For Pelts or Leather, Ball-Nails or Pumping-Nails, Wool or Hair, Vellom or Parchment or Forrel, the Press-man generally eases the Master-Printer of the trouble of choosing, though not the charge of paying for them: And for Paste, Sallad Oyl, and such accidental Requisites as the Press-man in his work may want, the Devil commonly fetches for him.
¶. 22. Of Racks to Hang Paper on, and of the Peel.
Our Master-Printer must provide Racks to hang Paper on to Dry. They are made of Deal-board Battens, square, an Inch thick, and an Inch and an half deep, and the length the whole length of the Deal, which is commonly about ten or eleven Foot long, or else so long as the convenience of the Room will allow: The two upper corners of these Rails are rounded off that they may not mark the Paper.
These Racks are Hung over Head, either in the Printing-House, or Ware-house, or both, or any other Room that is most convenient to Dry Paper in; they are hung athwart two Rails an Inch thick, and about three or four Inches deep, which Rails are fastned to some Joysts or other Timber in the Ceiling by Stiles perpendicular to the Ceiling; These Rails stand so wide assunder, that each end of the Racks may hang beyond them about the distance of two Foot, and have on their upper edge at ten Inches distance from one another, so many square Notches cut into them as the whole length of the Rail will bear; Into these square notches the Racks are laid parallel to each other with the flat side downwards, and the Rounded off side upwards.
The Peel is described in Plate 9. at l, which Figure sufficiently shews what it is; And therefore I shall need say no more to it, only its Handle may be longer or shorter according as the height of the Room it is to be used in may require.
¶. 23. Of Inck.
The providing of good Inck, or rather good Varnish for Inck, is none of the least incumbent cares upon our Master-Printer, though Custom has almost made it so here in England; for the process of making Inck being as well laborious to the Body, as noysom and ungrateful to the Sence, and by several odd accidents dangerous of Firing the Place it is made in, Our English Master-Printers do generally discharge themselves of that trouble; and instead of having good Inck, content themselves that they pay an Inck-maker for good Inck, which may yet be better or worse according to the Conscience of the Inck-maker.
That our Neighbours the Hollanders who exhibit Patterns of good Printing to all the World, are careful and industrious in all the circumstances of good Printing, is very notorious to all Book-men; yet should they content themselves with such Inck as we do, their Work would appear notwithstanding the other circumstances they observe, far less graceful than it does, as well as ours would appear more beautiful if we used such Inck as they do: for there is many Reasons, considering how the Inck is made with us and with them, why their Inck must needs be better than ours. As First, They make theirs all of good old Linseed-Oyl alone, and perhaps a little Rosin in it sometimes, when as our Inck-makers to save charges mingle many times Trane-Oyl among theirs, and a great deal of Rosin; which Trane-Oyl by its grossness, Furs and Choaks up a Form, and by its fatness hinders the Inck from drying; so that when the Work comes to the Binders, it Sets off; and besides is dull, smeary and unpleasant to the Eye. And the Rosin if too great a quantity be put in, and the Form be not very Lean Beaten, makes the Inck turn yellow: And the same does New Linseed-Oyl.
Secondly, They seldom Boyl or Burn it to that consistence the Hollanders do, because they not only save labour and Fewel, but have a greater weight of Inck out of the same quantity of Oyl when less Burnt away than when more Burnt away; which want of Burning makes the Inck also, though made of good old Linseed-Oyl Fat and Smeary, and hinders its Drying; so that when it comes to the Binders it also Sets off.
Thirdly, They do not use that way of clearing their Inck the Hollanders do, or indeed any other way than meer Burning it, whereby the Inck remains more Oyly and Greasie than if it were well clarified.