Chapter VIII: Part 8

The form being worked off, it is the pressman’s duty to wash it clean from every particle of ink, not only for the cleanly working and well standing of the letter in the subsequent composing, but to save his own time in making ready when the same letter gets to press again. Many an hour is lost from not bestowing a minute or two in thoroughly cleansing and rinsing the form.

For this purpose, printing-offices are provided with a ley-trough, suspended on a cross-frame, and swinging by iron ears fixed somewhat out of the precise centre, so that the gravity of the trough will cause it to fall in a slanting position forward. This trough is lined with lead, the top front edge being guarded from the pitching of the forms by a plate of iron. The form having been placed in the trough, on its side, the pressman takes hold of the rim of the chase by the hook, or instrument for that purpose, and, laying it gently down, pours the ley upon it, and sluices it by swinging the trough on its pivots two or three times to and fro; then, taking the ley-brush, he applies it to the whole form, type, furniture, and chase; the ley is then let out into a receptacle, and the form well rinsed with clean water, by swinging the trough as before; the form is then lifted out, and consigned to the care of the compositor.

The ley is made of pot or pearl ash, or, what is better, of concentrated ley. A large earthen jar is usually chosen for the purpose; a sufficient quantity of ash or concentrated ley is added to the water to make it bite the tongue sharply in tasting.

The ley-brush is made large, the hairs close, fine, and long, in order not to injure the type, while sufficient force is applied to search every interstice in the letter where the ink can have insinuated itself.

MAKING READY ON CYLINDER PRESSES.

Make clean the bed of the press and the impression segment of the cylinder. Adjust the bearers a trifle above ordinary type height. See that the impression screws have an even bearing on the journals, and that the cylinder fairly meets the bearers. Select a suitable tympan or impression surface.

The tympan may be the India-rubber cloth which is furnished with the press, a thick woollen lapping cloth or blanket, several sheets of thick calendered printing paper, or one or more smooth and hard pasteboards. Each of these materials has merits not to be found in any other. Upon the proper selection of the tympan the presswork in great measure depends, and the pressman should be thus guided in making choice.

_A pasteboard tympan_ is most suitable for wood-cuts, for perfectly new type, and for the best kinds of presswork. It is not suitable for miscellaneous work, nor for heavy forms, nor mixed old and new type. If the overlaying is properly executed, a pasteboard tympan will enable the pressman to show a sharper edge and a more delicate impression of the type than can be possible with any other, and it will wear the type less than any other. But it will require a very tedious and careful making ready, or it will prove very destructive to type.

_A woollen blanket_ is best adapted for old stereotype plates, for very old type which has been rounded on the edges, for posters with large wood type, and for all common work which requires a clear but dull impression. For such work a woollen blanket will enable the pressman to make ready a form more quickly than with any other material; but it is injurious to new type, and incapable of producing a fine and sharp impression.

_Thick paper_ is much used for book-work. It also answers well for script circulars and leaded forms. It will not answer so well for mixed old and new type, nor for table-work with unequal heights of brass rule, nor for mixed large and small type. It will prove most serviceable for the average of light and fine presswork.

_The India-rubber cloth_ combines many good qualities not found in other tympans: it has something of the density of the pasteboard, the hardness and evenness of paper, and the flexibility of the blanket, combined with an elasticity peculiarly its own. It will compass a greater variety of work than any other: posters, script circulars, news and book forms, stereotype plates, and old or new type, can all be well printed with an India-rubber blanket. When it is intended to make one tympan answer for all kinds of work, the India-rubber blanket will be found decidedly superior to all others; but when very extra presswork is wanted, the tympan must be specially adapted to the form of type.

There are forms for which none of these tympans are specially suitable. For such cases careful pressmen combine two or more together,—as Welsh flannel over rubber, or thin rubber over pasteboard or under paper. These, however, are exceptional cases, and are only thus combined when very good presswork is wanted from imperfect materials. Careful observation of the _quality_ of the impression given by each style of tympan will teach a pressman how to combine to the best advantage. As it requires experience and discrimination, an arbitrary rule cannot be given.

Whatever may be the material selected, the tympan must be stretched very tightly over the cylinder. All labour in overlaying is but thrown away if this is not carefully attended to. A rubber or woollen blanket can be secured at one end of the cylinder by small hooks projecting inward, while it may be laced tightly with saddler’s thread at the other end; or, by sewing on that end of the blanket a piece of canvas, it may be wound tightly around the reel, and kept secure by the pawl and ratchet.

But paper and pasteboard require a different process,-viz.: Take a piece of Nonpareil cherry reglet of the full length of the cylinder. Trim down the paper or pasteboard to the width of the bed between the bearers, but leave it a little longer than the impression segment of the cylinder. Then crease the pasteboard at a uniform distance of half an inch from the narrower end, and lay this creased part on the flat edge of the impression segment of the cylinder, under the grippers. Put the reglet over this, and bring down the clamps hard on the reglet, so as to bind all securely. When this is done, a thin web of muslin may be stretched over the whole, in the same way in which a blanket is laid on, and rolled up tightly, which will prevent any slipping of the board or of the overlays pasted on it.

A large poster, or newspaper form, or any large form with old type, will require a soft roller with much suction. Book-work, wood-cuts, or fine job-work, will require a harder roller, with very smooth, elastic, and clinging surface. Coloured inks are best printed with a still harder roller and with much less suction. All rollers should be perfectly clean, and free from cracks or holes. The suitableness of these rollers cannot well be explained by words: such a knowledge will be best acquired by observation and experience. It may, however, be necessary to state that one roller will not answer for all styles of presswork: the quality of the work, the size and wear of the type, and the speed of the press, must control the pressman in his choice.

Posters, with large wood type, require a semi-fluid ink, but not surcharged with oil. Ordinary news-work requires a better grade, more tachy, and finely ground. Good book-work should have a stiffer-bodied ink, soft, smooth, and with little oil. Job ink, which is made expressly for presswork on dry paper, should be used only for such work. Book and job inks are not convertible: an ink for wet paper will not work well on dry paper, and _vice versâ_. Very fine presswork—such as wood-cuts, or letter-press upon enamelled paper—calls for an ink impalpably fine, very stiff, of brilliant colour, and nearly or absolutely free from oil.

Every job-office should keep four grades of ink,—news, book, job, and wood-cut. They can be compounded (if no ink-manufacturer is near) with each other, or reduced with varnish to suit any form. Good presswork is impossible without good inks.

Charge the ink-fountain with the ink selected, and keep it well covered, to protect it from paper dust. Turn down the screws, and cut off all the ink evenly. When the form is ready, turn on the ink cautiously, and wait for ten or twelve impressions before again altering the screws. For small forms and short numbers of any piece of presswork in coloured ink or extra ink, a fountain is not necessary. The ink may be applied with a brayer or palette-knife.

The adjustment of the margin is the next process. Although type can be printed from any quarter of the bed, it will be found most judicious to lay all forms close to the back part of the bed, and equidistant between the bearers. This will secure a good impression, give a fair average margin to every form, and allow the full use of the bed for a large form, without resetting the cylinder. The bed and cylinder travel together, and the grippers, which bring down the sheet to the form, should barely lap over the back part of the bed. So long as the toothed cylinder wheel, and the short toothed rack on the side of the bed, remain undisturbed, the grippers will always pass over the bed in exactly the same place. When the grippers are in this position, (slightly lapping over the back of the bed,) take measurement of the distance between the back edge of the bed and the point of one of the nearest grippers. With a piece of reglet cut a gauge exactly corresponding to this measurement. Let no form be laid upon the press until the distance between the type and the edge of the chase tallies with the gauge. This will prevent the grippers from closing on the form and crushing the type. If the chase will not admit of so wide a margin, or if an extra margin is wanted on the sheet, put a piece of furniture of the extra width behind the chase: the margin can thus be increased or diminished at pleasure.

A book form may be locked up in a chase so large, with the type so far from the edge of the chase, that the grippers will bring down the sheet in such a position that it will be printed with the margin all on one side. To remedy this, the cylinder must be reset. Proceed thus. Remove the screw and washer, and draw the intermediate wheel out of gear, loosen screws in the gauge rack, then turn the cylinder to the point required, connect the intermediate wheel, adjust the gauge rack, and screw up tight.

The press having been adjusted, next examine the form to be printed. Not only see that it is gauged correctly, but also see that it is not locked up too tightly,—that chase, quoins, letter, and furniture are all level, and lie flat upon the bed. If the form springs, the quoins must be slackened; if this loosens the type too much, the justification should be amended. Make clean the type by rubbing it over with a dry brush. The rollers are often made foul and the colour of the ink changed by dust and particles of dirt clinging to the type.

Fasten the form so securely on the bed that it will not be moved by the action of the cylinder or the rollers. Take a proof on its own paper, using very little ink. Proceed to adjust the drop guides so as to bring the sheet exactly in the right position. Push out the iron tongues at the edge of the feed-board, and at equal distances from each other, so that they will equally sustain the paper. Slide the drop guides along the rod until they fall squarely over the tongues. Set the side guide so that it will give a true margin in length to the sheet to be printed. Adjust the grippers so that they will seize the sheet at proper intervals, making the margin exactly even by lengthening or shortening the drop guides. Then take a clean proof _on its own paper_, exactly in the right position, before making ready, when it may be shown to the reader. It frequently happens that an error in the margin, or an imperfection in the register, is thus noticed; and its timely discovery and correction before overlaying will save much time and trouble. A readable proof may be taken before overlaying, by running through a sheet or two of proof paper. _Make register_, if it is a book form, _before underlaying_.

When every thing has been found correct, then proceed to regulate the impression. If the type is fair, the proof should show a decently uniform impression; but if the form is large, or if it contains old and new or large and small type, then the proof will show an uneven impression. To rectify this inequality, pressmen use many expedients.

1. By lowering the bearers and putting on more impression. This, of itself, is a very poor way; for it wears down new type in order to show the face of the old, and invariably produces thick and coarse presswork.

2. By raising the low type to a proper height with thicknesses of paper under them, which is called _underlaying_.

3. By giving additional thickness to the tympan over every part of the form which shows a weak impression, which is called _overlaying_.

It is very rare that any one of these modes will prove sufficient: all should be used in conjunction. When the larger part of the proof-sheet shows a weak impression, almost approaching illegibility, then more impression should be added. When one side of the proof-sheet shows a weak impression, while that on the other side is full and clear, then more impression should be given to the paler side. The impression should be made decently uniform before any attempt at overlaying or underlaying. But the bearers should follow the impression screws, both being raised and lowered together, in order to secure the type from the unimpeded force of the impression cylinder. Not only should the bearers be of even height, but the cylinder shaft should always revolve on a true level. If the impression screws are carelessly used, and the bearers are rashly raised and lowered, this even bearing will soon be lost; the difficulty of obtaining a good impression will be much increased, and the press will receive a serious injury. For the same reason, the bearers should never be packed, (by the addition of cards, as is usual on a hand-press,) for it strains the cylinder and all its bearings with an irregular resistance. The bearers should be tampered with even less than the impression screws. When the impression screws are so set that the cylinder gives a fair uniform impression, they have done all that can be expected, and nothing more should be attempted by them. Sometimes the proof may show that a cut, or a line of type, or a set of brass rules, are higher than any other material in the form. But the impression should be set regardless of this: it will be found quicker and neater to reduce the impression on one or two such high lines, by cutting _out_ the tympan-sheet over them, than it would be to underlay and bring up all other types to such an irregular height. Pitch the impression so that it will face the larger portion of the type, and make the less conform to the greater. Those parts which are high must be cut out of the tympan, and those which are low should be raised by underlays, and all inequalities regulated by overlays.

When any part of the form is very low, it will not answer to attempt facing it with overlays: it must be brought up to meet the inking rollers as well as the impression cylinder. When the proof shows low type, cut out the impression of it, raise the form, and paste it over the feet of the letter. If some types are high and some are low, make proper distinction, and carefully avoid increasing the height of any type or rule which seems to have a full impression. Pursue the same course when a marked depression appears in the centre, or a dwindling impression at the edges. Cut out that section which is light, and affix it to the defective part. If the impression dwindles in any part, the underlays must be cut of irregular thickness to suit the tapering off of the impression. Cut out an underlay from the edge where the impression begins to fade; then cut another of smaller size where it is utterly illegible; paste one over the other, laying them carefully in their proper positions, and then paste them all on the bottom of the form, where it is needed, taking care to lay the smallest underlay nearest the bed. This will restore the type to a proper level, and the next proof should show a uniform impression. The same plan will answer for a low corner. Use as little paste as possible, thin and free from lumps. Be careful that the underlays are laid on smoothly, without fold or wrinkle. Cut all underlays from a proof; for the proof serves as a guide both in cutting and in affixing to the form.

Underlaying should not be done to any great extent upon a cylinder press. It is a valuable means of bringing up an old line of type, a hollow, or a low corner. The underlays of any _type_ form should not constitute more than one-fourth of the surface; if more than this is attempted, they will rarely ever fail to work up the quadrates and furniture. The action of the quickly moving cylinder upon a form of type underlaid with yielding paper, must create a spring and a rocking of all the materials in the chase.

Of all materials, old stereotype plates need underlays most, as they are usually very irregular in height. Thin card or pasteboard will be found preferable to paper for the underlaying of plates secured on wood bodies. When the plates are on patent blocks, always underlay between the plate and the block. Always cut the underlay for a plate less in size than the faint impression would seem to require. This will allow for the spring of the plate. If it is cut of full size, the next impression will disappoint the pressman, by being much harder at the edges than he intended. Never attempt to build up a type form to a proper impression entirely or chiefly by underlaying.

Underlays should be put under all large and bold-faced types when used with much smaller types, so as to raise them above the level of the others. This is needed to give it closer rolling, extra supply of ink, and that extra force of impression to transfer the ink to paper which all large types require.

When the type has been so levelled by underlays that all parts receive proper bearing from the inking rollers, and when the cylinder has a corresponding even impression, then overlaying may be commenced. For ordinary news, posters, or job-work, overlaying may be entirely unnecessary; the tapes and fly may be set, and the printing of the form may proceed without further delay. But fine press-work cannot be done without overlays. Underlays are chiefly valuable for securing an even impression; while overlays are indispensable for giving delicacy and finish to that impression.

To overlay a form properly, the tympan should be covered with a sheet of thin, smooth, and hard paper, stretched tightly. Then take a pale impression on the tympan-sheet, and also run through the press two or three proofs on thin and hard paper. Examine the proofs carefully on both face and back. If any brass rules or letters appear too high, cut them out of the tympan-sheet in one or two thicknesses, as their varying height may require. Go over the whole proof, examining every line carefully, and, by cutting out, reduce the impression of all projecting letters to a uniform standard. For this, as for all other work on overlays, use a very sharp knife with a thin point, and cut on a smooth surface, so that there will be no dragged or torn edge to the cut.

The next step should be to raise the impression of those parts of the form when the type appears dull or weak. Cut out carefully, and paste the overlays over the tympan smoothly. Overlays are worse than useless if they are not laid on firmly and smoothly, as the slightest bagginess will cause slur or mackle. If, by accident, the tympan-sheets or overlays should bag or wrinkle, tear them off, and commence anew.

Cut out and overlay the more prominent parts first; then try another impression, and from that cut new overlays for minor defects. Thus proceed until a perfectly smooth and even impression is obtained.

With common work it will be sufficient to cut overlays in masses, as pages or parts of pages; but with fine work every line and letter needs examination, and letters and parts of single letters are often overlaid by careful pressmen. When the pressman is expert at making ready, it is not necessary that he should take a new impression with every successive set of overlays. Many pressmen take a dozen proofs of a form on different styles of paper, and proceed to cut out and overlay on one of the proofs, and finally paste this proof on the tympan. But this boldness and precision can be acquired only by long practice. It is better for the young pressman to feel his way step by step.

_The Impression._—A diversity of opinion exists among good printers as to the proper force of the impression: by some a heavy and solid indentation of the paper is considered necessary; while others insist that an impression which does not indent the paper is preferable. But the indentation of the paper is no test of the force of the impression. A light impression against a woollen blanket will show more forcibly than a strong impression against a paper or a pasteboard tympan.

Type is worn out not so much by the _direct_ impression of the platen or cylinder on the flat face of a form, as by a grinding or rounding impression on the edges of the type, caused by the forcing of the tympan between the lines and around the corners of every letter. Every fount of worn-out type, whether from cylinder or platen press, has suffered less from a reduction in height than from a rounding of the edges. When the type is new and the tympan hard and smooth, the impression can be made so flat that the type will not round at the edges, and the impression will not show on the paper. But this cannot be done with old type or with a soft tympan: the impression must be regulated to suit the tympan. On fine work, a rounding impression should be avoided, as it not only destroys type, but also thickens the hair-line and wears off the ceriphs.

It is not sufficient that the paper should barely meet the type: there must be sufficient force in the impression to transfer the ink from type to paper. If there is not sufficient impression, it will be necessary to carry much ink on the rollers; and this produces two evils: the type is clogged with ink, and the form becomes foul; too much ink is transferred to the paper, which smears and sets off for want of force sufficient to impress it in the paper. Distinction must be made between a _light_ and _weak_ impression and a _firm_ and _even_ impression. The latter should be secured even if the paper is indented; though that is not always necessary. But a form of old type, a poster, or other solid form, must have a _heavy_ impression, or else a very tedious and careful making-ready.

_To set New Tapes._—Pass the tape around and close to the cylinder. Lap it over one of the tape pulleys, and then pass it around the small guide pulley on the shaft above. To increase its tightness, throw up the guide pulley from the shaft, and set the binding screw more tightly. All these pulleys are movable on their shafts, and distance between them may be altered at pleasure. Let the tapes rest upon the outer margin of the sheet, and see that the overlays on the tympan over which the tapes pass are of equal thickness; if not of equal thickness, the sheet will wrinkle.

_To set the Fly._—Run through a sheet of the paper to be printed, and let it run down the fly so far that it is barely held by the fly pulleys. Then set the cam which works the fly, so that its point just clears the small friction roller on the shaft, and it will throw down the sheet correctly. Tighten the spring according to the size of the sheet, and set the spring crank so that it will prevent the fly from striking too hard on the table.

It will be seen that good presswork does not depend _entirely_ upon the press, nor yet upon the workman or the materials. Nor will a superiority in any one point compensate for a deficiency in another: the newest type will suffer from a poor roller, and the most careful making-ready will be of no avail if poor ink is used. It is necessary that _all_ the materials should be of the best kind,—that they should be well adapted to each other, and fitly used. Although a good workman can do much with insufficient materials, there are cases where a neglect to comply with one condition is equal to a neglect of all.[19]

FINE HAND-PRESSWORK.

Fine presswork is the art of printing perfect impressions from the surface of type or engravings in relief: that is, the subject transferred to paper should be an impression from the surface, and the surface only, of the types or engraved lines, of such a tone as to produce all the effect of which the subject is capable, without either superfluity or deficiency of colour.

The press ought to be in the best condition; otherwise it will be impossible to get an equal impression without much trouble and loss of time. The joints of the tympan should not have any play, or the correctness of the register will be affected, and slurs and doubles be caused.

The parchments on the tympans should be thin, and of a uniform thickness, and stretched on the tympans so as not to be flaccid. On account of its thinness, smoothness, and uniformity, silk is probably preferable.

The face of the platen ought to be a true plane, and parallel to the press-stone, or table.

The advantage of having a good press is unavailing for the production of fine work if the types are much worn; for it is impossible to produce a sharp, clear impression when the type is worn and the fine lines are rounded by much use. In consequence of this roundness of the letter, it is necessary to use a thick blanket in the tympan to bring up the type; thus producing a gross and irregular impression of more than the surface.

Ink for fine work should be characterized by the following peculiarities:—

Intenseness of colour.

Impalpability.

Covering the surface perfectly of the type or engraving.

Quitting the surface of the type or engraving when the paper is pressed on it, and adhering to the paper.

Not smearing after it is printed.

Complete retention of colour.

Ink ought to be reduced to an impalpable smoothness, either in a mill or on a stone with a muller. This is essential, as the process gives it the next quality,—that of completely yet very thinly covering the surface of the type or the lines of the engraving, and insuring an even and perfect appearance to the impression on the paper. Another important requisite is, that the ink shall not only cover the surface of the lines on the paper printed, but that it shall also quit the face of the type or engraving and leave it quite clean when the paper is impressed on it, and attach itself to the paper, so as to give a perfect impression of the subject represented, without the colour of the paper appearing through the ink; and that this peculiarity of quitting the type or engraving and becoming attached to the paper shall continue the same through any number of impressions, without any accumulation of ink on the surface printed from. After having obtained these results, and when the printing is as perfect as it can be made by workmanship, something more is requisite,—viz.: that the ink shall not smear on being slightly rubbed, and that it shall retain its colour and appearance without spreading at the edges or tinging the paper.

The rollers should be in good condition; otherwise the pressman may exert his skill in vain, with a great loss of time and waste of paper.

The quality of the paper is of great consequence in fine printing; but it is frequently overlooked by the printer’s employers, who are apt to pay more attention to a showy appearance and a low price than to quality.

The best paper for printing on is that which is made of fine linen rags and moderately sized, without the use of acids in bleaching, and without being adulterated with cotton rags: this paper takes water kindly, is easily got into good condition, receives a good impression, is durable, preserves its colour, and does not act upon the ink.

The use of cotton rags, the introduction of gypsum into the manufacture of fine and other papers, the application of acids and bleaching powders to improve the colour and produce apparently good paper from an inferior staple,—these form the grand hinderances to the American printer in his efforts to equal or excel foreign productions. Hence it is that works printed in this country are less valued than those from the English press, which are printed on paper of fine fabric, made mostly of linen rags, and sufficiently strong to bear a fine ink.

A pressman should, as a matter of course, be well acquainted with the entire routine of presswork; in addition to which, to form his judgment, he should examine the most splendid productions of the press, and study them as patterns of workmanship.

In making ready, it must be evident that, when a clear, sharp impression is wanted, the pressure should be on the surface only. Of course the tympan ought not to be very soft, neither should a woollen blanket be used: the most perfect impression will be obtained when fine thick paper alone is placed in the tympans; and even of this article but few thicknesses should be employed.

After an impression is printed, the pressman examines if it be uniform throughout; if it be,—which is very rarely the case,—he goes on with the work; if not, he proceeds to overlay, in order to produce regularity of pressure and of colour over the whole form. Wherever the impression is weak he pastes a bit of thin, smooth paper, of the size and shape of the imperfect part, on the tympan-sheet; he then pulls another impression, to examine the effect of his overlays, and continues to add to them where wanted, till the pressure of the platen is the same in every part and the impression is of a uniform shade of colour.

If the impression come off too strong in parts, or at the edges or corners of the pages or on the head-lines, it will be necessary to cut away the tympan-sheet in those parts, and, if that does not ease the pressure sufficiently, to cut away the same parts from one or more of the sheets that are within the tympans.

It is generally preferable to overlay on a sheet of stout smooth paper inside the tympan, particularly where the same press does the whole or great part of the work: this sheet is cut to fit the interior of the tympan, so as not to slip about, and has overlays pasted on it where wanted, to bring up the impression till it is very nearly equal. In all succeeding sheets it saves the pressman a great deal of time, as he will be certain that when he pulls a sheet of another form of the same work it will be nearly right, and he will only have to place thin overlays on occasional parts to make the impression perfect.

It is necessary, where short pages occur in a form, to have bearers to protect their bottom lines and the edges of the adjoining pages. These may be of double pica reglet, pasted on the frisket, so as to bear on some part of the furniture or chase; but bearers made to the height of the types are better, when they can be used.

It happens occasionally that the tympan causes the paper to touch the form partially on being turned down, and occasions slurs. This may occur from the parchment being slack or the paper being thin and soft. To prevent this inconvenience, it is customary to roll up a piece of thick paper and paste it on the frisket adjoining the part. Many pressmen prefer pieces of cork cut to about the thickness of double pica, and pasted on the frisket.

In working the white paper, instead of pins stuck into the tympan, to prevent the paper slipping, a duck’s bill (a tongue cut in a piece of stout paper) is frequently used: it is pasted to the tympan at the bottom of the tympan-sheet, and the tongue projects in front of it; indeed, the tympan-sheet appears to rest in it. The bottom of each sheet is placed behind this tongue, which supports it while the tympan is turned down.

The rollers should be kept clean, but should not be too moist, as this will prevent the ink from distributing equally over them, and from covering evenly the surface of the types or engraving; nor should they be too dry, as in that case they will not dispose of the ink smoothly enough to produce a fine impression, neither will they retain particles of dirt on their surface, but it will part with them to the form, thus causing picks.

The ink ought to be rubbed out thinly and equally on the ink-block, so that when it is taken it may be diffused smoothly over the surface of the rollers. It is advisable to keep rubbing the ink out on the block with the brayer, and to distribute the roller almost constantly; the continual friction produces a small degree of warmth, which is of advantage, particularly in cold weather.

As uniformity of colour is requisite for beauty in printing, where the form is large the pressman should take ink for every impression: this may be thought troublesome, but it is advantageous in producing regularity of colour. It is unpleasant to see in a fine book two pages that face each other differing in colour,—the one a full black, surcharged with ink, the other deficient in quantity and of a gray colour; yet this must happen when, as is frequently the case, three or four sheets are printed with one taking of ink.

In fine books, particularly where the paper is large and heavy and the type large, set-off sheets are used to interleave the whole impression while working: these remain till the printed paper is taken down from the poles by the warehouseman. These set-off sheets are put in when the white paper is working, and moved from one heap to the other during the working of the reiteration. They prevent the ink from setting off from one sheet to another while they are newly printed, from the weight of the paper.

To secure uniformity of impression, the pull should be so adjusted in the first instance as to give a proper degree of pressure on the form when the bar is pulled home; then, checking the bar, it should be allowed to rest in that position during a short pause.

It will be perceived that, to produce presswork of a highly superior character, great expense and much time are required; and that it is requisite to have a good press in good condition; to have new types, or types whose faces are not rounded by wear; to have good rollers in good condition; that the ink should be strong, of a full black colour, that it will not fade nor stain the paper, and ground so fine as to be impalpable; the paper should be of the best quality, made of linen rags, and not bleached by means of acids or bleaching powders, which have a tendency to decompose the ink; the rolling should be carefully and well done; the face of the type should be completely covered with ink, without any superfluity, so as to produce a full colour; and the pull should be so regulated as to have a slow and great pressure, and to pause at its maximum in order to fix the ink firmly upon the paper. These particulars observed, with nothing but paper in the tympans, perfect impressions of the face alone of the type will be obtained, and a splendid book will be produced in the best style of printing.[20]

PRINTING WOOD-CUTS.

A single block, when imposed in a large chase, may spring out of the chase while being inked, from the quantity of furniture about it. A good plan is to impose it in a job-chase, and to impose this chase in a larger one: this will cause it to lie flatter on the press and firmer in the rolling, the large chase being secured firmly on the press by quoins and the corner irons.

Before pulling the first impression, the workman should see that the surface of the cut is perfectly clear from particles of dirt, and that no pin or lump of paste is on the tympan. He ought then to pull very gently, or he may injure some of the fine lines of the engraving.

Neither the pressure nor the impression of an engraving on wood should be uniformly equal: if it be, the effect intended to be produced by the artist will fail; and, instead of light, middle tint, and shade, an impression will be produced that possesses none of them in perfection: some parts will be too hard and black, while other parts will have neither pressure nor colour enough, nor any of the mildness of the middle tint, which ought to pervade a large portion of an engraving, and on which the eye reposes after viewing the strong lights and the deep shades.

To produce the desired effect, great nicety and patience are required in the pressman: a single thickness of thin India paper, (the best for overlaying,) with the edges scraped down, is frequently required over very small parts. The overlay should never be cut at the edges; but, even where great delicacy of shape is not required, it should be torn into the form wanted: this reduces the thickness of the edges, and causes the additional pressure to blend with the surrounding parts As particular parts of the impression will frequently come up too strong, and other parts too weak, it will be necessary to take out from between the tympans a thickness of paper and add an additional tympan-sheet, cutting away the parts that come off too hard, and scraping down the edges. Scraping away half the thickness of a tympan-sheet in small parts that require to be a little lightened will improve the impression. The light parts require little pressure; but the depths should be brought up so as to produce a full and firm impression.

If a block be hollow on the surface, underlaying the hollow part will bring up the impression better than overlaying it, at least so nearly that only a thickness or two of paper will be needed as overlays. If a block be too low, it is better to raise it to the proper height by underlays than to use overlays; as the latter act in some measure as blankets, and are pressed into the interstices, rendering the lines thicker than in the engraving.

It will be necessary sometimes, when the surface of the block is very uneven, to tear away parts of the paper in the tympan, to equalize the impression where it is too hard.

The pressman will find it convenient to pull a few impressions, while he is making ready, on soiled or damaged India paper. Out of these he can cut overlays to the precise shape and size wanted, which are always necessary when great accuracy is required in overlaying particular portions. He should be provided with a sharp penknife and a pair of good small scissors. A fine sharp bodkin and a needle or two, to take out picks, are also needful; but he should be particularly careful so to use them that he do no injury. The best way is, to draw the bodkin or needle point cautiously in the direction of the lines.

Engravings in vignette form require great attention to keep the edges light and clear, and in general it is necessary to scrape away one or two thicknesses of paper in order to lighten the impression and keep it clean: the edges being irregular and straggling, they are likely to come off too hard. Bearers type-high placed beside the block will be found advantageous; if they cannot be used, pieces of reglet, pasted on the frisket in the usual way, and taking a bearing on the furniture, must be substituted; but the high bearer is to be preferred where it can be adopted. The bearers equalize the pressure on the surface of the engraving, and protect the edges from the severity of the pull, which is always injurious to the delicacy of the external lines. They also render the subject more manageable, by enabling the pressman to add to or diminish the pressure on particular parts, so as to produce the desired effect.

When great delicacy of impression is required in a vignette, it will be found beneficial, after the engraving is inked, to roll the extremities with a small roller without ink: this will not only take away any superfluity of ink, but will prevent picks, and give lightness and softness to the edges, particularly where the effect of distance is required.

If the extremities are engraved much lighter than the central parts, underlays should be pasted on the middle of the block, which will give a firmer impression to the central parts of the subject. It would save trouble and aid in getting a good impression if the block were engraved a little rounded on the face.

When highly finished engravings on wood are worked separately, woollen cloth, however fine, should never be used for blankets, as it causes too much impression; a sheet or two of hard smooth paper between the tympans is better; sometimes even a piece of glazed pasteboard is used inside the outer tympan. The parchments ought to be in good condition, stretched tight, of a smooth surface, thin, and of regular thickness, so as to enable the pressman to obtain an impression as nearly as possible from the surface only of the engraved lines.

The rollers must be kept in perfect order; and the pressman should be very particular in taking ink and inking the block. He ought to use the best ink that can be procured.

When a wood-cut left on the press all night has become warped, lay it on its face upon the imposing-stone, with a few thicknesses of damp paper underneath it, and place over it the flat side of a planer, with sufficient weight upon it: in the course of a few hours the block will be restored to its original flatness. This method is preferable to steeping the block in water; as the steeping swells the lines of the engraving, and, consequently, affects the impression. To preserve the original effect of the cut as it came from the hands of the artist, the block should never be wet with water; and, when it has been worked in a form with types, it should be taken out before the form is washed.

To prevent warping during the dinner-hour or the night, turn the tympan down upon the form, run the carriage in, and, pulling the bar-handle home, fasten it so that it will remain in this position during the interim.

However long boxwood may be kept in the log, it will always twist and warp when cut into slices for engraving, on account of fresh surfaces being exposed to the air. Large blocks may be restored to their flatness in the course of a night by laying them on a plane surface, with the hollow side downward, without any weight on them.

A fine engraving on wood should never be brushed over with ley: the best method is to wipe the ink off with a fine sponge damped with spirits of turpentine, and, if it get foul in working, clean it with a soft brush and spirits of turpentine; then wipe the surface dry and pull two or three impressions on dry waste paper. Spirits of turpentine take off the ink quicker, and affect the wood less, than any other article. The facility with which the block is again brought into a working state more than compensates for the trifling additional expense incurred.

When a few proofs only are wanted from a small engraving, good impressions may be obtained with little trouble on dry India paper, with about six thicknesses of the same sort of paper laid over it, and pulled without the tympan. If proofs are wanted from large ones, it will be found advantageous to put the India paper for a few minutes into a heap of damp paper.

To do full justice to an engraving, the pressman should get a good impression from the engraver and place it before him as a pattern, and then arrange the overlays, &c. till he produce a fac-simile in effect. Better still is it for an unpractised hand to obtain the assistance of the artist at the press-side, to direct him in making ready the cut.[21]

CARD PRINTING

Has, since the introduction of enamelled or polished cards, made rapid strides toward perfection; the fine absorbing quality of the enamel, under proper management, producing the most beautiful results,—in many cases scarcely discernible from copperplate. A card, to be well printed, requires as careful treatment as a wood engraving, (see p. 280,) so far as making ready is concerned, and in working without blankets and using the finest ink. Having made a light impression on the tympan-sheet, place the pins so as to bring the impression as nearly as possible in the centre of the card, one pin at the lower side and two at the off side, taking care that the head of the pin does not come in contact with the types. The impression should be exceedingly light until properly regulated,—at no time more than is actually necessary to bring up the _face_ of the type. Cards are now mostly printed on small card-machines, at the rate of one, two, and even ten thousand per hour. All cards should be printed dry.

A small quantity of varnish put on the rollers and well distributed will prevent the enamel from peeling. The addition of a little ultramarine blue will beautifully intensify the black ink used in printing enamelled cards.

The patent extension feed guides, or tympan gauge pins, shown on page 310, will be found very convenient and useful.

GOLD PRINTING.

The types being made ready for press in the usual manner, the surface is covered in the ordinary way with gold size instead of ink, and the impression taken upon the paper. For a large job, remove only the back from a book of leaf-gold; for a small one, lay a straight edge across the book, and cut it through, of the size required, with the point of a sharp penknife. This must be done before using the size. Slightly wet the end of the forefinger of the right hand, and, placing the thumb of that hand on the pile of gold, raise the edge of the paper with the forefinger sufficiently to dampen it with the moisture of that finger; then press the moistened edge of the paper on the gold, and it will adhere sufficiently to enable the fingers to lift gold and paper together and place it on the impression. Proceed thus until the size is entirely covered; gently pat the gold with the balls of the fingers, or any soft, pliable substance, until it is set; then, with a very soft hat-brush, remove the superfluous gold, when a clear and beautiful impression will appear. Its sharpness will depend on the judgment of the printer in applying the size to the type.

BRONZE PRINTING

Is used more extensively than gold printing, being attended with far less expense in the cost of the material. The method of printing is the same, except that, instead of laying on the gold-leaf, the impression is rubbed over with the bronze, by dipping a small block, covered with a short, fine fur, or a small wad of raw cotton, into the powder, and brushing off the superfluous bronze with a soft brush, as in gold printing. Bronze can be procured of various colours, and when laid on with judgment the effect is beautiful. The palest bronze is best. To produce a finished effect after bronzing, take finely-powdered soapstone, and apply in the same manner as bronze.

PRINTING IN COLOURS.

When red and black are to be printed on the same sheet,—the same process being applicable to all other colours,—the form is made ready in the usual way, and a chalk-line is traced around the outside of the chase on the press-bed, to show the exact situation in which the form must be replaced after having been lifted. The form is then laid with its face downward on a letter-board covered with the press-blankets. The words marked in the proof to be printed red are then forced down, and Nonpareil reglets nicely fitted into the vacancies, which raise the red lines and words an equal distance from the other matter. A sheet of paper is then pasted on the form, to keep the Nonpareil underlays in their proper places. The form is again laid on the press, observing the utmost care in placing it in its original position as indicated by the marks before made on the bed.

It must then be made perfectly fast to the corner irons, as it is highly important that it remain firm and immovable during its stay on the press. The frisket (which is covered with strong paper) is then put on, the form rolled over with the red ink, and an impression made on it. The red words are then cut out with a sharp-pointed penknife, with so much nicety as not to admit the smallest soil on the paper from the other matter.

The red being finished and the form washed, the compositor unlocks it, (this should be done on the imposing-stone, as the pressman can easily lay it agreeably to the marks made on the press,) and draws out the red lines, filling up the space with quadrates. When this is done, the pressman cuts out the frisket for the black. An extra pair of points are used to prevent the black from falling on the red, or, as it is technically termed, _riding_. Generally, when a great number is to be printed, as many forms are used as there are colours to be printed. Another method of placing the underlays is adopted for broadsides, &c. with large letter and with but two or three lines of red. The red lines are taken out on the press, and underlays are put in, upon which the lines are placed, and the frisket is cut out as before mentioned.

A more expeditious method can be employed for forms in which the lines of one colour are not too numerous to be easily lifted. After the form is ready, and the various colours are marked on the proof, a skeleton form is made up, with labour-saving quotation furniture or wood furniture fitted into the spaces of all the lines except those of the colour to be first printed. When the first colour is printed, its lines are lifted from the form, and the spaces filled with furniture, and the lines for the next colour are set in their proper places and printed; and so on till the job is completed.

The custom of printing broadsides, &c. with several colours is so common that ink-makers generally now manufacture coloured inks; consequently the printer can be supplied without the delay and labour of making. We give the following particulars, however, for the benefit of those who wish to prepare their own colours.