Printing and bookbinding for schools

by Samuel Jesse Vaughn

TYPE SETTING

In beginning to set type, the first tool the printer needs is the job stick, Fig. 6.

Fig. 6.

This is the receptacle into which the compositor places the type as he sets up the form, letter by letter. Sticks are made in great variety, and almost any length from six inches up. There are the simple, ungraduated stick, adjusted by the thumb screw; the marked and perforated stick for nonpareil adjustment by means of a lever, Fig. 6, and the non-adjustable stick for news or book composition.

The printer sets the stick the length of the desired line. This is done by placing into it a lead or slug, the desired length, and moving the clamp up against it tightly enough that the type will not easily fall forward, and yet loosely enough to allow the lines to be lifted from the stick without binding.

12 em 2 point Lead
Fig. 7.

Spacing of Lines. Leads (Fig. 7) are strips of metal ¾″ wide, and from one to five points, inclusive, in thickness. Strips six points and thicker are called slugs. Leads and slugs are used to space between the lines of type, bearing the same relation to the lines as spaces and quads bear to the words. These strips are said to be labor saving when they are cut ready for use into definite lengths of pica or nonpareil variations. The standard lengths are from 4 to 25 ems pica. When not so cut, they are called strip.

12 em 6 point Slug
Fig. 7a.

A lead or slug generally of the thickness to give the required space between the lines, and of the length of a line, is placed in the stick, and the type is set with the top of the letter toward this lead. Then with the lead or slug in the stick and the stick in the left hand, the compositor stands upright at the case, picks out the letters and characters one at a time, and places them, nick out and face up, into the stick, beginning at the lower left hand corner. Fig. 8. As the type are put into the stick, they are held there by the thumb of the left hand. The method of holding the stick at the proper angle to prevent the type from falling out and to allow the thumb to do its work properly, is quite an art which it takes time to acquire.

Justifying lines.—The line of type reads from left to right the same as printed matter but the letters are inverted. It takes the beginner some time to accustom himself to this condition, but with practice, it becomes easy and convenient. Each word except the last in the line, is followed by a space, or a quad. In ordinary solid matter, that is matter without leads or slugs between the lines, the three-to-em spaces are used between words. But the line must come out evenly at the end without leaving a space or dividing a word improperly. This very seldom occurs in beginning work, so the young printer sets himself to the task of justifying the line, that is respacing it so as to remove the difficulty. Approved methods of spacing and justification may be found in the list of rules of composition on page [25]. Great care should be observed in getting each line as nearly perfect as possible before proceeding to the next, for in this way, much trouble and annoyance in correcting proof are avoided.

Fig. 8.

When a line has been thus finished and a lead put in above to support it, the compositor proceeds with the next line exactly as before. It is wise for the beginner to leave all the work leaded, so as to simplify the operation of removing the lines from the stick. If it is desirable, the leads or slugs may be removed after the type is emptied from the stick. If the last line of a paragraph is not a complete line, it is filled with quads and spaces, but the spaces should never be placed at the end or between the quads.

Fig. 9.

To Remove Type: The Galley. When the stick is full or nearly so, the compositor lays it down and to remove the type catches the first lead with both thumbs, and the last lead with the first finger of each hand. Fig. 9. Then he slightly raises the first line. With the remaining free fingers pressing against the ends of the lines and pushing at the same time down against the stick, he lifts the type bodily and puts it into the galley. The first line should go against the closed end and should read from the lower side of the galley up. The closed end of the galley should always be at the right as the worker stands at the case.

The galley, Fig. 10, is a kind of rectangular brass tray open at one end, into which the compositor places the lines of type on removing them from the stick. Galleys are of various sizes for different kinds of work.

Fig. 10.

Lines and Borders: The brass rule. In case there are solid lines to be made in the printed matter, as in Fig. 11, this is done by use of the brass rule.

Fig. 11.

This, like leads, may be had either in the strip or in labor saving lengths; but unlike leads, it is type high, and is designed for the purpose of making lines, borders, etc., Fig. 12. It may be had in any thickness, but usually, a very thin face like a hair line or one point, is put on a heavier body. In such cases the rule is beveled from one or both sides and is said to be side-faced or center-faced (a and b, Fig. 12). Labor saving brass rule is made up in weight fonts, and may be had with or without mitres for the corners.

Fig. 12.

If a rule line shorter than the measure of the type line is to be made, the blank spaces at the ends of the rule are filled with leads, slugs, or quads of the same thickness as the body of the rule.

Rule for borders is put around the type form after it is finished. If the face of the rule is as thick as the body, as at c, Fig. 12, good corners are made simply by lapping one piece of rule over the end of the other piece which meets it at the corner.

If the face is thinner than the body, the rule in borders or panels must be side-faced unless there are mitres. The bevels of the side pieces of rule are turned in toward the type and those of the end pieces are turned out. The end rule laps over the ends of the side rules at the corners, as shown at a, Fig. 12.

Dotted or hyphen lines as seen in Fig. 11, are made by the use of leaders, which closely resemble quads in that they are of quad sizes. Leaders, however, are type high, and have either the dot or hyphen face—so many dots or hyphens to the em. It is not necessary to have a great variety of leader sizes, since with the point lining system, one size of leader can easily be lined with another size of type.

Spacing and Tying a Galley or Job of Type. When the compositor has finished setting the type and placed it into the galley, if it is an advertisement or small job, he proceeds to space it out by the use of leads and slugs to the required length. The form is then tied up.

Fig. 13.

It requires considerable care and skill to tie up a mass of type properly. The form is in the lower right hand corner of the galley. The compositor takes a cotton string and beginning at the upper left hand corner, he starts to wrapping the twine around the form from left to right, drawing it taut just before turning a corner. When the starting point has been reached, he pulls the twine down across the original end thus binding it firmly against the metal. After wrapping from three to six times about the form, a loop is left in the twine, which is forced by means of a composing rule, Fig. 13, or a lead, down between the type and the strands. This leaves a small piece of the end projecting as a convenience in untying. The next step is to take a proof. The galley is laid on the stone or a table, or the form may be slid from the galley to the stone, Fig. 18.

Fig. 14.

Fig. 15.

Taking a Proof. When the tied form has been placed upon the stone or proof press, it is inked by rolling a small rubber roller (Fig. 14) over it, the roller having been first well inked by rolling it over an inked piece of marble, slate or glass. Then the type is covered with a moist paper, the sponged side up, or a regular proof paper. If there is no proof press the proof planer, a smooth faced block of hard wood, with face covered with felt, Fig. 15, is laid on the top of the paper, and tapped squarely and firmly with the mallet. If the proof planer does not cover the form, its position is changed and the mallet used again. The impression left on the paper is the first proof. See proof marks, page [27]. In school, it is wise to have the pupils read their own proofs.

Fig. 16.

To correct a galley. Then with the marked proof before him, the compositor proceeds to correct. If only slight changes are to be made, such as turning an inverted letter or taking out a capital and putting in a lower case letter, such changes may be made without lifting the type into the stick. Often lines or words are transposed, or omissions or repetitions are discovered. Such errors necessitate respacing and overrunning, by which is meant the going over several lines respacing them and crowding a word out of one line into another in order to correct an error. In such cases, it is well to lift out into the stick, the lines involved. In the matter of taking out a letter, it is necessary only to press lightly at both ends of the line with the thumb and finger of one hand, raising the line about half way out of the form, and with the other hand to remove the desired letter and allow the line to slide back into its original position. Bodkins and tweezers are dangerous and useless instruments in most instances. After the changes indicated in the first proof have been made, a second proof is taken to make sure that all corrections have been made, and that no new errors have crept in. This proof should be submitted to the instructor for approval. It may be necessary to make a number of proofs before a perfect impression is gotten. In case of a sufficient quantity of matter to necessitate its division into pages or columns, the proof is taken in the galley without tying up, Fig. 16. The form is locked tightly in the galley by means of furniture and quoins, Fig. 16. This is somewhat like the lockup described on page [32], except that furniture is placed only on one side of the mass of type.

Fig. 17.

Making up. When the corrections are made, the matter is properly divided, the page numbers and headings are placed, and the pages or columns are tied up. This process is called making up. Fig. 17. When the printer begins to make up, he has before him a long mass of type, as at Fig. 16. The length of the page is determined. It includes the page number, the running head, if there be one, and a nonpareil, or six point, slug at each end.

A page 18 ems wide might properly be 30 ems long. In this case, the measure would be 31 ems and a 31 em reglet, (see furniture page [31]) answers well for a measure, as will any long piece of furniture on which the desired length may be marked. An accurate ruler may be used to advantage. The length of the first page is usually less than the full measure and is somewhat arbitrarily determined. It is generally sunken about one-fourth of the page. After this page is tied up and moved aside, the page number, the running head and the slug are added to the remaining column of type and the measure applied for the next page. This is repeated until the final page is reached, which is usually somewhat less than the full measure.