The pupils in school begin operating the press very slowly and by foot power. The process of feeding is largely a matter of cultivating a certain ambidexterity and a rhythmic movement of the hands, the right to place the blank sheet upon the platen, and the left to remove it after it is printed. Great care must be taken to avoid soiling the stock or smearing the ink on removing the freshly printed sheets. As skill is acquired, speed should be increased. Finally the boys are able safely to feed a motor driven press. When the matter is printed, it is carefully scattered over the letter boards, table, or shelves to dry, and the chase is removed to the stone.
CLEANING AND DISTRIBUTING
After finishing the job of printing proper, there are still some very important things to do. The form must be cleaned, the ink thoroughly removed from the press, and the type thrown back into the proper cases, or distributed.
The form is cleaned by going over the type, first with a cotton cloth moistened with benzine, and following with a bristle brush. The press also must be washed, that is the ink must be removed from the plate and the rollers. With cotton rags or waste moistened with benzine, the ink is wiped off the plate. Then the rollers are run upon the plate, and with the cloth still further moistened with benzine, the rollers are carefully gone over and all the ink removed. The rollers are then run down from the plate, which is wiped clean and dry. In case waste is used in cleaning the rollers, it should be wrapped inside of a cloth to prevent threads and lint from adhering to them. To the inexperienced, this matter of cleaning the press, gives the impression of a long, tedious and dirty task. It proves to be quite an interesting demonstration for the instructor to wash the press clean, and come through the process in three minutes with hands scarcely soiled. There grows up somewhat of a rivalry among the groups or individuals to see which can wash the press in the shortest time and with the least muss. In leaving the press, this caution should always be kept in mind; never allow the rollers to remain on the plate or on a form in the press. Rags that have become saturated with benzine and ink should be burned or kept in a closed can.
It is the practice with a great many good printers to leave the ink on the press over night, after thoroughly oiling it with lubricating oil. By thus leaving the rollers covered with this soft, oily coat, the composition is protected from the drying and hardening effects of the air. Of course there are inks which harden in spite of the oil, such as gilts, bronzes, bronze blues, reds, etc. Such inks should not be left on the press longer than necessary.
The next morning, the oily ink is easily removed with a dry cloth. Sometimes, it is well to follow up with a cloth slightly moistened with benzine.
In case ink has been permitted to harden on the rollers, it may be removed by taking the rollers from the press, washing them with moderately strong lye, using a printer’s scrub brush. After the ink is removed, the rollers are thoroughly rinsed in water.
When type has been allowed to remain without the ink having been cleaned off, and the ink has hardened and cemented the type together, it may be loosened and cleaned with lye. Make a strong solution of lye and saturate the mass of type with it. Rub the lye in thoroughly with the scrub brush, leave the lye on the type for two hours and then rinse in water. Keep repeating this process until the type is loosened and cleaned.
When a form has been used and is no longer needed, it is called dead matter and is ready for distribution. To prepare the type for distribution, a sponge is saturated with soapy water and the top of the form thoroughly wet, so that the water makes its way down into the small crevices between the type. If the form is put into a galley, it is placed in the same position as for tying up. Then the printer takes upon a slug the last two, three, or four lines and holds them in his left hand as in Fig. 28, so that the lines occupy the same position as when in the stick. With the right hand, he picks up one or more words from the right end of the top line. Standing before his case in the same position as when setting type, he spells the words back into the case. It is very important that type be properly distributed, that the letters, characters, and spaces be put into their proper boxes. This is interesting work, and beginners delight in it; besides, it is a work in which considerable skill can quite readily be acquired.
