JOBBING FACILITIES.
There is no department in the art that is better provided with means for its efficient prosecution than job printing. It is true that an establishment fully provided with all the old and new conveniences will involve a very considerable outlay; yet a beginner in a small way, who has to count the cost carefully, may avail himself of many facilities which were unknown a score of years ago. The smaller the capital, the more need for the exercise of a wise discretion in the selection of material. Regard should be had to the special line of work to be undertaken, and the type and presses adapted to that line should be selected. If the master himself shall work with head and hand, perseveringly and early and late, and shall do good work at fair prices—never cutting-under to secure a job at non-paying rates,—and shall be obliging in manner and punctual in delivery, and shall waste no dimes in drink or other useless expenses, the growth of his business will be only a matter of time; and he will gradually be able to order just what that growth necessitates, until he shall find himself the proprietor of a well-appointed office and a paying business. In his first outlay and in all his additions, the best of every kind should be gotten, if possible, as cheap things always prove dear.
It matters little how well appointed an office may be, there will be no gains in it unless the proprietor, counting the cost carefully, makes sure that every job shall pay a reasonable profit.
When a job is taken in, it should be fully entered in a volume, giving all particulars in regard to the number of copies, style, and price. This may serve as a Day Book or Blotter. A memorandum-slip, like the following, may be filled out for each job, and kept on file after the work shall have been completed:—
No. of Order
_____________________
Size of Card, Paper or Book, when finished
_____________________
Quality
________________________________________________________
Number of Copies
_______________________________________________
Style of Type
__________________________________________________
Size of Form
___________________________________________________
Colour of Ink
__________________________________________________
Time of Composition
____________________________________________
Time on Press
__________________________________________________
Proof wanted
___________________________________________________
Goods to be called for
_________________________________________
” ” delivered
__________________________________________
Price
__________________________________________________________
Paid in advance, $
_____________________________________________
Date
____________________________
It will be satisfactory to keep what may be called an Estimate Book, in which may be entered the particulars of estimates given for various kinds of work, whether the job be secured or not, these particulars will be time-saving when a similar piece of work comes in for estimate. Samples of paper, of all grades and colours, may be kept in a convenient receptacle, cut up into various sizes, and with memoranda written on each sample to denote the cost per ream, the weight, and the number of pieces in a sheet.
A useful thing to have in a job office is Ames’s Paper and Card Scale, for fractional sizes, showing the number of pieces of any required size that can be cut from a sheet without waste, with a table giving the number of sheets required to cut 1000 pieces, and another showing the cost of paper by the quire, sheet, and hundred sheets, at any given price per ream. Besides the above, we may mention Le Blond’s Chart, a very compact affair, showing the number of any given size of card that can be cut out of a card sheet 22 × 28 inches.
JOB CASE.
TRIPLE JOB CASE.
LABOUR-SAVING RULE CASE.
The modern printer has every convenience that can be desired in the way of cases, and his type and other material are amply provided with receptacles well adapted for each special use. There are not only large and small cabinets, filled with job cases of various styles and capacities, but there may be had cases for rules, leads, and furniture, as well as blank cases for indefinite uses. We give representations of these.
LABOUR-SAVING SLUG CASE.
LABOUR-SAVING LEAD CASE.
QUOTATION FURNITURE CASE.
BLANK CASE.
All cases should be labelled, and the label should be printed in the same type that is contained in the case.
Capitals and lower-case job types should not be laid together in the same boxes. The saving of time in a year will pay for extra cases.
CABINET OF CASES, WITH GALLEY TOP.
Job type-cases should be kept in cabinets, and not in stand-racks, as the latter cannot be used without interfering with the hand whose stand may contain the case wanted. Various kinds of cabinets are shown on pages [219-221], [231] and [234], some of which are constructed to hold cases and quad and space boxes.
All matter should be cleared away as soon as done with. This work can be done by careful boys. Standing galleys, or cabinets with galley tops, for type to be kept awhile, will be found useful and convenient; but matter preserved for occasional future use were better papered up and labeled or stored away locked up in a chase cabinet. (See [p. 231].) A rack with sloping boards to support the forms will prove to be a safe and convenient place for keeping the forms of type which need to be held standing.
Labour-saving leads, and slugs, and reglets, cut to varying lengths, when not in use, should be kept in cases specially provided for them. And so with labour-saving brass rule, quotation furniture, rule, etc. It is economical as well as tidy to have appropriate places for every thing.
For fixed measures, or measures not often changed, the standard screw composing-sticks are probably the best; but for jobbing and table-work, where the measure is frequently altered, it will be well to use the new styles, such as are shown above; no screw-key or screw-driver being required, the latter can be quickly and easily set to a new measure.
WOODEN JOB STICK.
FRANKLIN STICK.
RAYMOND’S PATENT STICK.
NEWBURY’S STICK.
HOE’S PATENT STICK.
GROVER’S STICK.
ALBION STICK.
The boxwood quoin will probably continue to hold its place, though not a few printers favour the use of the newly-invented iron articles offered by various manufacturers, such as Webb’s Mechanical Quoin, Ames’s, Hoe’s, Allen’s, and Hempel’s Patent Quoins. The latter quoin has, from its durability and easy application, crowded out all competitors.
HEMPEL’S QUOINS IN POSITION.
HEMPEL’S QUOIN.
Among the very handy things to have about an office, we may enumerate the circular and hollow quadrates, shown on pages [77] and [78]; corner quadrates, cast in type-metal; and also the brass line-formers, shown on page [79], that enable the workman to curve lines expeditiously.
CORNER QUADRATES.
Even so simple a thing as a shooting-stick, commonly made of hickory or ash, is now to be had in brass or iron. These latter are certainly more durable, but dangerous in careless hands.
WOODEN SHOOTING-STICK.
BRASS SHOOTING-STICK.
IRON SHOOTING-STICK.
ARMSTRONG’S COMBINED MALLET AND SHOOTING-STICK.
A novel invention is Armstrong’s Patent Combined Mallet and Shooting-Stick. This is desirable for general use, and for locking-up forms on the press, or of service where room for the use of the ordinary mallet and shooting-stick is limited to a confined space.
MITERING MACHINE.
LEAD CUTTER.
A mitering machine and lead-cutter are among the necessary adjuncts of a printing-office.
Perforating Rule is slightly higher than type, and is used in printing coupons and tickets which require to be partially severed while going through the press. It is made of brass or steel. A more convenient (as well as more expensive) article is Ames’s Patent Perforator: its knife, or perforator, lies below the surface of the type while the rollers pass over the form, and rises and makes a clean cut when the impression is on, without injuring the rollers.
PERFORATING RULE.
Machines for perforating round holes are manufactured of several sizes. The lowest-priced machine may be worked on a counter, and will perforate every kind of card-board or paper. We give a cut of this style.
ROUND HOLE PERFORATING MACHINE.
Imposing Stones may be had with drawers and cases underneath; but these we do not deem advisable, unless the printer be cramped in room, as the cases may be wanted when the stone is in use while imposing or correcting forms. For common use, the plain stone with a single drawer, and without a rim, will be found the nicest. When made otherwise, the rim should be fitted snugly to the stone, or the interstices will become filled with types, dropped in while correcting.
IMPOSING STONE.
A very convenient device for the compositor is the Copy-Holder. This, however, is for the book compositor rather than for the jobber. Its utility consists in bringing the copy nearer to the eye of the workman, and in leaving all the boxes at command and uncovered by the manuscript or printed page. There is also a Lamp-Holder which will be found handy where gas is not accessible.
COPY-HOLDER.
RUGGLES CARD CUTTER.
Card Cutters are made of several styles, and at prices from fourteen dollars to forty-five; and Paper Cutters are yet more numerous, some of them simple and low-priced, and others massive and costing twelve hundred dollars. We give an engraving of one of moderate price. An extensive run of business only would require the employment of a large paper cutter.
MINERVA CUTTING MACHINE.
MEGILL’S PATENT GAUGE PIN.
EXTENSION FEED-GUIDE.
Several contrivances for facilitating press operations have been invented. We may mention Megill’s Patent Gauge Pin, of sizes suitable for various margins. Two small teeth, projecting from the lower side of the head of the pin, press into the tympan sheet and prevent the gauge from moving. There is also the Extension Feed-Guide, which furnishes a gauge below the edge of the platen, and is held firmly in place by the tympan-clamp.
HART’S COUNTER.
When long numbers are printed, the Automatic Counter may be attached to the press. It counts only when the form is being printed, and shows the exact number in plain figures up to 100,000. Several styles of counting machines are made.
PATENT INK FOUNTAIN.
An ink fountain has been contrived for attachment to the Gordon job press, or any other press with similar plate distribution. It is quite a cosey little thing, and is operated by the impression arm of the press.
Iron furniture is made in sets containing twenty-one pieces, adapted for use on the eighth, quarter, and half medium job presses.
USEFUL RECEIPTS.[22]
Printers’ rollers.—10 lbs. French or Irish heavy glue, 12 lbs. sugar or good quality molasses, and 3 lbs. glycerine. This will be sufficient to make two rollers twenty-nine by three and one-half inches, and can be readily recast by following the directions given for recasting rollers.
Directions.—Soak the glue the necessary length of time that will enable it to melt with ease. After being melted, add the glycerine, and boil fifteen minutes or until thoroughly mixed, when the sugar or molasses may be added. Cook and stir continuously for fifteen minutes, the composition will then be ready for pouring. Strict attention should be given that the moulds be thoroughly cleansed and evenly oiled previous to pouring.
German Preservative for Rollers.—Corrosive sublimate 2 drachms, fine table salt 2 oz.; put together in half a gallon of soft water—let it stand twenty-four hours. When rollers are clean washed with ley, sponge them with the above mixture twice a week.
Directions for Recasting Rollers.—Sponge the face of the roller with hot water; scrape off the face thoroughly with a knife; take the composition off the stock and cut it up small. If the roller has been used only a short time, it may be melted about as readily as new composition; if it is older, put it in a sieve or basket and soak it in cold water for about fifteen or twenty minutes; take it out of the water, cover with a damp cloth, and leave over-night; then melt as usual. If composition is too hard, wait till it is melted, and stir in a sufficient quantity of common molasses; avoid heavy, clarified syrups.
Printers’ Ley.—No. 1.—Dissolve 28 lbs. of soda in 52 gallons of water, to which add 7 lbs. of soft-soap, boiled. Stir well together.
Printers’ Ley.—No. 2.—Boil 3 gallons of water in a copper; throw in while boiling ½ lb. of unslacked lime and 2 lbs. of common soda; stir well for fifteen minutes. Let it settle till cold, when it must be taken out without disturbing the sediment, and the liquid is then fit for use.
Printers’ Ley.—No. 3.—Table salt 2 oz., unslacked lime 2 lb., Scotch washing soda (bruised) 2 lb. Put together in 3 gallons of water, stir well; when settled, ready for use.
Note.—This ley, if prepared carefully, is very strong, and will wash off almost any colour.
A Strong White Paste.—Dissolve 2½ oz. of gum-arabic in 2 quarts of water, and stir it into 1 pound of wheat flour until the whole becomes of a pasty consistency. It is then to be heated, and 1½ oz. each of sugar of lead and alum dissolved in a little water added thereto, and the composition well stirred until it shows signs of boiling, when it must be removed from the fire. Add while hot 6 drops of carbolic acid. This is a very tenacious and durable paste, and may be used on almost any substance.
Pastes for Fixing Labels on Glass.—No. 1.—Take of gum-arabic 1 oz., boiling water and glycerine 2 fluid ounces each. Make a solution.
No. 2.—Take of gum-arabic and powdered gum tragacanth ½ oz. each, water 1½ oz., acetic acid 20 drops. Mix. The acid is used to prevent chemical change, although a stiff paste made of tragacanth alone is not inclined to spoil by fermentation.
To Make a good Mucilage.—The best quality of mucilage is made by dissolving clear glue in equal volumes of water and strong vinegar, and adding one-fourth of an equal volume of alcohol, and a small quantity of a solution of alum in water. The action of the vinegar is due to the acetic acid which it contains. This prevents the composition from gelatinizing by cooling; but the same result may be accomplished by adding a small quantity of nitric acid. Some of the preparations offered for sale are merely boiled starch, or flour, mixed with nitric acid to prevent the gelatinizing.
Liquid Glue.—Take some good strong glue and mix it with full proof whisky. Let it digest for three or four days, and it will be ready for use.
Strong Mucilage.—The Journal de Pharmacie states that if, to a strong solution of gum-arabic measuring 8⅓ fluid oz., a solution of 30 grains of sulphate of aluminium dissolved in ⅔ of an oz. of water be added, a very strong mucilage is formed, capable of fastening wood together, or mending porcelain or glass.
Gum for Backing Labels.—Take any quantity of clear, pure dextrine and mix it with boiling water until it assumes the consistency of ordinary mucilage. Apply thinly with a full-bodied, evenly made, and wide camel’s-hair brush. The paper should not be too thin or unsized. The preparation will dry quickly, and adhere when slightly wet.
Note.—No more of the dextrine should be mixed at one time than can be used at once, as it cannot be remelted easily.
Mucilage for Postage Stamps, Envelopes, etc., is composed of dextrine 2 parts, acetic acid 1 part, alcohol 1 part, water 5 parts.
Common Prepared Glue.—Dissolve 2 lbs. good common glue in 3 pints warm water, and add 1 quart of strong vinegar. Ready to use after twenty-four hours.
For making Magenta Surface Paper.—1½ oz. of Magenta, (aniline,) ½ oz. Bismarck brown, (aniline,) 1 cake of glue; put these into 4 gallons of boiling water. Coat the paper with this, using an 8-inch double-filled camel’s-hair brush. Quantity given will coat two reams of double-crown. A hard-sized paper must be used.
Coloured Writing Inks.—The following receipts have been well tested, and are commended by good authorities as preferable to the solutions of aniline dyes, which are now so extensively used as coloured inks:—
Green.—Two parts acetate of copper, one part carbonate of potash, and eight parts of water. Boil until half evaporated, and filter.
Blue.—Three parts Prussian blue, one part oxalic acid, and thirty parts of water. When dissolved, add one part of gum-arabic.
Yellow.—One part fine orpiment, well rubbed up with four parts thick gum water.
Red.—With the aid of a gentle heat, dissolve four grains of carmine in 1 oz. of aqua ammoniæ, and add 6 grains of gum-arabic.
Gold.—Rub gold leaf, such as is used by bookbinders, with honey, till it forms a uniform mixture. When the honey has been washed out with water, the gold powder will settle at the bottom, and must be mixed with gum water in sufficient quantity.
Silver.—Silver leaf treated in precisely the same manner gives a silver ink. Both these inks may be polished with ivory when dry.
Black.—Three ounces crushed gall-nuts, two ounces crystallized sulphate of iron, two ounces gum-arabic, and twenty-four ounces water.
White.—Fine French zinc-white, or white lead, rubbed up with gum water to the proper consistency.
Fireproof Ink.—Fireproof ink, which can be used either for writing or printing:—Copal 12 grains, graphite 22 drachms, sulphate of iron 2 drachms, tincture of nut-galls 2 drachms, and sulphate of indigo 8 drachms; these are thoroughly mixed and boiled in water, and the ink so obtained is said to be both fireproof and insoluble in water. When any other colour than black is desired, the graphite is replaced by any other mineral pigment of the required colour.
Printing Ink Varnish.—Printing ink varnish is made by adding 4 oz. of boiled linseed or neat’s-foot oil to 6 oz. of yellow rosin.
Lithographic Transfer Ink.—Three parts gum copal, 5 parts wax, 5 purified tallow, 4 soap, 5 shellac, 5 mastic, and one-half part sulphur. The copal is to be melted in a copper vessel, mixing in a little sweet oil, add the wax and tallow, and when these are well melted, light the mass and throw in the soap, well dried and cut in small pieces, then the shellac and mastic. The flame is to be increased by the addition of the flowers of sulphur, and so a perfect mixture of the copal with the other substances will be attained. The flame is to be alternately kindled and extinguished till the whole mass is reduced to one-fourth of its former bulk.
To give dark Printing Inks a Bronze or Changeable Hue.—Take 1½ lb. gum shellac and dissolve it in 1 gallon 95 per cent. alcohol spirits of cologne for 24 hours; then add 14 oz. aniline red; let it stand a few hours longer, when it will be ready for use. Add this to good blue, black, or other dark inks, as needed, in quantities to suit, when, if carefully done, they will be found to have a rich bronze or changeable hue.
An Ink for Marking Tin or Zinc.—An ink composed of copper one part, dissolved in ten parts nitric acid, ten parts water being afterward added, is useful for marking on tin or zinc.
Quick-drying Preparations for Printers’ Inks to be used on Bookbinders’ Cases.—1 oz. beeswax, ¼ oz. gum-arabic dissolved in sufficient acetic acid to make a thin mucilage, ¼ oz. Brown’s Japan, ½ oz. asphaltum varnish. Incorporate with 1 lb. of wood-cut ink.
A Dryer.—No. 1, for fine job work. Damar varnish 6 oz., bergamot 2 drachms, balsam copaiba 2 drachms, balsam of fir 3 oz., creosote 1 drachm, copal varnish 1 drachm. To enough ink for 1000 ordinary business cards, add from 8 to 12 drops of the “Indispensable,” and to larger quantities in proportion. When used for bronze, dry colours, diamond printing, etc., take twice the quantity; and where an extra quick dryer is desired, add a few drops of dissolved gum-arabic to the ink, after it has been mixed with No. 1. In all cases, mix well with the ink before applying to the rollers.
Dryer.—No. 2.—For news and poster ink. Spirits of turpentine 1 qt., balsam copaiba 6 oz. Add a sufficient quantity to the ink to thin it to a proper consistency for working.
Silvering Solution for Electrotype Plates.—Nitrate of silver 2 drachms, distilled water 37 drachms. Dissolve and add sal ammoniac 1 drachm, hypophosphate of soda 4 drachms, precipitated chalk 4 drachms. Agitate the preparation occasionally for twelve hours, when it will be ready for use. Apply with a piece of fine sponge.
How to coat Electrotypes with Silver.—Electrotypes can be coated with silver (for working with red ink) in the following manner: One part copper, 5 parts pure tin; this alloy to be granulated, not too fine, and mixed with water and cream of tartar into a paste. To each 200 parts of the granulated alloy add 1 part oxide silver, the electro is then laid in it, and boiled for a short time, when it will be found to be beautifully plated. Fresh oxide must be added from time to time. This coating is quite equal in durability to silver or tin.
To soften Leather Belting.—Castor oil is a good article for keeping leather belting soft and pliable.
How to open a Ball of Twine.—A ball of twine, if opened from the inside, will run off easily enough and give no trouble in the untwining; but if begun from the outside, it will speedily get tangled and knotted.
To prevent Adhesion.—M. Garde, in l’Imprimerie, tells paper-makers how to obviate the inconvenience of the adhesion together of sized papers, on damping, by the coagulation of the size. This is effected in the mills, by dipping the sheets in a solution of alum or tannin. A secondary advantage obtained is that the paper becomes tougher.
To detect ground Wood in Paper.—Mix three parts of strong nitric acid with one part of sulphuric acid: a drop of this solution will immediately turn paper containing an admixture of ground wood a brown colour.
French Gold Printing.—French copal varnish 1 oz., mastic varnish ¼ of an oz.; mix together and add twenty drops to the black ink table, and distribute; take an impression and apply, with wool, gold leaf, Dutch metal, or bronze. Apply the bronze with cotton wool and rub hard over the black ink. After each fifty printed, wipe off the superfluous gold from the type with a silk handkerchief.
Transfer Varnish.—Take equal quantities of fir balsam and spirits turpentine. Mix, shake well, and set in a warm place until clear. Used in decalcomania, and for maps, prints, drawings, and other articles of paper; and also to prepare tracing papers, and to transfer engravings.
To make Paper Waterproof.—Dissolve 8 oz. of alum and 3⅓ oz. of white soap in 4 pints of water. In another vessel dissolve 2 oz. of gum-arabic and 4 oz. of glue in 4 pints of water. Mix the two solutions and heat them over the fire. Then immerse the paper, sheet by sheet, in the hot liquid, then hang them up edgewise to dry, or pass them between heated cylinders.
Books Preserved.—The bindings may be preserved from mildew by brushing them over with the spirits of wine. A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mould and damp. Russia leather, which is perfumed with the tar of the birch tree, never moulds or sustains injury from damp. The Romans used oil of cedar to preserve valuable manuscripts. Russia leather covered books placed in a stationer’s window will destroy flies and other insects.
To restore Engravings, etc.—Old engravings, wood-cuts, or printed matter, that have turned yellow, may be rendered white by first washing carefully in water containing a little hyposulphite of soda, and then dipping for a minute in Javelle water. To prepare the latter, put 4 lbs. bicarbonate of soda in a kettle over a fire; add 1 gallon of boiling water, and let it boil for fifteen minutes. Then stir in 1 lb. of pulverized chloride of lime. When cold, the liquid can be kept in a jug ready for use.
