The printing arts : an epitome of the theory, practice, processes, and mutual relations of engraving, lithography, & printing in black and in colours

Front matter

Bit Epitome

OF THE

Theory, Practice, Processes, and Mutual Relations

Preface

HERE are two principal reasons for the appearance

A of this little book on the most potent of the industrial arts of reproduction.

The main intention of these pages is to impart to workers, and above all to apprentices, some technical knowledge of other branches of their craft than their own, and to impress upon them that to do good work demands an intelligent knowledge of the technique of after-processes to render it fully useful and purposeful.

Bad workmanship in the foundation renders the superstructure, however well done, insecure ; every error in the commencement is magnified in the completion, and entails double expense in attempting to correct it. Thorough knowledge of the way in which our work will be carried on when our part is completed by others, tends to the avoidance of any error that would entail extra trouble on them. On the other hand, in the completion a practical knowledge of the system by which the earlier stages have been performed, gives clear insight into what is still left

PREFACE.

viii

to be done, and into the best means of correcting any incipient faults.

The secondary object in view is that of imparting sound views to those who, in these days of limited companies, invest money in any of the branches of the Printing trade, in order that they may judge of the value of prospectus promises before investing, and of the capabilities and management of the concern and its employes after purchasing shares ; to give, in short, sufficient insight to those who know literally nothing of such businesses as will protect them from inevitable losses.

THE AUTHOR.

an Epitome

OF THE

Theory, Practice, Processes, and Mutual Relations

OF

ENGRAVING, LITHOGRAPHY, & PRINTING

IN BLACK AND IN COLOURS.

Chapter I

Introduction — System of Arrangement of a Letterpress Printing-office — the Composing-room — the Machine-room — Lift for Forms — Safe Keeping of Blocks, &c. — Construction of Blocks for Poster Work — Apparatus for Washing Forms and Ink Rollers — Store for Ink, &c.

N the following pages, it will be our aim not so much to give separately, for each branch of the trade, useful hints interesting to one branch alone, but rather to present, in every chapter, facts and information of interest alike to all connected with the Graphic Arts. In explaining, for instance, the principles which should underlie the arrangement of a letterpress printing-office, others who are not connected with this branch will find hints that apply equally to lithography. The advantage which the writer hopes to gain by this plan is, that all readers may be equally interested in the several articles, instead of finding only an occasional chapter suited to their special requirements. Information will thus be afforded that must be useful indirectly even to those not actually engaged in the branch treated of, as the various trades are intimately connected with, and inter-dependent one upon another. Many persons are apt to ignore the fact that the knowledge of a business or process not their own, though often auxiliary, may be of great use to them in their avocation, enabling them to do their work much more intelligently, by making them conversant with the true principles that have guided others whose work has preceded or will follow their own ; and they will thus be enabled to dovetail, as it were, one part with another into an harmonious whole.

The arrangement of a printing-office is one of the most important matters for consideration, as upon it depends the future saving or waste of time of those employed, the capabilities of the office to turn out work well and rapidly, and systematic order or chronic disorder and confusion. It might be said with truth that upon the careful planning of an office depends the actual success of a business, for, if it be badly/arranged, the profits will soon be swallowed up ; and this Applies equally to lithographic and to letterpress printing-offices. If we follow in imagination a job through its various stages, from its entry to its delivery, we shall at once realise the importance of a thoroughly practical and intelligent arrangement. As letterpress work is usually more rapid in its progress through the office than lithography, being capable of a wider subdivision of labour, it will illustrate the principle of arrangement more fully if we commence with this branch. The entrance to the composing-room is the natural place for the overseer’s desk, although exceptions to this rule are numerous. If, for the sake of being central, or with the object of having a commanding view of the whole composing-room, it is placed far from the entrance, it must be evident that a disturbing element is introduced by the passing to and fro of persons who ought not to be permitted to pass beyond the desk, to the inconvenience of the men at work, thus causing confusion and loss of time. The arrangement of cases and frames must, of course, largely depend upon the special requirements of the business. The cases which are most frequently in use or are likely to be put into constant requisition should be nearest to hand. Beyond them should be the frames which are more seldom used, and the racks for wood letter and larger types for poster- work. A convenient plan would be to have the racks for chases and forms on one side of the room, and the shelves and racks for poster type along the other. The imposing-tables should be so placed as to be almost equidistant from the majority of frames, as central, in fact, as possible, with sufficient floor space around them to allow of the men passing freely without running against each other. Of course, the cases for leads, quads, furniture, &c., should be as handy to the imposing-tables as can be managed, and contiguous to the racks for forms, and to the entrance to the machine or press-room. The readingcloset, we think, should be placed alongside of, but screened from, the overseer’s desk, with openings for passing in proofs. Frequently points of doubt arise, when the reader has to inquire from the overseer, and, if the desks are contiguous, he can put questions without leaving his seat.

No absolute rule can, of course, be laid down which will meet the requirements of every office, because the exigencies of one business are not those of another ; but, if ordinary intelligent forethought be exercised, and the plan be followed of placing everything so as to avoid as much as possible having to run hither and thither, the gain of time in a month or year will amount to something considerable ; one additional footstep, oft repeated day by day, will, in time, represent, in a large office, the weekly wages of several men. If, as is frequently the case, the machine-room is situated belowthe composing-room, whilst the presses are either in an adjoining, or at one end of the same, room, a lift for forms should be conveniently placed near to the imposing-tables, so that the forms can be readily placed in the cage for descent to the machine-room, a clear passage being reserved for taking forms to the presses. If the lift be made with two cages, back to back, one to descend whilst the other ascends, then one side can be used for forms that have been worked off, whilst the other takes down a form to be worked ; in such a case the weight of one will almost balance that of the other, and thus save power.

In small jobbing offices there should be behind the overseer’s desk a cupboard with sliding doors, containing shelves and drawers, some of which should be set apart entirely for electrotypes and woodcuts. In larger offices the storekeeper will, of course, take charge of these. A word here, that experience has taught is not unneeded. By far the larger number of printers and storekeepers do not seem to be aware that woodcuts should never be laid flat, but be placed on edge : the reason is, that, as they are cut on the end grain, they are likely to warp, and also that, if the face is uppermost, the slightest thing will injure them ; whereas, if they are arranged on edge, the face is protected by the back of the adjacent block, and the wood will nevei warp, nor is it so likely to crack if the room becomes over heated. A cool, dry place is essential if warping and other damage are to be avoided.

Blocks for posters being cut plankwise, should also be laid on edge ; they should be placed in racks, with the grain running perpendicularly, not horizontally ; because, if the grain runs in the direction in which the tree grew, it will not warp. These blocks are but seldom made as they ought to be, a cause of great loss of time and annoyance to the machine-minder. If, say, a quad crown (40 in. by 30 in.) block is ordered, the maker usually puts the grain the 40 in. way, and when it is placed on the machine-table the grain is along the cylinder, so that, at every successive impression, the block is being bent gradually, but effectively, and by-andby the quoins are loosened as the edges rise, and are forced down again at each run by the cylinder. The block should be made 30 inches long and 40 inches wide; the grain, being then at right angles to the cylinder, will effectually prevent the block curling, and the quoins will not rise. Printers who often work blocks will find it economical to clean them after printing with raw linseed oil instead of turpentine or petroleum, as the oil soaks into the wood and hardens and preserves it. The machine-minder should, before lifting, run a few waste sheets through without inking, to free the blocks from ink, and then clean the sunk parts with oil and a rag, or, better still, with a brush — not a “ lye ”-brush, be it remembered.

In the machine-room the arrangement of presses, &c., is decided by the shape of the room ; but there is one important point, and that is, its relative position with regard to the warehouse, so that the unnecessary labour of carrying every ream of paper any distance may be avoided. In a large concern it is recommended that the warehouse itself should be separated into two — one portion being for unprinted paper, and the other for the work when machined, with the machine-room between the two. The paper being delivered from the street is stocked, and whatever is required is given out to the machines, and, after printing, it is simply passed out at the other end of the machine-room to be counted, cut up, stitched, perforated, folded, or whatever subsequent process it has to undergo before being packed and sent away. This arrangement will be found to prevent confusion, and will permit of the use of a laboursaving contrivance consisting of an endless band always moving along from the paper-warehouse to the stock-room, upon which the paper is laid and travels along until it arrives at the machine for which it is intended, when the minder lifts it off on to the feeding-board, and places on the moving-band the finished work he has completed, which then travels out into the “stock” or “countingroom.”

The machine-room would be incomplete without — either just out of it or in some convenient corner, preferably near the lift — a sink for washing forms as they come off the machine. There is no question that the most perfect means of cleansing type is the steam jet. This consists of a steam pipe fitted with a universal joint and a small nozzle, fixed so that by means of a wooden handle the nozzle can be directed to every part in turn of the form to be cleansed, and by means of a stop-tap the steam can be turned on or off at pleasure. The steam, impinging upon the inky form at a high temperature, and with sufficient pressure, first loosens the grease, and then blows it out of the very smallest interstices, leaving the type, the furniture, and the chase quite clean. The whole is done in a few seconds without lye or i brushes, and there is no loss of time, while the oxidisation of the type is also 'avoided. A compositor can distribute | type thus cleansed as quickly as if it. were new, without soiling his hands. If judiciously used, the steam jet will not injure even a fine woodcut, provided it is immediately wiped dry and very sparingly oiled with raw linseed oil ; and, as regards zinco blocks and electros, steam cleanses them perfectly. Even where the motive power is a gas

THE PRINTINCx ARTS I engine it will pay large concerns to fit up a steam generatoi expressly for the above purpose.

Composition rollers, if at all old and hard, are improved by being subjected to the steam jet, but they ought instantly to be placed under a cold-water tap. Holes or cracks in them are thoroughly freed from ink or colour by this means, and their suction capacity is renewed. Of this any one can convince himself, by subjecting a small hand roller to the process by holding it over escaping steam.

Another absolute requisite of the machine-room is an ink magazine, or small warehouse, whence can be readily given out the various inks and colours required for each job. The plan of leaving a can of ink under the machine for the minder to “ slobber ” on, is wasteful in the extreme, and productive of two great abuses. Firstly, too much ink is used, and much more is wasted, through inattention, allowing the air to dry the ink up into “ skins”; and secondly, by adopting this plan, the proper quantity of ink used cannot be debited as it ought to be to each job. To test the accuracy of this remark, any one in the habit of estimating for coloured poster work has only to remember how often he has been obliged to merely guess the probable quantity of ink that a given job would require, only to find afterwards that his estimates had fallen a long way short of actual consumption.

In France the writer found that a great saving in ink and colour for large posters was effected by giving out to the “ conductors ” of machines (as they are there called) a fair amount for each job, and offering a commission on all that was brought back, a watch being kept, of course, upon the copies printed to see that they were properly covered. The cans returned were well looked after, so as to prevent “ skinning,” and with clean water poured on were put .away on shelves labelled, till again required, the weight having been taken and the amount used properly entered in the cost-book to the debit of the job, thus forming some guide for future estimating.

We have seen that the machine-room arrangements should comprise a store for paper, a store for ink, a store for finished work, and provision for cleansing forms and rollers; there remain, however, three more desiderata to be mentioned, viz., good lighting, good ventilation, and sufficient passage - room between the machines. Good lighting is a necessity for turning out good work, either in black or colour ; good ventilation, — that is, constant change of the atmosphere without currents of air blowing the sheets about, so managed as to maintain one unvarying temperature,— is as essential as good light, where good register is hoped for ; and room to move about, without getting into other people’s way, is no less an absolute requirement.

Wherever a large number of machines are running, a system of control over the minders is necessary. The foreman superintending should make a rule that until the “ making-ready ” is properly finished, and a first sheet signed, either by himself, or, in the case of colour work, by the artist or engraver, that the minder is not to commence running. The best position for the desk of the machine-manager is, if the height of the room permits it, in a sort of gallery high enough to enable him to overlook all the machines at a glance, and whence he can readily call any “ minder” to give him instructions, &c.

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Chapter II

Arrangement of a Lithographic Printing-office — The Artists’ Room — Convenient Modes of moving the larger Stones about — Offices where both Letterpress and Litho Work are done — Hints as to Heating, and as to Floor Levels — Fire Appliances and Fire Drill.

HAVING in our last chapter shown how necessary it is to give due consideration to the general arrangements of a Letterpress establishment, we will now proceed to point out what are the most obvious requirements in a Lithographic printing-house. Although at first sight it might appear that an entirely different system would have to be adopted, yet a little reflection will show that we can deduce, from what has gone before, sufficient to guide us in the planning and organisation of a lithographic establishment.

The guiding principle should be the same as that laid down for the letterpress department, namely, to contrive that every job shall pass over as short a journey in its progress from one stage to another as possible; and, as the weights to be moved are much greater in proportion as compared with letterpress, and therefore slower in transit, it becomes evident that attention to this principle is in this case of even more importance than in the other. Following a job tnrough its career, we have, firstly, the stone-grinding and graining ; and thence the stone will be passed, either to the artist to be drawn on or to the hand press of the transferrer. The relative positions of the artists* room and the hand-press room should be side by side, and as near the stone-polishing room as possible ; because, when the artist has finished his drawing, be it ink or chalk, the stone before being sent to the machine must be first etched and cleaned, washed out, and carefully rolled up, and usually proved at hand press, the proof being then submitted to the artist or to the principal in charge of the room.

The essentials of the artists’ room are, firstly, a good north light, an equable, healthy atmosphere, freedom from currents of air, absolute cleanliness and comfort, and last, but not least, it should be so situated as to be unaffected by either the noise or the vibration caused by the machines at work. The benches should be strongly built and braced so as to be firm and solid, and placed with their left-hand ends towards the light ; they should slope sufficiently to enable the artists to obtain a good view of the whole surface of the stone, without having to bend over it too much ; and at the back of the bench there should be a rail high enough to hold the various copies upright in front of the artist. The several benches should be sufficiently wide apart to admit of stones being brought in and put up before each artist, without disturbing or shaking the other benches, and to permit the manager to walk round to give instructions, or to see how the work is progressing. Each artist should have beneath the bench a drawer for his instruments and other requisites, proofs, &c. It is usual for the artists’ room to be situated at top of the house, where good light is secured, while, at the same time, it is away from the noise and vibration of the machines ; but, if so, there should be a lift for raising and lowering the stones, or great loss of time will result.

It is customary to have a sort of trolly to put under the edge of a large stone for the purpose of moving the same, but we would recommend as a far greater time-saving appliance a “turtle carriage,” constructed as follows. A strong frame, capable of supporting a load of five or six hundredweight, is mounted on three small iron wheels, with india-rubber tires, the single wheel being placed at one end and the other two facing at the opposite end. The single wheel should be made to swivel, tricycle fashion. Instead of having a top upon the frame like a table, four or more rollers in bearings are fixed transversely, so that a heavy stone can be readily pushed on to or off it when required, the upper sides of the rollers being higher than the frame, but so arranged that they can easily be lowered by means of a lever, in order to leave the stone bedded upon the top of the frame itself and its cross-bars, and thus prevent its slipping on the rollers during transit. The frame

IO should be a trifle higher than the side frame of the litho machine, the artists’ benches being made of the same height, viz., 3 ft., which is also about that of a quad crown hand press. When laid flat upon this carriage, the stone can be easily pushed along, run into the lift and out again, or alongside of the artists’ bench, on to which it can be slipped without any lifting. When the drawing is finished, the carriage can again be brought into requisition, and so on during subsequent operations. The common trolly necessitates the stone being held upright, with the lower hindmost corner dragging along the floor, thus rapidly wearing out the boards, besides causing noise and vibration in the artists’ room, and inte^rb* n to those at work, every time a stone is brought ujd F c loss of time in three liftings and lowerings, the> .. of the artists’ time in stopping work as the ston pass along, and the extra number of labourers requ‘ to lift and lower, far out-

balance the extra cost of P *riage here described, whilst, moreover, the carriage i jr and less liable to cause

accidents. If thought de^ ;e, the same movement that lowers the transverse rollers uld also be made to raise stops at the edges of the stone,' in order to prevent all possibility of its slipping off.

In some offices the stones are slung by a chain from a sort of travelling crane upon overhead rails, raised and lowered by a rope passing over differential pulleys, this being the plan adopted at the Strobridge Printing Works in Chicago, United States, where, the principal work being posters, the majority of the stones employed measure 40 in. by 30 in. We think, however, that, taking cost and other things into consideration, the turtle carriage is more economical both in time and labour, as well as more convenient where the rooms are not all on one floor.

In offices where both letter-press and litho work are executed on the same premises, it is advisable to keep them separate and distinct; and, where engravers too are employed, their rooms should be contiguous to the department for which they work — i.e.f wood-engravers nearest to the letterpress department, and copperplate engravers next to the litho-artists’ rooms, so that there might be no time

LITHOGRAPHY, PRINTING, AND ENGRA-VING. II

wasted in proof-taking and making the necessary offsets for the colours.

It should also be remembered that, in dealing with a substance such as paper, especially where colour work is attempted, an equable temperature is an absolute sine-qndnon to insure perfect register. It is, therefore, advisable to place thermometers in central positions, and the ventilation and the heating should be regulated carefully, sq as to maintain one regular standard heat — say, 75 deg. Fahr. At this temperature workmen are prevented neither by cold in winter nor by heat in summer from performing a good day’s work. It is, moreover, sufficiently high to prevent paper expanding from damp£r A fo dry the colours without taking away from their purityc brilliancy.

In many printing-ofu where success in business has entailed an extension ot remises, it frequently happens that the next house to 1 Original office is secured, and doorways have to be ope trough a party-wall. There

is one consideration wl Sunder such circumstances, ought to be carefully \ fl/ed, namely, the respective heights of the correspond ng floors of the two buildings. At first sight, having to descend or ascend one or two stairs from one floor to the corresponding one in the next house, may not appear to be of much importance ; but, if it be remembered how often this extra labour of a few seconds’ duration has to be repeated by every one passing up or down in the course of a year, or series of years, it will be evident that, wherever practicable, it would be cheaper by far, in the first instance, to re-floor one or other building, so as to make both flush with each other. The same consideration should influence the construction of staircases, which, if too narrow to permit two persons to pass with parcels, will often entail serious delay by causing one of them to draw up to one side to allow the other to pass ; and, on the same principle, gangways and passages should be kept clear of all packages and other obstructions.

There is another and a paramount reason for avoiding difficulties in moving freely about throughout the premises, and that is when there is danger of fire. People getting into one another’s way may impede exit and cause a sacrifice of life, or prevent the instant use of means to extinguish the fire before it makes headway. Staircases to some extent, and the wells of lifts in a still greater degree, may be regarded as chimney flues, through which the flames are carried upwards by the current of air, as in a furnace, and they should, therefore, be so constructed that, in case of fire, they can readily be cut off entirely from the various floors. Where standpipes, hose, and fire buckets, or other appliances are provided, their efficiency ought to be thoroughly insured by a frequent “ fire drill ” amongst all hands, so that each man should know his proper station, and what his expected duty would be ; by which means, aimless, and therefore fruitless, labour and panic in the hour of real danger might be avoided. The employer would gain by allowing time for this, and the employes might often avert the risk of being suddenly thrown out of employment by a fire which, if promptly subdued by each one intelligently knowing and doing his duty, would cause but little damage, to say nothing of averting the danger to life and limb

LITHOGRAPHY, PRINTING, AND ENGRAVING.

Chapter III

Travellers for Printing Orders — Competition — Modes of Payment, Disadvantages of Commission as payment — Sketches gratis — Traveller’s record of Calls.

HAVING glanced in the two previous chapters at the economic interior arrangements of the Printing-house, we may now say a few words concerning the important outdoor arrangements for obtaining work. Personal canvassing by the proprietor or a partner, or by a good traveller, is almost indispensable in these days of keen competition, and a few practical remarks on this subject will be useful. Whenever possible, the best course to pursue is to intrust this share of the work to a partner, provided there be one, in preference to employing a traveller, — firstly, because he can decide where a traveller must frequently refer to the firm, thus risking the loss of an order; and, secondly, because, if the traveller works up a good trade and demands higher remuneration, the firm is entirely at his mercy : he can leave and take the bulk of the work away with him, either to a rival house, or he may start a business for himself. Other minor reasons are that, whether paid by salary and expenses, salary and commission, or commission alone, there is a constant temptation to the traveller to undertake work at too low a price rather than lose the order, especially if he be paid by commission only. There is yet another danger. In estimating, very frequently the traveller on commission, rather than refer back to the firm, offers to share his commission with the person who has the placing of the order ; and the result is that unfair conditions are imported into what it is the true interest of all in the Trade to make a thoroughly legitimate competition.

Under-cutting, whether arrived at by sacrifices on the part of the traveller, or using inferior material, or by lowering wages or piece-work prices, is false political economy, and u must result, in the long run, in reduction of profits. Hence two unsound maxims, which are often quoted to soothe a master’s commercial conscience, ought to be expunged for ever from the Printing Trade, viz., “Half a loaf is better than no bread,” and “ Set a sprat to catch a salmon.” The former means too often that, not only a half, but a third, a fourth, a tenth, or even a crumb, is better than nothing ; but where is this to end ? Again, whilst it is true in the abstract, so far as it goes, it necessitates the completing question, “But at what price?” No bread for which one does not have to pay is better than a crumb that one pays too dearly for. The latter means that a job is taken at a price that entails a loss in order to obtain at some future time a job that will pay well enough in itself to cover the loss on the first, and leave a profit on the second. This is unsound because the salmon may never be hooked, and then the loss remains a dead loss ; and further, because it is sure to be quoted as a basis upon which to compute the value of future work, not only to the firm immediately concerned, but also to competitors ; and thus this system opens the door to a general reduction of prices all round. Again, people who have frequent printing orders to place often know enough of the business to enable them to compare the relative prices of different jobs, and to detect the proportionate difference in the quotation for the first “ sprat ” and the subsequent good fish. Nor does it end here. The more this is done the more hardened does the commercial conscience become; and, forced by the loss of quite a shoal of “ sprats ” to earn a dividend at all, the firm is gradually compelled to lower wages, use inferior materials (which, be it remembered, are often delusive as to actual cost), supplying short counts, and other dishonourable commercial practices, ending, at last, as such unfair competition deserves to end, in failure and disgrace. Admitted that self-denial is often strained in resisting the temptation to book an order at almost any price rather than lose it, such self-denial brings its own reward in the comforting certainty that there is a legitimate profit upon every job that goes through the house, and that, even if the business is rather limited, it is all sound ; and that, in this sense, it is true that “half a loaf is better than no bread.”