The American Printer: A Manual of Typography / Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.

by Thomas MacKellar

In taking a sheet off the heap, the pressman places himself almost straight before the near side of the tympan, but nimbly twists the upper part of his body a little backward toward the heap, the better to see that he takes but one sheet off. This he loosens from the rest of the heap by drawing the back of the nail of his right thumb quickly over the bottom part of the heap, and, receiving the near end of the sheet with his left-hand fingers and thumb, catches it by the farther edge with his right hand, about four inches from the upper corner of the sheet, and brings it swiftly to the tympan: having the sheet thus in both his hands, he lays the farther side and two extreme corners of the sheet down even upon the farther side and extreme farther corners of the tympan-sheet. In the reiteration, care should be taken to draw the thumb on the margin, or between the gutters, to avoid smearing the sheet. The sheet being properly laid on, he supports it in the centre by the fingers of the left hand, while his right hand, being disengaged, is removed to the back of the ear of the frisket, to bring it down upon the tympan, laying at the same moment the tympan on the form. He then, with his left hand, grasps the rounce, and quickly runs the form under the platen; and, after pulling, he gives a quick and strong pressure upon the rounce, to run the carriage out again. Letting go the rounce, he places the fingers of his left hand toward the bottom of the tympan, to assist the right hand in lifting it up, and also to be ready to catch the bottom of the sheet when the frisket rises, which he conveys quickly and gently to the catch: while it is going up, he slips the thumb of his left hand under the near lower corner of the sheet, which, with the aid of his two forefingers, he raises, the right hand at the same time grasping it at the top in the same manner. Lifting the sheet carefully and expeditiously off the points, and nimbly twisting about his body toward the paper-bank, he carries the sheet over the heap of white paper to the bank, and lays it down upon a waste sheet or wrapper; but, while it is coming over the white paper heap, though he has the sheet between both his forefingers and thumbs, yet he holds it so loosely that it may move between them as on two centres, as his body twists about from the side of the tympan toward the side of the paper-bank.

When the pressman comes to a token sheet, he undoubles it, and smooths out the crease with the back of the nails of his right hand, that the face of the letter may print upon smooth paper; and, being printed off, he folds it again, as before, for a token-sheet, when he works the reiteration.

Having worked off the white paper of a form of twelves, he places his right hand under the heap, and, his left hand supporting the end near him, turns it over on the horse, with the printed side downward. If the form be octavo, he places his left hand under the heap, supporting the outside near end with his right hand, and turns it one end over the other. All turning of the paper for reiteration is treated in one of these modes. In performing this operation, he takes from the heap only as much at once as he can well handle without disordering the evenness of the sides of the paper.

Having turned the heap, he proceeds to work it off, as before described, except that with the left hand he guides the point-holes over the points, moving the sheet with the right hand, more or less, to assist him in so doing. The token-sheets, as he meets with them, he does not fold down again.

RULES AND REMEDIES FOR PRESSMEN.

About every five or six sheets a small quantity of ink should be taken; yet this rule is subject to some variation from the nature of the work and quality of the ink. A form of large type or solid matter will require ink to be taken more frequently, and a light form of small type less frequently. During the intervals in which the roller-boy is not employed in brayering out or taking ink, he should be almost constantly engaged in distributing or changing his rollers. He should invariably take ink on the back roller, as it will the sooner be conveyed to the other roller, and, consequently, save time in distributing. When, through carelessness, too much ink has been taken, it should be removed by laying a piece of clean waste paper on one of the rollers, and working it off till the ink is reduced to the proper quantity.

If letters, quadrates, or furniture rise up and black the paper, they should be put down, and the quarter locked up tighter.

If any letters are battered, the quarter they are in must be unlocked, and perfect ones put in by the compositor.

When bearers become too thin by long working, they should be replaced by thicker ones.

When the form gets out of register,—which will often happen by the starting of the quoins which secure the chase,—it must be immediately put in again, as there can scarcely be a greater defect in a book than the want of uniformity in this particular.