The knocked-up sheets are counted off—thin paper in hundreds, thick paper in fifties. To do this any big lot is taken hold of with the right hand—one soon learns to judge the quantity to be taken by the fingers—by the fore-edge, giving the hand a turn so as to bring the backs uppermost, when the sheets will fan out at the back and thus make the counting an easy matter. The left hand counts—pardon, the head counts, but the left hand tells off the sheets in such a way that the middle and index fingers are alternately inserted in 4, 8, 12, 16, &c., whilst counting 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., and at the same time throwing over the sheets held. Every 25th lot of four sheets gives 100, and, of course, any other number you please can be counted in the same manner. Each lot is once more knocked up, placed in piles crosswise, and afterwards pressed.
Fig. 4—Lifting into the Press.
The contrivance for pressing most generally used nowadays is still the bookbinder's little wooden hand-press, with wooden, or perhaps iron, screws; the former are lighter and handier, the latter heavier but more durable and therefore of advantage where heavy pressure is demanded. Each lot is placed between pressing-boards; these are about 1-1/2 cm. thick and vary in length and width according to the sheets or books to be pressed. According to the grain of the wood we speak of long and cross boards. On top of the upper and underneath the lower batch we place a cross board; it does not matter which way the grain runs in the other boards used. This precaution is taken to obviate the probable breakage when the cheeks of the press run parallel with the grain of the two outer pressing-boards.
The pile of sheets between the pressing-boards is so placed that the nuts of the press are at first raised as high as the pile about to be pressed requires, then the press is put on the table to the right in front of the worker so that the head of one screw at the front touches the table edge. The pile is drawn on to the front edge of the table, the left hand slips underneath, and the chin presses on top. Whilst raising the upper cheek of the press with the right hand, the pile is inserted between the opened cheeks, is adjusted, and the press screwed up, first by the hand screws and then by the screw key used for this purpose. To do this the press with its high cheeks is held firmly between the legs and the nuts screwed up with the screw key as tightly as ever possible.
At this stage we might mention a work which is very frequently done in the printery, but seldom in the bindery: this is the so-called gathering before folding. This work, as we have already mentioned, is done so that printed matter for publication can be properly stored or prepared for sending away.
Fig. 5—Open sheets laid out for gathering.
The sheets are taken just as they left the press and piled up side by side in a row in order of number on a long table, each pile of sheets in exactly the same position as the others and just as they would be placed for folding; that is to say, for 8vos the first signature at the bottom left-hand side underneath, the second signature being at the bottom right-hand side on the top.
Generally the work is gathered in batches of 5-6 sheets. The sheets in question are then laid out (see [Fig. 5]).