How Paper Boxes Are Made / A practical and instructive book telling how the beginner may manufacture all kinds of paper boxes, with special chapters on the printing department for paper box plants, embossing, gold-leafing, label work, etc.

by Robert F. Salade

REGULATING IMPRESSION

On either platen printing presses or regular embossing presses of the Hartford or John Thomson type the impression can be regulated by means of the adjustable slides and nuts which hold the throw-off bar in place. These slides are held with bolts in notches, and by loosening the bolts, the slides can be moved upward or downward in their notches, thereby increasing or lessening the amount of impression for each job. Before making a counter die on either a Hartford or John Thomson press, first put on the steel platen plate; glue on the sheet of straw-board, and then regulate the impression by means of the slides holding the throw-off bar. By inking and re-inking the female die, and by taking impressions of the die, on a sheet of news-board, the right amount of impression can be obtained (moving the slides accordingly), before applying the embossing composition.

On other styles of printing presses like the C. & P., for example, the impression screws should not be moved, but with a Golding press the impression can be adjusted with the screws which are at the right-hand side of the platen.

In a case of embossing where it is not advisable to move the impression screws, it may be necessary to glue two or more sheets of straw-board or news-board to the platen to obtain sufficient impression before applying the embossing composition.

The feeding guides for close-register embossing can be made of three-em 12-point quads. Attach the quads with LePage glue to the foundation board, following the same positions held by the feeding guides which had been used when the sheets were printed. This helps in making perfect register of the embossing with the printed subject. When printing the sheets, mark the positions of the feeding guides on one of the printed sheets. Use this marked sheet, and follow the marks, when placing the feeding guides for embossing.

Rub the quads over a sheet of fine sand-paper before applying glue. This roughens the surface of the quads and helps the glue to hold them firmly to the foundation board.

The embossing process described in the foregoing is used for embossing all kinds of printed and lithographed matter on either paper or cardboard. When box wrappers containing holly designs printed in colors, or lettering done in gold ink, gold leaf or gold bronze, are embossed after being printed, the effect is exceedingly beautiful. In the cases of gold ink, gold leaf, or gold bronze, the embossing not only raises the design in sharp relief but also serves in polishing the gold in the same way as burnishing.