifies the vertical
distance through the body, or the distance from the nick side to the
opposite side, as from x to x´, Fig. 1.
Of course it is clear that among the large amount of type manufactured,
there must be a great number of different faces on the same size of
body; and that there may be two or three sizes of the same face on the
same size of body.
In order to indicate a specific type, it is necessary to mention its
size and the name by which that particular face is distinguished; as,
“10 point Author’s Roman Wide,” “18 point Pabst Old Style,” “6 point
Caslon Bold Italic,” etc.
_The Point System._ The type manufacturers of this country have adopted
a uniform scale of sizes known as the point system. In this scheme, the
unit or point is .0138 inches, or about one seventy-second part of an
inch. The size of any type is so many points based upon this system.
Twelve points constitute an _em pica_ which is the larger unit of
measurement.
When the printer speaks of dimensions, like the length and width of a
page, he says it is a certain number of ems or picas long and wide. An
em pica is one-sixth of an inch; so a page three inches by five inches
is eighteen by thirty ems pica.
Until comparatively recent years there was no definite standard of type
sizes. Each foundry established its own standards. If a printer wished
to use type from different foundries, it probably was necessary to make
some troublesome adjustments with bits of paper or otherwise to get them
to line properly. (Specimen ^{of words} out of ^{line.})
There was a sufficient similarity in sizes of type to justify the use of
names to indicate certain sizes. The names used to designate the common
sizes from 4½ to 12 point type according to the point system, are as
follows:
4½ points—Diamond
5 points—Pearl
5½ points—Agate
6 points—Nonpareil
7 points—Minion
8 points—Brevier
9 points—Bourgeois
10 points—Long Primer
11 points—Small pica
12 points—Pica
=1. This line is set in 6 point Caslon Bold.=
=2. This line is set in 8 point Post.=
_3. This line is set in 10 point Author’s Roman Italic._
4. This line is set in 12 point Strathmore Old Style.
Some of these names, such as Nonpareil, Brevier, Long Primer, and Pica,
are still in quite general use.
Not only is the height or depth of the body determined by the point
system, but the width or set of the body (cc´ Fig. 1) is also cast on
the point basis. There are no fractional points in the width of type
made on the point set basis. Any number of letters or characters placed
side by side make an integral number of points. This is called point
set.
Also, in case a number of differently faced type with the same body are
used in the same line, they are so cast that the different faces line
with each other as well as if they were all of the same face.
The system goes still further and makes it possible to use different
sizes of type in the same line without difficulty in alignment. This is
done by making the lining of the different sizes vary by points, so that
the difference can easily be built in with leads and slugs, see page 14.
This line has _three different_ =faces= and two sizes of type.
_Spacing of Words and Letters._ Quads and spaces are pieces of metal
shorter than the type, and are used to make blank spaces between words
and at the ends of lines shorter than the measure.
[Illustration:
Fig. 2.
]
In any size of type there are four kinds of quads. Fig 2 shows the ends
of the 8 and 12 point quads and spaces. An em quad is the square of the
type body. The 10 point em quad is a square quad whose sides are 10
points wide. An eight point em quad is 8 points or one-ninth of an inch
square.
An en quad of any size type is one-half the em quad of that size of
type. A two em quad of any size type is equal to two of the square or em
quads, and a three em quad is equal to three of the square or em quads
laid side by side.
There are four of the thinner blanks in any size of type, known as
spaces. The 3-em space is one-third of the em quad; the 4-em space
one-fourth of the em quad; and the 5-em space is one-fifth of the em
quad. The hair spaces are very thin spaces of copper and brass. These
are very seldomly needed in general work.
The em quad must be clearly distinguished from the em pica. Every size
of type has its em quad; but the em pica is simply the 12 point standard
unit of measurement.
_Type Font._ A quantity of the same size and face of type with an
assortment of the various letters and characters which are used together
is called a font. Sometimes fonts are designated by the number of
certain letters they contain. A font may be mentioned as having so many
capital A’s and so many small a’s.
Type may be bought in weight or job fonts. If bought by weight, it
contains capitals, small capitals, small or lower case letters,
including ligatures (ff, fi, etc.), figures, marks of punctuation,
spaces and quads. Twenty per cent of a weight font is made up of spaces
and quads unless otherwise specified. Job fonts are small assortments of
type, where only small quantities or unusual faces are needed. Such
fonts do not include small capitals, spaces or quads.
Fonts or parts of fonts come from the foundry wrapped in small packages.
The capitals, the small letters, and the quads and spaces come, of
course, in separate packages. The letters are arranged for the most part
in alphabetical order; but there is an occasional insertion of a mark of
punctuation or a thin bodied letter out of regular order to fill out a
line.
In taking the type from these packages, the entire face side of the mass
of type is wet with soapy water. Then, beginning with the first of the
alphabet, a few letters are taken at a time and put into the proper
boxes of the case. This is called laying the case.
[Illustration:
Fig. 3. NEWS CASES.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 4. JOB CASE.
]
_Type Cases._ Type cases, Figs. 3 and 4, in which type is kept are of
two general kinds, news and job. News cases are in pairs, the upper and
the lower case, arranged to occupy a position one above the other on top
of the stand or cabinet, Fig. 5. The upper case contains the capitals,
small capitals, and an assortment of signs and symbols. The lower case
contains the small letters, numerals, marks of punctuation, quads and
spaces. The California job case is about the size of the lower news case
and fits like a drawer into a stand or cabinet. It is arranged to
contain both the capitals and lower case type, but is without boxes for
the small capitals. By reference to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the
left side of the job case is exactly the same as the entire lower news
case, except that the compartments are smaller.
[Illustration:
Fig. 5.
]
The right side of the job case contains only thirty-five boxes for
capitals instead of forty-nine, as in the capital side of the upper news
case.
It will be observed that the capital letters are in regular order in the
case with the exception of J and U. It is interesting to note that these
two letters were the last to be added to the alphabet, and hence were
simply placed at the last of the alphabet in the case.
In the lower case there is but little regularity of arrangement, except
that the most commonly used letters occupy the most convenient and
conspicuous places. The printer knows the locations of the various
boxes, so that the picking out of a certain letter becomes almost purely
automatic.
TYPE SETTING
In beginning to set type, the first tool the printer needs is the job
stick, Fig. 6.
[Illustration:
Fig. 6.
]
This is the receptacle into which the compositor places the type as he
sets up the form, letter by letter. Sticks are made in great variety,
and almost any length from six inches up. There are the simple,
ungraduated stick, adjusted by the thumb screw; the marked and
perforated stick for nonpareil adjustment by means of a lever, Fig. 6,
and the non-adjustable stick for news or book composition.
The printer sets the stick the length of the desired line. This is done
by placing into it a lead or slug, the desired length, and moving the
clamp up against it tightly enough that the type will not easily fall
forward, and yet loosely enough to allow the lines to be lifted from the
stick without binding.
[Illustration:
_12 em 2 point Lead_
Fig. 7.
]
_Spacing of Lines._ Leads (Fig. 7) are strips of metal ¾″ wide, and from
one to five points, inclusive, in thickness. Strips six points and
thicker are called slugs. Leads and slugs are used to space between the
lines of type, bearing the same relation to the lines as spaces and
quads bear to the words. These strips are said to be labor saving when
they are cut ready for use into definite lengths of pica or nonpareil
variations. The standard lengths are from 4 to 25 ems pica. When not so
cut, they are called strip.
[Illustration:
_12 em 6 point Slug_
Fig. 7a.
]
A lead or slug generally of the thickness to give the required space
between the lines, and of the length of a line, is placed in the stick,
and the type is set with the top of the letter toward this lead. Then
with the lead or slug in the stick and the stick in the left hand, the
compositor stands upright at the case, picks out the letters and
characters one at a time, and places them, nick out and face up, into
the stick, beginning at the lower left hand corner. Fig. 8. As the type
are put into the stick, they are held there by the thumb of the left
hand. The method of holding the stick at the proper angle to prevent the
type from falling out and to allow the thumb to do its work properly, is
quite an art which it takes time to acquire.
_Justifying lines._—The line of type reads from left to right the same
as printed matter but the letters are inverted. It takes the beginner
some time to accustom himself to this condition, but with practice, it
becomes easy and convenient. Each word except the last in the line, is
followed by a space, or a quad. In ordinary solid matter, that is matter
without leads or slugs between the lines, the three-to-em spaces are
used between words. But the line must come out evenly at the end without
leaving a space or dividing a word improperly. This very seldom occurs
in beginning work, so the young printer sets himself to the task of
justifying the line, that is respacing it so as to remove the
difficulty. Approved methods of spacing and justification may be found
in the list of rules of composition on page 25. Great care should be
observed in getting each line as nearly perfect as possible before
proceeding to the next, for in this way, much trouble and annoyance in
correcting proof are avoided.
[Illustration:
Fig. 8.
]
When a line has been thus finished and a lead put in above to support
it, the compositor proceeds with the next line exactly as before. It is
wise for the beginner to leave all the work leaded, so as to simplify
the operation of removing the lines from the stick. If it is desirable,
the leads or slugs may be removed after the type is emptied from the
stick. If the last line of a paragraph is not a complete line, it is
filled with quads and spaces, but the spaces should never be placed at
the end or between the quads.
[Illustration:
Fig. 9.
]
_To Remove Type: The Galley._ When the stick is full or nearly so, the
compositor lays it down and to remove the type catches the first lead
with both thumbs, and the last lead with the first finger of each hand.
Fig. 9. Then he slightly raises the first line. With the remaining free
fingers pressing against the ends of the lines and pushing at the same
time down against the stick, he lifts the type bodily and puts it into
the galley. The first line should go against the closed end and should
read from the lower side of the galley up. The closed end of the galley
should always be at the right as the worker stands at the case.
The galley, Fig. 10, is a kind of rectangular brass tray open at one
end, into which the compositor places the lines of type on removing them
from the stick. Galleys are of various sizes for different kinds of
work.
[Illustration:
Fig. 10.
]
_Lines and Borders: The brass rule._ In case there are solid lines to be
made in the printed matter, as in Fig. 11, this is done by use of the
brass rule.
[Illustration:
Fig. 11.
]
This, like leads, may be had either in the strip or in labor saving
lengths; but unlike leads, it is type high, and is designed for the
purpose of making lines, borders, etc., Fig. 12. It may be had in any
thickness, but usually, a very thin face like a hair line or one point,
is put on a heavier body. In such cases the rule is beveled from one or
both sides and is said to be side-faced or center-faced (a and b, Fig.
12). Labor saving brass rule is made up in weight fonts, and may be had
with or without mitres for the corners.
[Illustration:
Fig. 12.
]
If a rule line shorter than the measure of the type line is to be made,
the blank spaces at the ends of the rule are filled with leads, slugs,
or quads of the same thickness as the body of the rule.
Rule for borders is put around the type form after it is finished. If
the face of the rule is as thick as the body, as at c, Fig. 12, good
corners are made simply by lapping one piece of rule over the end of the
other piece which meets it at the corner.
If the face is thinner than the body, the rule in borders or panels must
be side-faced unless there are mitres. The bevels of the side pieces of
rule are turned in toward the type and those of the end pieces are
turned out. The end rule laps over the ends of the side rules at the
corners, as shown at a, Fig. 12.
Dotted or hyphen lines as seen in Fig. 11, are made by the use of
leaders, which closely resemble quads in that they are of quad sizes.
Leaders, however, are type high, and have either the dot or hyphen
face—so many dots or hyphens to the em. It is not necessary to have a
great variety of leader sizes, since with the point lining system, one
size of leader can easily be lined with another size of type.
_Spacing and Tying a Galley or Job of Type._ When the compositor has
finished setting the type and placed it into the galley, if it is an
advertisement or small job, he proceeds to space it out by the use of
leads and slugs to the required length. The form is then tied up.
[Illustration:
Fig. 13.
]
It requires considerable care and skill to tie up a mass of type
properly. The form is in the lower right hand corner of the galley. The
compositor takes a cotton string and beginning at the upper left hand
corner, he starts to wrapping the twine around the form from left to
right, drawing it taut just before turning a corner. When the starting
point has been reached, he pulls the twine down across the original end
thus binding it firmly against the metal. After wrapping from three to
six times about the form, a loop is left in the twine, which is forced
by means of a composing rule, Fig. 13, or a lead, down between the type
and the strands. This leaves a small piece of the end projecting as a
convenience in untying. The next step is to take a proof. The galley is
laid on the stone or a table, or the form may be slid from the galley to
the stone, Fig. 18.
[Illustration:
Fig. 14.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 15.
]
_Taking a Proof._ When the tied form has been placed upon the stone or
proof press, it is inked by rolling a small rubber roller (Fig. 14) over
it, the roller having been first well inked by rolling it over an inked
piece of marble, slate or glass. Then the type is covered with a moist
paper, the sponged side up, or a regular proof paper. If there is no
proof press the proof planer, a smooth faced block of hard wood, with
face covered with felt, Fig. 15, is laid on the top of the paper, and
tapped squarely and firmly with the mallet. If the proof planer does not
cover the form, its position is changed and the mallet used again. The
impression left on the paper is the first proof. See proof marks, page
27. In school, it is wise to have the pupils read their own proofs.
[Illustration:
Fig. 16.
]
_To correct a galley._ Then with the marked proof before him, the
compositor proceeds to correct. If only slight changes are to be made,
such as turning an inverted letter or taking out a capital and putting
in a lower case letter, such changes may be made without lifting the
type into the stick. Often lines or words are transposed, or omissions
or repetitions are discovered. Such errors necessitate respacing and
overrunning, by which is meant the going over several lines respacing
them and crowding a word out of one line into another in order to
correct an error. In such cases, it is well to lift out into the stick,
the lines involved. In the matter of taking out a letter, it is
necessary only to press lightly at both ends of the line with the thumb
and finger of one hand, raising the line about half way out of the form,
and with the other hand to remove the desired letter and allow the line
to slide back into its original position. Bodkins and tweezers are
dangerous and useless instruments in most instances. After the changes
indicated in the first proof have been made, a second proof is taken to
make sure that all corrections have been made, and that no new errors
have crept in. This proof should be submitted to the instructor for
approval. It may be necessary to make a number of proofs before a
perfect impression is gotten. In case of a sufficient quantity of matter
to necessitate its division into pages or columns, the proof is taken in
the galley without tying up, Fig. 16. The form is locked tightly in the
galley by means of furniture and quoins, Fig. 16. This is somewhat like
the lockup described on page 32, except that furniture is placed only on
one side of the mass of type.
[Illustration:
Fig. 17.
]
_Making up._ When the corrections are made, the matter is properly
divided, the page numbers and headings are placed, and the pages or
columns are tied up. This process is called making up. Fig. 17. When the
printer begins to make up, he has before him a long mass of type, as at
Fig. 16. The length of the page is determined. It includes the page
number, the running head, if there be one, and a nonpareil, or six
point, slug at each end.
A page 18 ems wide might properly be 30 ems long. In this case, the
measure would be 31 ems and a 31 em reglet, (see furniture page 31)
answers well for a measure, as will any long piece of furniture on which
the desired length may be marked. An accurate ruler may be used to
advantage. The length of the first page is usually less than the full
measure and is somewhat arbitrarily determined. It is generally sunken
about one-fourth of the page. After this page is tied up and moved
aside, the page number, the running head and the slug are added to the
remaining column of type and the measure applied for the next page. This
is repeated until the final page is reached, which is usually somewhat
less than the full measure.
RULES OF COMPOSITION
1. Spacing between words should appear as nearly uniform as possible,
not only throughout the line but throughout the entire piece of work.
2. For solid, or unleaded matter, the em quad is used to indent the
paragraph, and to follow a period except at the end of a line; the 3 to
em space, between words in the absence of marks of punctuation other
than the comma; the en quad, after a semi-colon and also after a colon
when followed by a lower case letter, but when followed by a capital
letter, the space should be slightly larger, perhaps two 3 to em spaces.
3. The indentation and spaces between words should vary according to the
spaces between the lines. In case of two point leaded matter, the en
quad should be used instead of the 3 to em space and other spaces should
be correspondingly larger.
4. In justifying a line after the spacing has been done _according_ to
the above rules, spaces may be increased at kern letters, f, y, etc.,
between long words, and after semi-colons and colons; or reduced at
slanting letters, at commas, and at the sides of small words. Spaces
should be the same on both sides of very small words, and there should
never be a greater variation in the spacing between ordinary words than
the difference between an en quad and a 3 to em space.
5. Type should stand squarely on foot.
6. Divisions of words at the ends of the lines should be avoided
wherever possible but when divided, the proper division of syllables
should always be made.
7. Avoid dividing short words, or dividing words by cutting off short
syllables at the first or last.
8. Do not loosen the clamp of the stick in order to make it possible to
insert a space.
9. When in doubt about spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or
syllabication, consult authority.
10. Save endless time and trouble by producing a clean proof the first
time.
11. In making up, it is good form to have the first and last lines of a
page full lines. So it is best not to have a paragraph begin with the
first line or end with the last line of a page.
PROOF MARKS
[Illustration: Proof Marks.]
IMPOSITION
Imposition is the arranging of the type masses in proper order on the
stone, and the fastening of them into the chase.
[Illustration:
Fig. 18.—BACK VIEW.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 18.—FRONT VIEW.
]
The imposing stone, Fig. 18, is a smooth marble slab on which the forms
are placed for locking up ready for the press. The stone may be laid
upon a box, bench or table, but both stands and cabinets are made for
this purpose. It is properly bedded in its “coffin” by placing putty
along the edges of the bed and along any cross supports which may run
under the stone. Then when the stone is placed into this receptacle, it
remains solid and level and free from strain. It should project a short
distance above the frame of the bed in order to render easy the removal
of the forms to and from the galley.
[Illustration:
Fig. 19.
]
The chase, Fig. 19, is a steel or cast-iron frame, into which the forms
are locked to be put into the press. The size of a press is based upon
the inside dimensions of the chase. A 10 × 15 press is one that
accommodates a 10 × 15 chase. The skeleton chase is a steel chase with a
very narrow frame. This makes the inside considerably larger. A skeleton
chase for a 10 × 15 press is practically 11 × 16, making a clear gain of
almost an inch each way.
When the type has been proofed, corrected, made up, and tied, the form
is slipped from the galley to the stone, and is then ready for the
lockup, Fig. 20.
[Illustration:
Fig. 20.
]
A chase is put upon the stone in such a position as to form a frame
about the type, which as a rule should occupy the central part of the
space enclosed by the frame. A roller supporter, a, Fig. 20, is placed
in each end of the chase and pieces of furniture are built out solidly
from the type form to one side and one end of the chase.
[Illustration:
Fig. 21.
]
Furniture, Fig. 21, and b, c, Fig. 20, is the name given to pieces of
wood and metal, which are used to build around the forms in the process
of locking them into the chase. Furniture varies by the em in width and
by 5 to 10 ems in length when cut labor saving. Metal furniture is more
modern and makes possible more accurate work; but for beginners, it has
its disadvantages. The metal is soft and of considerable weight, making
heavier forms; and if a piece is dropped upon the stone or even upon the
floor, which frequently happens, it probably has a corner or an edge
battered. In the lockup, occasionally this small defect may cause the
“pi” of the whole form. Reglets are a kind of wood furniture similar in
size and use to leads and slugs but are largely used as furniture in
locking up forms. In leaded forms which have to be kept for sometime,
reglets are substituted for the leads and slugs. They are very much
cheaper, and they relieve the necessity for large quantities of the more
expensive leads and slugs. Wood furniture, which comes by the case or by
number of pieces, is cheap, durable, not easily injured, and on the
whole, quite satisfactory for school use. A small amount of metal
furniture, which is sold by weight, is desirable in every printshop.
When the furniture has been built in at one side and one end of the form
as indicated above, quoins are placed at the other side and the other
end about midway between the type and the chase.
[Illustration:
Fig. 22.
]
Quoins, Fig. 22, are devices for locking the forms into the chases.
There are two chief kinds, one consisting of two separate wedge shaped
pieces of hard metal with notched sides, which by the use of a key are
made to slide in opposite directions against each other. The danger of
these quoins in the hands of schoolboys is that, not realizing how
easily good forms are held, they persist in trying to screw the quoin to
the last notch, frequently endangering the chase and ruining the quoins.
The other kind is constructed of two pieces of metal joined by springs
and opened by the use of a key operating a nut which, after a slight
expansion of the quoin, releases its hold and allows the parts to spring
back together. This quoin is safe for the form and for the chase, and is
itself not battered in the process of locking up.
After the quoins have been put into proper position, pieces of furniture
are fitted in on both sides of the quoins.
The pieces of furniture are usually a little longer than the sides of
the form against which they fit. They are always placed around the form
in such a way that they can not bind against each other so as to prevent
the pressure from striking the type squarely, Fig. 20.
With the key, Fig. 22, the quoins are very slightly and uniformly
tightened. Then the planer is used.
[Illustration:
Fig. 23.
]
The planer, Fig. 23, is a smooth faced block of hard wood similar to the
proof planer, but is usually smaller and not covered with felt. This is
laid on the face of the form on the stone and tapped lightly with a
mallet, in order to make sure that the faces of all the type are at the
same level—no letters projecting so as to be broken or to injure the
rollers, or, at best, to ruin the impressions.
After this, the printer tightens the quoins gradually, giving a slight
turn to each quoin in succession. There is danger of the beginner’s
getting the lockup too tight, causing the form to spring up from the
stone and the chase to spring and even to break. If the composition is
good and the furniture is properly placed, it does not require a very
tight lockup to hold. Before removing the chase from the stone, the
lockup should be tested by raising one side of the chase very slightly
and tapping the furniture to see if any of the type are loose. If the
form holds, it is ready for the press.
_Forms for Four and More Pages._ When there are a number of pages
instead of one to be dealt with, the imposition is considerably more
complicated.
[Illustration:
Fig. 24.
]
Any piece of printing of four or more pages has an outside and an inside
section. Page one and all the pages that are printed on the same side of
the paper with it constitute the outside section. Page two and all the
pages that are printed on the same side with it are the inside section.
A four page printed sheet is called a sheet folio. The best way to
handle such a four page form is by the work-and-turn method, provided
the press is large enough to accommodate the four pages at one time. By
this method, the pages are arranged as in Fig. 24. Note that in this
form as in any other outside form, page one is at the lower left hand
corner with the foot of the page toward the printer. Margins are
determined by measuring from the front of type pages one and two the
width of the page plus twice the desired margin to the backs of pages
three and four. Then the length of the page plus twice the margin is
measured from the foot of pages one and four to the head of pages two
and three.
In this case, the stock is cut double the length of the finished job.
When it has been printed on one side, and the ink has dried, it is
turned and given the same impression on the other side. Of course, in
printing this second side, care must be taken to reverse the paper so
that pages two and three back up one and four at one end, and one and
four back up two and three at the other end. When the ink of this
impression is dry, the sheet is cut at line XX making two complete
folios from one sheet.
With school boys working on a small press, the four pages are often
handled in two separate forms of two pages each.
[Illustration:
Fig. 25.
]
When so divided, each pair may be imposed in exactly the same order as
in the four page form. In this case the paper is cut to exact size and
pages one and four are printed on one side. When the ink dries, it is
run through the press again and pages two and three are printed on the
other side, completing the work.
An eight page form, or a sheet quarto, for a sufficiently large press,
may be imposed after the work-and-turn method as in the case of the four
page form. The numbered rectangles in Fig. 25 show the arrangement of
pages in the work-and-turn method of imposing an eight page form. It
will be observed that pages in the outside section of an eight page form
are in the same order as those of a four page form. For a press that can
accommodate only four pages, the inside and outside sections are imposed
exactly in the same order as in Fig. 25, but are used as separate forms.
When we undertake the imposition of an eight page job, we meet the
problem of margin for trim, which has not been encountered in the
previous forms. In an eight page piece of work, there must be two folds
and since the sheets are folded after they are printed and before they
are cut, it is evident that some allowance must be made for trimming the
fold at the top of the pages. Since in folding, the edges are probably
not even, it is necessary to trim them also. Thus it is clear that
allowance must be made for trim around each pair of leaves. Fig. 25
represents a half sheet of standard 25 × 38 paper laid on the eight page
form imposed by the work-and-turn method. The line XX indicates where
the printed half sheet is cut before folding. The dotted lines indicate
the margins allowed for trim after folding. The method of measuring for
the imposition is as follows: Suppose the type pages to be four by seven
inches and centered in the pages, and the margin, after trim, to be one
inch all around each page.
It is apparent then that the backs of type pages 8 and 5 are two inches
from the backs of pages 1 and 4. The location of pages 7 and 6 is
determined by measuring half the length of the half sheet, or 12½ inches
in this case, from the front edges of type pages 1 and 4. The distance
then from 8 to 7 and from 5 to 6 is 2½ inches or 15 ems pica, making ½
inch for trim. One-half of 19 inches, or the other dimension of the half
sheet, measured from the foot of type page 1 to the head of 4, places
the distance of 2½ inches between 1 and 4. This allows ½ inch here also
for trim.
In this work, some prefer simply to fold the paper and use it for
measurement, but in any case when the margins are determined, they are
built in with appropriate furniture and the form is locked up. It is
well to remember that, viewed from the foot of the pages in a form, odd
numbered pages are always at the left of even numbered pages.
In most of the work of this character, the pages are so large that only
two may be accommodated by a small press. In this case, the eight pages
are imposed in pairs as follows: One and eight, two and seven, three and
six, and four and five. It will be observed that the sum of the page
numbers of any pair is always one greater than the whole number of
pages.
PRESSWORK
[Illustration:
Fig. 26.
]
The first thing in the matter of handling a press, Fig. 26, is to have a
clear idea in mind as to the method of its operation; the next is to
make sure that the press is well oiled, well cleaned and the bed and
platen clean of all grit, paper, gauge pins, quadrats, etc.
The throw off, a, Fig. 26, is a lever by use of which the press can be
prevented from printing. This should always be in such position as to
hold the platen, b, away from the bed, c, until the press is ready for
an impression.
An essential part of the press which needs to be mentioned separately is
the rollers, d.
They are a kind of rubbery composition moulded around steel rods or
cores; and when placed on the press, they distribute the ink over the
plate, e, and carry it down upon the type. Of course, they are soft and
pliable and need proper attention to keep them so. There are summer
rollers and winter rollers and neither can be used to advantage out of
season. Winter rollers become too soft for summer, while the reverse is
true of summer rollers used in winter. Seventy degrees is about the
right temperature to insure the proper working of rollers. When they
become permanently hard enough to retain, for a considerable time, the
type impressions, rollers are said to be dead. Much can be told about
rollers by observing the color and the shine of the surface. A dead
roller has a dead, lusterless surface. When rollers are worn out, they
are simply sent to the factory where the old composition is removed and
new composition molded upon the same cores. The chief constituents of
rollers are molasses, glycerine and glue.
_Make-ready._ In preparing the make-ready, a hard surfaced piece of
pressboard is placed on the platen. On top of this, should be from three
to five pieces of book paper for “packing,” covered finally with a
“drawsheet” of tough manila. Now the press is inked by putting upon the
plate, e, a small quantity of ink and allowing the press to run until
the rollers have thoroughly distributed it over the plate. Then the form
is put into the press at c, and care is used to see that the grippers,
f, are properly adjusted so that they do not strike the form and at the
same time, are not far enough out to strike the roller supporters. In
case of interference of grippers, one or both may be removed. When
everything is ready, an impression is taken on the draw sheet and is
examined to see if any type are high, or to discover and correct any
other defect. Then the lower clamp, g, is loosened and while the draw
sheet is thrown back, an impression is taken on the top sheet of the
packing. If a portion of the impression is indistinct, a thin piece of
paper is pasted upon the indistinct parts to give them a slightly
heavier impression. This is known as the overlay. In patching up the
make-ready in this manner, it is very important that the overlay shall
not reach beyond the parts which need building up. If an indistinctness
in an impression is due to worn type or a low cut, it may be remedied by
an underlay. This is the pasting of bits of paper or cardboard to the
foot of the type, or to the back of the cut. In case a portion shows too
heavy an impression, that particular part is cut out of the top sheet of
the packing. Then the draw sheet is clamped down again and a device is
arranged for holding the stock for printing.
[Illustration:
Fig. 27.
]
For locating the positions of the gauge pins, Fig. 27, or quadrats, the
stock is laid straight across the impression allowing the ends to
project equally over the ends of the impression, and with a sharp
pencil, a mark is made on the draw sheet along the left end of the
stock. Then the stock is slipped down across the impression in such a
way as to allow the edges of the stock to project the distance of the
desired margins above and below the impression on the drawsheet. A mark
is then placed along the lower edge of the stock. The gauge pins or
quads are placed on these two lines, two on the horizontal and one on
the vertical, in such a position as will best hold the stock on the
platen. If quads are used, they are glued to the drawsheet. It usually
takes several impressions on the cut stock to get a perfect adjustment.
In order to prevent the stock from being lifted from the platen by the
ink, a small cord is tied about the ends of the grippers in such a
position as that it strikes the stock above the impression of the type.
Constant care must be exercised to keep the grippers from getting in the
way of the roller supporters and causing considerable injury.
The pupils in school begin operating the press very slowly and by foot
power. The process of feeding is largely a matter of cultivating a
certain ambidexterity and a rhythmic movement of the hands, the right to
place the blank sheet upon the platen, and the left to remove it after
it is printed. Great care must be taken to avoid soiling the stock or
smearing the ink on removing the freshly printed sheets. As skill is
acquired, speed should be increased. Finally the boys are able safely to
feed a motor driven press. When the matter is printed, it is carefully
scattered over the letter boards, table, or shelves to dry, and the
chase is removed to the stone.
CLEANING AND DISTRIBUTING
After finishing the job of printing proper, there are still some very
important things to do. The form must be cleaned, the ink thoroughly
removed from the press, and the type thrown back into the proper cases,
or distributed.
The form is cleaned by going over the type, first with a cotton cloth
moistened with benzine, and following with a bristle brush. The press
also must be washed, that is the ink must be removed from the plate and
the rollers. With cotton rags or waste moistened with benzine, the ink
is wiped off the plate. Then the rollers are run upon the plate, and
with the cloth still further moistened with benzine, the rollers are
carefully gone over and all the ink removed. The rollers are then run
down from the plate, which is wiped clean and dry. In case waste is used
in cleaning the rollers, it should be wrapped inside of a cloth to
prevent threads and lint from adhering to them. To the inexperienced,
this matter of cleaning the press, gives the impression of a long,
tedious and dirty task. It proves to be quite an interesting
demonstration for the instructor to wash the press clean, and come
through the process in three minutes with hands scarcely soiled. There
grows up somewhat of a rivalry among the groups or individuals to see
which can wash the press in the shortest time and with the least muss.
In leaving the press, this caution should always be kept in mind; never
allow the rollers to remain on the plate or on a form in the press. Rags
that have become saturated with benzine and ink should be burned or kept
in a closed can.
It is the practice with a great many good printers to leave the ink on
the press over night, after thoroughly oiling it with lubricating oil.
By thus leaving the rollers covered with this soft, oily coat, the
composition is protected from the drying and hardening effects of the
air. Of course there are inks which harden in spite of the oil, such as
gilts, bronzes, bronze blues, reds, etc. Such inks should not be left on
the press longer than necessary.
The next morning, the oily ink is easily removed with a dry cloth.
Sometimes, it is well to follow up with a cloth slightly moistened with
benzine.
In case ink has been permitted to harden on the rollers, it may be
removed by taking the rollers from the press, washing them with
moderately strong lye, using a printer’s scrub brush. After the ink is
removed, the rollers are thoroughly rinsed in water.
When type has been allowed to remain without the ink having been cleaned
off, and the ink has hardened and cemented the type together, it may be
loosened and cleaned with lye. Make a strong solution of lye and
saturate the mass of type with it. Rub the lye in thoroughly with the
scrub brush, leave the lye on the type for two hours and then rinse in
water. Keep repeating this process until the type is loosened and
cleaned.