consisting of thirty parts of white soap, thirty parts of alum, forty
parts of English glue, ten parts of albumen, two parts of glacial acetic
acid, ten parts of alcohol of 60 deg., and 500 parts of water. It is
afterwards put into a second bath, which contains fifty parts of burnt
umber ground in alcohol, twenty parts of lampblack, ten parts of English
glue, and ten parts of bichromate of potash in 500 parts of water. They
are now sensitive to light, and must, therefore, be preserved in the dark.
In preparing paper to make the positive print, another bath is made just
like the first one, except that lampblack is substituted for the burnt
umber. To obtain colored positives the black is replaced by some red,
blue, or other pigment.
In making the copy, the drawing to be copied is put in a photographic
printing frame, and the negative paper laid on it, and then exposed in the
usual manner. In clear weather an illumination of two minutes will
suffice. After the exposure the negative is put in water to develop it,
and the drawing will appear in white on a dark ground; in other words, it
is a negative or reversed picture. The paper is then dried and a positive
made from it by placing it on the glass of a printing frame, and laying
the positive paper upon it, and exposing as before. After placing the
frame in the sun for two minutes, the positive is taken out and put in
water. The black dissolves off without the necessity of moving back and
forth.
WASHING FORMS.
Forms sent down to machine ought not to be wet too much with lye or with
water, otherwise it becomes necessary to dry them before working, which
takes time and often much trouble. The wet works up little by little to
the face of the letter, and then the form becomes unworkable. It has often
to be taken off the coffin, the feet of the types have to be thoroughly
dried, then some sheets of unsized paper have to be placed under the form;
it has also to be unlocked, shaken, locked up again, the sheets removed
with the moisture they have imbibed, and then it is to be hoped the form
will be workable. If not there is nothing to be done but to lift it and
dry it by heat.
Lye is generally used for washing forms which do not contain wood blocks;
turpentine where wood-cuts or wood-letters are to be found in them. The
bristles of the lye-brush should be longer than those of the
turpentine-brush, and, in order to preserve it, each brush should be
properly washed with water after using, and shaken and stood up to dry. If
this is not done the brush will last but a short time.
There is no good in taking up with the brush a large quantity of lye or
turps, and to shed it at once. Yet this is too commonly done, regardless
of waste. In order to wash a form well the brush should be passed lightly
over all the pages, in order to wet them uniformly. Then they should be
rubbed round and round, and finally lengthwise and crosswise. Leaning on
the brush not only wears away the bristles, but sometimes injures the face
of the type, too. It is a bad practice.
After washing, before printing, a sponge with pure water should be passed
lightly over the form, and then the form should be dried with a cloth.
Care should be taken not to use a woolen cloth, which is liable to leave
little pieces on the face of the types, and to see that there are no hard
substances in it. After printing it is always best to wash with
turpentine. Lye induces oxidation of the types, while turps leave an oily
film on them, which preserves them from the action of the atmosphere.
HOW TO PREVENT OFF-SETTING.
A practical pressman says that a sheet of paper wet with glycerine and
used as a tympan-sheet will prevent off-setting. This will be found better
than using oiled sheets.
PRINTING ENVELOPES.
To prevent the lumpy particles of mucilage on gummed envelopes from
"battering" the type, use a heavy piece of blotting paper as a tympan, and
when beaten down, touch the injured part with a drop of water, which will
bring up the impression again.
TO PREVENT SET-OFF ON WRITING PAPERS PRINTED ON ONE SIDE.
To prevent set-off on writing papers printed on one side, do not lay the
sheets straight as they leave the press or machine; this will enable the
air to get between them, and wonderfully expedite the drying of the ink.
Do not allow the heap to become too heavy.
A QUICK DRYER.
A quick dryer:--Japanese gold size, 2 parts; copal varnish, 1 part; elber
powder (radix carlinae, carline thistle), 2 parts. Incorporate well
together with a small spatula, and use in quantities to suit the
consistency of the ink employed and the rapidity with which it is desired
to dry. The usual proportion is a small teaspoonful of the dryer to about
one ounce of average good ink.
TO PREVENT WARPING IN BLOCKS AND WOOD.
To prevent warping in blocks and wood-letter used in large bills, a French
printer advises that they should be placed in a zinc basin, provided with
an air-tight lid; they should then be thoroughly saturated with paraffine
oil, and left thus for about four days, when they should be wiped with a
clean dry rag. Prepared in this way when new, wood-letter resists the
effects of lye, petroleum, turpentine, and atmospheric changes.
HOW TO KEEP ROLLERS WHEN OUT OF USE.
It is a good plan, when rollers are to be kept out of use for any
particular time, to put them away with the ink on them. It protects their
surface from the hardening effects of the atmosphere, and causes them to
retain those properties which give them the much desired "tackiness." But
about half an hour before using them, remove the ink and see that they are
really in condition again.
PRESERVATIVE OF ROLLERS WHEN NOT IN USE.
The following preservative of rollers when not in use is often
applied:--Corrosive sublimate, 1 drachm; fine table salt, 2 ozs.; put
together in 1/2 gallon of soft water. It is allowed to stand 24 hours, and
is to be well shaken before using. Sponge the rollers with the mixture
after washing.
OILS FOR LUBRICATING ROLLER MOLDS.
Sperm and lard oils are the best for lubricating roller molds. If they are
properly used, no trouble will be experienced in drawing the rollers.
CARE OF ROLLERS IN THE SUMMER TIME.
In hot, sultry weather rollers will not need sponging, as some of the
materials used in their manufacture, having an affinity for moisture, will
absorb enough humidity from the atmosphere to keep the surface soft.
Indeed, too much moisture is absorbed in close and sultry weather. Cover
the rollers while not in use with tallow (in damp weather); this will
prevent the absorbtion of moisture and keep the roller dry. When starting
up put a little tallow on the distributor. This will prevent the rollers
from sticking, and keep them cool.
The safest thing for the pressman is to have on hand, as a reserve, a set
of old, hard rollers.
Remember, it is not dry, hot weather that causes trouble so much as it is
hot moist weather. When the weather is dry, soft rollers can be used, but
when dampness comes on, take out the soft and put in the old hard rollers
that have become rejuvenated by the absorption of moisture.
TO KEEP GREEN MOULD FROM ROLLERS.
Nothing destroys the surface of a roller so much as green mould. It takes
all the life out of them. Green mould results from a damp place and a
careless pressman, and is always a disgrace to all concerned.
TREATMENT OF OLD ROLLERS.
When rollers have been lying for weeks with a coating of ink dried on to
the surface--a circumstance that often occurs, more especially when
colored inks have been used--get an ordinary red paving brick (an old one
with the edges worn away will be the best), place the roller on a board,
then dip the brick in a trough of cold water, and work it gently to and
fro on the surface from end to end, taking care to apply plenty of water,
dipping the brick in repeatedly; and in a short time the ink will
disappear. Nor is this all; for if a little care and patience is
exercised, it will put a new face to the roller, making it almost equal to
new; the coating of ink having, by keeping the air from the surface,
tended to preserve the roller from perishing. Sponge off clean.
A RECIPE FOR PRINTERS' ROLLERS.
Best white glue, one pound; concentrated glycerine, one pound. Soak the
glue over night in just enough cold soft water to cover it. Put the
softened glue in a fine cloth bag, gently press out excess of water, and
melt the glue by heating it over a salt water bath. Then gradually stir in
the glycerine and continue the heating, with occasional stirring, for
several hours, or until as much of the water is expelled as possible.
Cast in oiled brass molds, and give the composition plenty of time to cool
and harden properly before removing from the mold and inking. See that the
ink is well spread before bringing the roller in contact with type.
TEMPERATURE OF THE PRESS ROOM.
The temperature of the press or machine room ought to be as near as
possible the same as that at which the ink is manufactured--_viz._, 16 deg. of
Reamur (68 deg. Fahrenheit). If the temperature of the room, and consequently,
of the iron receptacles the ink is kept in, be considerably less, the
varnish of the ink will stiffen, the paper will adhere to the type and
peel off, or, if this does not occur, there will at least be too little
varnish in the ink remaining on the type, and too much carbon, which, of
course, will not sufficiently adhere to the paper, and may be wiped off
even when the paint is perfectly dry. But if the temperature of the
work-room be too high, the varnish becomes too thin, the ink loses its
power of covering well all parts of the types, which then look as if they
had been printed with lamp-oil. Colors of different hues require generally
a somewhat higher temperature than black, say 70 deg. to 75 deg. Fahrenheit, but
any printer who wants to see a clear and sharp impression of his types on
the paper should not neglect to look sometimes to the thermometer, too low
or too high a temperature being much oftener the cause of unsatisfactory
printing than the ink we use.
WHEN TO WASH ROLLERS.
The press or machine man must be guided by the condition of the face of
the roller, and the eyes and fingers will be the best guides. Where
machine rollers are required for a weekly newspaper, they should be washed
ready for the first set of forms, and when the number is long, a second
set should be got ready and inked to work the second side, as the paper
throws off a quantity of cotton waste, and powder, and neutralizes the
tack so necessary to the face of a good roller and a clear impression.
Should a roller require cleaning for a hurried work, the old ink may be
removed with turpentine, but must be done quickly, and immediately
distributed on the ink table, or the face will harden.
IMPROVED DRYER FOR PRINTING INK.
A small quantity of perfectly dry acetate of lead or borate of manganese
in impalpable powder will hasten the drying of the ink. It is essential
that it be thoroughly incorporated with the ink by trituration in a
mortar.
HOW TO BEND A RULE.
To bend a rule, get it thoroughly hot and let it cool slowly; this will
take the spring out, and it will stay in the shape it is bent to.
TO CLEAN GILT FRAMES.
Use a soft sponge moderately moistened with spirits of wine; allow to dry
by evaporation. Do not use a cloth, and avoid friction. Another way is to
use a very soft shaving brush, and to gently rub backward and forward a
lather of curd soap. Rinse with water at about blood heat. This applied
morning after morning to old and dirt-covered oil paintings will greatly
restore them. In adopting this plan with regard to gilt frames around
water colors or prints, be sure that not enough moisture is used to run
off the frame, or the paper will be stained. The cleaning applies to gold
frames only. Dutch metal will bear no cleaning, but a new material, not
absolutely gold, but very like it, will stand any amount of soap and
water.
CLEANING NEW MACHINERY.
As presses and machinery have their bright work covered with a compound to
keep it from rusting while shipping, parties who receive the machinery
will find benzine or kerosene oil the best articles to clean off the
compound with.
TO MAKE INVISIBLE WRITING.
To make secret or invisible writing, procure some very thin starch, with
which write with a quill pen (which should be a soft one) anything that
fancy may dictate. Suffer it to dry perfectly; examine the paper upon
which you have written, and not one letter can be distinguished by the
naked eye. Procure a little iodine, which is an elementary body, dissolve
it in water, and with a camel's hair pencil, a quill, or any other
convenient article, dipped in the solution, slightly rub the paper on the
side which has been written upon; the writing will instantly appear as
distinctly visible as if written with the finest ink ever invented.
RED PRINTING INK.
Red printing ink may be made in this way:--Boil linseed oil until smoke is
given off. Set the oil then on fire, and allow it to burn until it can be
drawn out into strings half an inch long. Add one pound of resin for each
quart of oil, and one-half pound of dry, brown soap cut into slices. The
soap must be put in cautiously, as the water in the soap causes a violent
commotion. Lastly, the oil is ground with a sufficient pigment on a stone
by means of a muller. Vermilion, red lead, carmine, Indian red, Venetian
red, and the lakes are all suitable for printing inks.
TO PREVENT ELECTROTYPE BLOCKS FROM WARPING.
To prevent electrotype blocks from warping, shrinking or swelling, place
them in a shallow pan or dish, cover with kerosene oil and let them soak
as long as possible, say three or four days. Then wipe dry and place in
the form. After the first two or three washings they may swell a little;
if so, have them carefully dressed down, and after that you will have
little or no trouble with them, and can leave them in the form just as you
would were they solid.
BLACK PRINTING INK.
To make a good, permanent black printing ink, take
Balsam copaiva 9 oz.
Best lampblack 3 oz.
Prussian blue 1-1/2 oz.
Indian red 0-3/4 oz.
Turpentine soap, dried 3 oz.
Grind on a stone until extreme fineness has been obtained. This ink will
work clear and sharp, and can easily be removed from the type.
SEALING WAX.
Following are formulas for making sealing wax:--Fine red sealing wax--Pale
shellac, 4 oz.; Venice turpentine, 10 drachms; English vermilion, 2 oz.
Ordinary red sealing wax--Shellac, 2 oz.; resin, 4 oz.; Venice
turpentine, 12 drachms; chrome red, 12 drachms. Cheap red bottle
wax--Resin, 10 oz.; turpentine, 1 oz.; beeswax, 1-1/2 oz.; tallow, 1 oz.;
red lead or red ochre, 3 oz. The manipulation is about the same for the
three kinds. First, the resins are melted with as low a heat as will
suffice, then the turpentine, previously warmed, is to be added, and
lastly the coloring material. The first quality is only used in sticks,
and the third, when melted, for dipping bottles in. The second can be
employed for either purpose. When the wax is used for dipping it should be
kept at a temperature just sufficient to render it liquid, as too much
heat causes it to foam and to rapidly become brittle. Even with this
precaution, it is necessary to add a little turpentine, from time to time,
to replace the essential oil lost by evaporation.
FOR MAKING DEXTRINE.
Five hundred parts of potato starch are mixed with 1,500 parts of cold
distilled water and eight parts of pure oxalic acid. This mixture is
placed in a suitable vessel on a water-bath, and heated until a small
sample tested with iodine solution does not produce the reaction of
starch. When this is found to be the case the vessel is immediately
removed from the water-bath, and the liquid neutralized with pure
carbonate of lime. After having been left standing for two days, the
liquor is filtered, and the clear filtrate evaporated upon a water-bath
until the mass has become quite a paste, which is removed by a spatula,
and having been made into thin cakes is placed upon paper and further
dried in a warm situation; 220 parts of pure dextrine are thus obtained.
When needed for making mucilage, the solution has only to be evaporated to
the proper thickness.
COLORS FOR PRINTING INKS.
The different colors, and the inks which may be made from them, are as
follows:
For Red.--Orange lead, vermilion, burnt sienna, Venetian red, Indian red,
lake vermilion, orange mineral, rose pink and red lead.
Yellow.--Yellow ochre, gamboge, and chromate of lead.
Blue.--Cobalt, Prussian blue, indigo, Antwerp blue, Chinese blue, French
ultramarine, and German ultramarine.
Green.--Verdigris, green verditer, and mixtures of blue and yellow.
Purple.--A mixture of those used for red and blue.
Deep Brown.--Burnt umber, with a little scarlet lake.
Pale Brown.--Burnt sienna; a rich shade is obtained by using a little
scarlet lake.
Lilac.--Cobalt blue, with a little carmine added.
Pale Lilac.--Carmine, with a little cobalt blue.
Amber.--Pale chrome, with a little carmine.
Pink.--Carmine or crimson lake.
Shades and Tints.--A bright red is best got from pale vermilion, with a
little carmine added; dark vermilion, when mixed with the varnish,
produces a dull color. Orange lead and vermilion ground together also
produce a very bright tint, and one that is more permanent than an entire
vermilion color. The pigments are dear; when a cheap job is in hand,
orange mineral, rose pink and red lead may be used.
Yellow.--Of the materials named, the chromate of lead makes the brightest
color. If a dull yellow be wanted, yellow ochre may be used; it grinds
easily and is very cheap.
Blue.--Indigo is excessively dark, and requires a good deal of trouble to
lighten it. It makes a fine, showy color where brightness is not required.
Prussian blue is useful, but it must be thoroughly ground. It dries very
quickly, hence the roller must be frequently cleaned. Antwerp blue is very
light and easily worked. Chinese blue is also available. As already said,
the shade may be varied with flake white. There is this objection to
Prussian, Antwerp, and Chinese blues, that they are hard to grind, and
likely to turn greenish with varnish when used thin. A bright blue is also
to be got from cobalt, or French or German ultramarine. This is cheap,
easily ground, and works freely. Lime blue may also be used.
Green.--Any of the yellows and blues may be mixed. Gamboge, a transparent
color, is very useful in mixture with Prussian blue; or chromate of lead
and Prussian blue may be used. The varnish, having a yellow tinge, has an
effect upon the mixture, and should be taken into account. With a slight
quantity of Antwerp blue, varnish in itself will produce a decidedly
greenish tint. Verdigris and green verditer also give greens. If Chinese
blue be added to pale chrome, it gives a good green, and any shade can be
obtained by increasing or diminishing either color. Emerald green is got
by mixing pale chrome with a little Chinese blue, and then adding the
emerald until the tint is satisfactory.
Brown.--Sepia gives a nice tint, and burnt umber a very hot tint. Raw
umber gives a brighter brown, bistre a brighter still.
Neutral tints are obtained by mixing Prussian blue, lake and gamboge.
In using painters' colors, it is advisable to avoid, as much as possible,
the heavy ones.
Tints of any desired depth may be made by using a finely-ground white ink
as a basis, and toning it with the color desired.
Varnish tints are made by adding color to full-bodied, well-boiled
printers' varnish, using a little soap and drying preparation to make them
work smoothly and dry quickly.
In mixing tints to print with, the muller should be used to rub in the
colors thoroughly, otherwise the work is liable to be streaky. It is
advisable to mix no more of a tint than is needed for the work in hand.
Most colored inks work best if applied to the rollers a little at a time,
until the depth of color desired is reached, as colored inks distribute
slower than black, and are more liable to thicken upon and clog the type
when too much is taken at once.
HINTS ON "CASTING UP."
The most simple and effective contrivance for casting-up work is, for
every printer to set up, in vertical parallel lines, the m's of each font
in his office, with figures in succession beside them, and work them upon
good hard paper, but little wet or pressed, which ought to be dried very
gradually. If the cast-up work printed with the same type as these
measures very little variation will be found; for if the measure and the
measured page do vary from the measurement, the one is compensated by the
other. But even this method can scarcely be trusted in setting the price
with the compositor, since the difference between a thin and thick space
will carry an en quadrat, and thus may give the turn in the 500 letters,
so as to make 1,000 difference.
HOW TO ASCERTAIN THE QUANTITY OF PLAIN TYPE REQUIRED FOR NEWSPAPER.
To ascertain the quantity of plain type required for a newspaper,
magazine, and other work, find the number of square inches and divide the
same by four; the quotient will be the approximate weight of the matter.
As it is impossible to set the cases entirely clear, it is necessary to
add 25 per cent to large fonts, and 33 per cent to small, to allow for
dead letter. This, of course, is only approximate, but will be found
sufficiently close for all practical purposes.
CARE OF WOOD-CUTS.
Care should be taken that wood-cuts are thoroughly dry before being sent
to the foundry, as the intense heat to which they are subjected frequently
causes them to warp and split, especially if pierced.
REMEDY FOR TYPE THAT STICKS IN DISTRIBUTING.
Great difficulty is sometimes experienced in distributing type which has
been allowed to remain in form for any length of time. Prevention, of
course, is better than cure; but where the remedy is required, the
following may be tried with advantage:--Pour boiling water over the type,
and allow it to stand for about half an hour. Repeat, if necessary, until
the desired effect has been obtained.
LAYING TYPE.
The page as received from the founder, should be carefully unwrapped, and,
after having been placed on a galley, soaked thoroughly with thin soap
water, to prevent adhesion after the types have been used a short time;
then, with a firm rule or reglet, as many lines should be lifted as will
make about an inch in thickness, and, placing the rule close upon one side
of the bottom of the proper box, slide off the lines gently, taking care
not to rub the face against the side of the box. Proceed then with
successive lines till the box is filled. Careless compositors are prone to
huddle new type together, and grasping them by handfulls plunge them
pell-mell into the box, rudely shaking them down to crowd in more. This
should never be allowed, as shaking does more injury to type than press
wear. The type left over should be kept standing on galleys in regular
order till the cases need to be again filled or sorted.
TO FIX BRONZE COLORS ON GLASS.
Bronze colors can be fixed upon glass or porcelain by painting the
articles with a concentrated solution of potash water glass of 30 deg. B., and
dusting them with the bronze powder. The latter adheres so firmly that it
will not be affected by water, and may be polished with steel or agate.
TO DESTROY BOOK WORMS.
For the destruction of book worms, put the books into a case which closes
pretty well, and keep a saucer supplied with benzine within it for some
few weeks. Worms, larvae, eggs--all are said to be got rid of.
TINNING PAPER AND CLOTH.
The following is a method of tinning paper and cloth:--Zinc powder is
ground with an albumen solution, the boiling mixture is then spread over
the tissue by means of a brush, when dry, the layer is fixed by dry steam,
which coagulates the albumen, and the tissue is then taken through a
solution of tin. Metallic tin is reduced, and sets in a very thin layer.
The tissues of paper are then washed, dried and hot pressed.
CARE OF BOOKS.
Books should be shelved in the coolest part of the room, and where the air
is never likely to be overheated, which is near the floor, where we
ourselves live and move. In the private libraries of our residences a
mistake is often made in carrying the shelving of our book-cases so high
that they enter the upper and overheated stratum of air. If anyone be
skeptical on this point, let him test, by means of a step-ladder, the
condition of the air near the ceiling of his common sitting-room on a
Winter evening, when the gas is burning freely. The heat is simply
insufferable.
HOW TO PREVENT MILDEW ON BOOKS.
To prevent mildew on books, lightly wash over the backs and covers with
spirits of wine, using as a brush the feather of a goose quill.
A CHEAP LYE.