Handicraft for boys

by A. Frederick Collins

The body of the press serves to support all the other parts. The bed, as you will see, is really a part of the body casting and the feet of the type rest against it. For this reason it must be perfectly smooth and even, and it is planed off, that is machined, to make it so.

The platen is pivoted to the middle of the body and it swings up to and parallel with the bed and away from and out at an angle to it. The card, or sheet of paper to be printed is laid on the platen and is brought up and into contact with the type which rests on the bed. A pair of grippers are hinged to the platen to hold the paper in place while it is being printed but releases it when the platen moves back.

Fig. 63. a model self-inking printing press

The ink-roller carriage is connected by levers to the platen and when the latter moves to and fro the rollers run over the type to ink it; the rollers get their ink from the ink table and this is a disk which revolves and on which the ink is spread; the ink table is made to revolve a little at a time so that the rollers will pass over every part of it in every direction and so distribute the ink evenly.

The type when set is locked in an iron frame called a chase and this fits on the bed; and finally all the movable parts are coupled to the handle and when this is moved up and down it makes them perform their various functions.

How the Press Works.

—Let’s suppose now, that you have the type set in the chase and the chase is fixed in the press; that you have put some ink on the ink-table and a card or a sheet of paper on the platen.

Now when you press down on the handle it moves the platen up, the grippers hold the card, or sheet of paper to it, the arms pivoted to the platen pull the ink rollers up and over the type and on to the ink table which turns through a small arc, that is, part of a circle, by a ratchet so that it keeps a fresh surface exposed to the ink rollers all the time.

When the card, or paper makes contact with the type you pull the handle up; this swings the platen back; the grippers relax their pressure; the ink-rollers move down over the face of the type; you take out the printed card or sheet with your left hand and put in a blank one with your right hand, when you are ready to make another impression.