Machine Printing.
The late Mr William Nicholson of London was, it is believed, the first who proposed the introduction of a machine for printing, which should supersede entirely the ordinary press. He obtained a patent, dated the 29th April 1790, "for a machine or instrument for printing on paper, linen, cotton, wool, and other articles, in a more neat, cheap, and accurate manner than is effected by the machines now in use." A description of this machine, illustrated by figures, is inserted in the Encyclopædia; but as far as regards book printing, Mr Nicholson's invention was found impracticable, as it required the types to be so formed as to be fixed upon the surface of a cylinder. The ink was supplied by a cylinder or roller covered with soft skin, and stuffed with hair or wool, and the quantity was regulated by smaller cylinders, which acted so as to distribute it equally upon the larger one. This last part of Mr Nicholson's invention, however, or the idea of inking the types in printing by means of a roller, in place of the balls formerly used, has been since improved upon, and is now universally adopted.
Another machine for printing was invented by Messrs Bacon and Donkin, for which they obtained Donkin's a patent in the year 1813. This machine is so far different from Mr Nicholson's, that in place of the types being required to be cast so as to be arranged on the surface of a cylinder, they are firmly fixed in pages or galleys upon the surface of a revolving prism, having four, five, or any required number of sides. This prism is mounted in a frame so as to be capable of turning round on its axis, and is called the Printing Prism. Beneath this a revolving platen is mounted on an axis, the circumference of the platen being so formed, that it always keeps in con-
tact with the surface of the types or blocks upon the printing prism. The types being inked, and the machine put in motion, the paper to be printed passes between the prism and the platen, and thus receives the impression. The ink is applied to the types by means of a roller or cylinder with an elastic surface, which is formed so as to turn round in contact with the printing prism. But the structure of the machine will be best understood from the plate and accompanying Description. (See Plate CXIII.)
Shortly after the patent was procured, one of these machines was employed by the University of Cambridge for printing Bibles and Prayer Books; but its structure, though very ingenious, was too complicated, and too liable to derangement, to give any hopes of its being generally adopted; and the subsequent invention of a machine upon a different principle, and of which the moving power was steam, has rendered prior inventions of comparatively little value.
This ingenious application of machinery to the operation of printing was the invention of M. König, a native of Saxony, and a printer. M. König is said to have, many years ago, turned his attention to this subject, though his first efforts were bounded to give an accelerated motion to the common press. Failing in his applications to the most eminent of the continental printers, he came to London about 1804, and submitted his scheme to several printers of repute in that city. By most of these his proposals were coldly received; till fortunately he was introduced to Mr Bensley, senior, who, judging favourably of M. König's plans, entered into an arrangement with him for the purpose of carrying them into execution.
Mr G. Woodfall and Mr R. Taylor now joined the projectors; but the former having soon retired from the concern, the remaining gentlemen persevered in their experiments to fabricate a press which should have accelerated motion, and render the work of a man to ink the types unnecessary. After many experiments, however, and considerable expence, it was discovered that the attempt to improve the common press could never be attended with any great results, and attention was now turned to printing by means of a cylinder.
After some years of renewed experiments, a small machine was at last produced, which promised to be successful. The principle of this machine was, that the operation of printing was performed by the sheet of paper passing between a large cylinder, which gave the pressure, and the form of types. In place of balls used by hand, rollers, covered with leather, as in Mr Nicholson's invention, were substituted; under which the form of types passed its way to the printing cylinder. The action of this model now showed the practicability of extending the same principle to a more powerful machine; and on exhibiting it to Mr Walters, proprietor of the Times newspaper, and pointing out the further improvements which had suggested themselves, an agreement was entered into with that gentleman for the erection of two large machines for printing his journal. The machines were accordingly erected; and so secret had been the operations of the patentees, that the first intimation of their invention was given
to the public in the Times of Monday, the 28th of November 1814, the reader of which was told that he then held in his hand a newspaper printed by machinery and by the power of steam.
The next step in the improvement of the machine was to fabricate one which should print both sides of the sheet at once; the first one erected being merely calculated to do this in succession, or one form of types after the other. A machine on this principle was accordingly erected for Messrs Bensley, complicated indeed, but not more so than might have been expected, from the difficulty of making the pages fall precisely on the back of one another. As the strained skins by which the ink was applied to the types were found unequal in their surface, the inking cylinders were now covered with an elastic preparation of glue and treacle, which has been found to answer completely. The patentees issued a prospectus, dated 18th March 1817, offering three different kinds of these machines at a high scale of prices; and besides the original purchase money, demanding a large annual premium. But the proposals were so extravagant, that they effectually operated to prevent their adoption by the trade.
Various individuals now turned their attention to the improvement and simplification of the machine, but with little success. At last, however, Mr Dryden, a judicious engineer, under the instructions of Messrs Applegath and Cowper, produced a machine similar in its capabilities to the one last mentioned, but much more simple in its construction. In the old machine it required upwards of 100 wheels to effect the purpose, which in this last improvement is performed by a tenth part of the number. Messrs Bensley's original machine, however, answered many useful purposes; and massive and complicated as it was, in comparison of the more recent improvement, they continued using it till the destruction of their establishment by fire in 1819. The fabricators of the present machine, however, had applied the inking apparatus invented by them to this machine, which, from its simplification, removed no less than forty wheels required to effect the same purpose by the old one. Even after the rebuilding of the premises, the machinery, which had been only partially deranged, was repaired, and worked for some time; but it has now given place to two machines erected on the improved plan, which appear indeed so simple in their operations, as apparently to be susceptible of but little further improvement.
The printing machine as now improved, besides being less cumbrous than that of M. König, produces work of better quality. The double or perfecting machine throws off 800 to 1000 sheets, printed on both sides, within the hour, and the single machine delivers 1500 or 1600 printed on one side. (Literary Gazette, No. 301.)
Inking Roller.
The old method of inking the types by balls, as described in the Encyclopædia, has been superseded by the use of elastic rollers, which fulfil the intention more completely, and with less labour to the workmen. The first idea of a roller for this
Printing. purpose seems to have occurred to Mr Nicholson; this being a necessary part of the apparatus of the printing machine, for which he obtained a patent in 1790, and it has formed an appendage in every machine since proposed. At the first outset, the rollers were made of leather stuffed in the manner of a cushion; but they were soon found to lose their elasticity and to grow hard, and by the unequal stuffing, to ink the types irregularly. A composition of glue and treacle spread upon canvas, which was used in some printing offices to cover the stuffed balls in place of skins or soft leather, was afterwards applied to a cylinder, and found not less admirably calculated for the operation of a machine, than for printing by manual labour at the ordinary press.
On the introduction of the inking roller, many devices were fallen upon to supply it regularly with ink. Of these it is scarcely necessary to give a detailed description in this place. An inking table formed of a plate of cast iron, with a longitudinal trough or box at one end to contain the ink, seems best adapted to the purpose. A metal roller, in the centre of this trough, and of which a small part of the surface is exposed, turns in the centre of the trough of ink, and a steel bar along its upper surface, fixed by screws, regulates the quantity given out. The elastic roller, on being pushed up to the trough, receives a stripe of ink throughout its whole length, which is distributed equally over its surface, by rolling on the table before being applied to the types.
The roller is cast in a mould, upon a core of hard wood, which is mounted upon a light frame of iron, so as to revolve freely upon pivots, with two handles for the workmen to use it.
Mr Thomas Parkin of London has lately invented an apparatus to facilitate the operation of inking by composition rollers, which is said to be capable of being applied to most printing presses. Of this apparatus there is a sketch in Plate CXI. figs. 4, 5, and 6. But it has not yet been established for a sufficient length of time, to authorize a judgment to be formed of its superiority to the common mode of using the elastic roller.
Stereotype printing (from stereos, solid or entire, and typos, a type) is the art of printing from solid plates instead of moveable types. Though printing from wooden blocks has been known for fifteen or sixteen centuries in China; and although this was the first form in which books were printed at the invention of the art in Europe, yet the Chinese blocks, and other similar devices, are in reality only a species of engraving. The letters are cut in the block by the artist, and the impression is produced directly from it; while in the formation of stereotype plates, a mould is first formed from the page of moveable types, and from this mould, a fac-simile of the original page is cast, from which the impressions are taken.
The history of stereotype printing has been hitherto involved in considerable obscurity; and Hol-
land, France, and Scotland, have contested the merit of its discovery. The Dutch claimant was J. Vander Mey, father of the well known painter of that name, who resided at Leyden about the end of the sixteenth century. His pretensions were stated in the Nieuw Algemein Konst en Letter Bode, 1798, No. 232, in which it is asserted that the Dutch had been in possession of the art of printing with solid or fixed plates for above 100 years. With the assistance of Muller, the clergyman of the German congregation at Leyden, who superintended the correction, Vander Mey is said to have prepared and cast the plates for an edition of the Bible, which was printed in 4to, and the forms of which were in the possession of G. and J. Luchtmans of Leyden. A folio edition was likewise prepared in the same manner with large margins, ornamented with figures, the forms of which were in the possession of Elwe, a bookseller at Amsterdam. Besides these, an English New Testament, Shaat's Syriac Dictionary, 2 vols. 4to, and a small Greek Testament, were printed by Vander Mey in this manner; but at his death the art of preparing solid blocks was said to have been lost, or not afterwards employed on account of the expence. (Tillich's Philosophical Magazine. Vol. X. p. 275, 276.)
Such are the pretensions of the Dutch to the honour of the invention of printing by means of stereotype. But unfortunately for this claim, M. Camus, who published two papers on Polytpe and Stereotype in the Memoirs of the National Institute of France (Vols. III. and V.), in his anxiety to do justice to the merits of a countryman of his own, was led to make some inquiries regarding the existence of Vander Mey's plates of the Bible. The result was, that he found these plates were still in existence, and in the possession of Messrs G. and J. Luchtmans of Leyden; the grandchildren of Samuel Luchtmans, the bookseller, at whose expence it appears Vander Mey had originally prepared them. From a letter of these gentlemen to M. Renouard, a bookseller in Paris, dated 21st June 1801, accurately describing the plates of this Bible, it turns out that the forms of types have no analogy at all to modern stereotype plates, but are merely the pages of common moveable types, soldered together at the bottom: "c'est une reunion de caracteres ordinaires par le pied avec de la matiere fondue." (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. V. p. 330.) The Dutch Bible in folio, we learn from the same authority, was at that time in the hands of Elwe the bookseller, and the Greek New Testament in the hands of Messrs Luchtmans. The forms of the other works mentioned as having been prepared in this manner had been broken up and sold.
M. Camus having disposed of the pretensions of Vander Mey, his next object was to support the title of one Valleyre, a Paris printer, to the merit of the invention; at least to the practice of printing from stereotype plates. In his first memoir (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 440), he claims the invention for the French; 1st, Because, in a modern catalogue of the printers of Paris by Lottin, it is asserted, without any proof of the fact being adduced, that the calen-
Printing. dars at the beginning of church books were printed from solid plates towards the end of the seventeenth century. 2d, From the existence of a plate formed of copper, of which he has given an impression in his memoir, containing a page of such a calendar; and 3d, From the testimony of a compositor, who had been witness of the use of such plates in the office of Valleyre, prior to the year 1735. Two other pages of a similar calendar were in the possession of M. Herhan; but unfortunately, notwithstanding one of these contained the months of January and February, and another the months of November and December, the year to which they referred was not inserted; nor was M. Camus's industry sufficient to procure one of those church books printed by Valleyre to ascertain this fact, though, from their nature, it is reasonable to conclude the impressions must have been numerous.
It is scarcely necessary to make any remarks upon this claim of M. Camus for the invention being French. Lottin's catalogue is of no authority on the point; and the recollection of a nameless compositor, who must have been nearly eighty years of age, concerning a circumstance which happened sixty years before, is not more satisfactory. It seems, therefore, more than probable, that the plates of the calendar alluded to, which, if complete, would have only amounted to six very small 24mo pages, had been formed by some Parisian printer, who had heard of the invention of Ged, and attempted to imitate it; or, if they can be really proved to have been manufactured previous to 1735, the material, and the manner of their formation, were so different from his, and so nearly similar to the head and tail pieces fabricated by the Dutch founders for centuries before, that all claims to the invention of stereotype, as now practised, by Valleyre or his predecessors, must fall to the ground.
It may be mentioned that these plates of copper containing the calendar seem to have been cast, and that not very perfectly, from a mould formed of sand, clay, or some similar substance; precisely in the same manner that, till within these twenty years, the larger letters and vignettes used in printing were fabricated by the ordinary letter-founders, both on the Continent and in England. We have seen many of these antique decorations cast in type metal of the thickness of stereotype plate, and fastened to blocks of wood to raise them to the proper height; and though the transition from this to stereotype plates appears sufficiently obvious, yet it seems quite certain, that till our ingenious countryman, William Ged, attempted and perfected the process, in a manner that had not before been practised, the art of stereotype printing was unknown.
William Ged, the inventor of printing from plates in place of moveable types, and whose invention has formed the basis of all the subsequent attempts in the art, was a goldsmith in Edinburgh, in which profession he is said to have made many improve-
ments, which he liberally communicated to the other members of the trade. In the year 1725, happening to be in company with a printer, the conversation turned on the disadvantages which persons in that profession experienced from want of a letter-foundry; the printers at this time, both in Scotland and England, being chiefly supplied with types from Holland. Mr Ged's friend then showed him the types, both singly and put together in pages, and asked him if he could contrive a method to remedy that defect. "I answered" (says Mr Ged, in a narrative dictated by himself a short time before his death), "That I judged it more practicable for me to make plates from the composed pages than single types. To which he replied, that if such a thing could be done, an estate might be made by it. I desired he would give me a page for an experiment, which, after some days trial, I found practicable, and so continued for near two years improving on my invention, and making a great many experiments, several of which were expensive; but the more I practised, and the less chargeable materials I used, I was the more successful, till at last I brought it to bear, as that no distinction could be made between the impression from my plates, and that from the types."*
Mr Ged's invention was now complete; and nothing but the want of capital hindered its being brought before the public in the most complete manner. To procure the necessary funds, he, therefore, in 1727, entered into a contract with a gentleman of Edinburgh, who, for a fourth share of the profits, agreed to advance the money that might be necessary for carrying on the work. But the jealousy of trade soon interrupted Mr Ged's progress; for his partner, consulting with a printer on the subject, was led to believe that his whole fortune would not be sufficient to complete the undertaking. This representation so intimidated the monied man, that in two years he had made no farther advance than L. 22; and so, says Mr Ged, "finding no appearance of success that way, I was glad of an opportunity by which I might expect better encouragement."
In July 1729, Mr Fenner, a London stationer, being in Edinburgh, and hearing of Mr Ged's project, made him proposals for carrying it on in London. He was, accordingly, induced to enter into a contract with that gentleman; obliging himself to share with him the profits of the proposed concern, on condition that he advanced the money that should be required. Mr Ged, accordingly, removed to London; but not finding that his partner Mr Fenner had provided the necessary accommodation and funds, Thomas James, a letter-founder, and his brother John James, an architect, were successively adopted into the copartnership; and some time afterwards, a privilege was obtained from the University of Cambridge, in the name of Fenner, for printing Bibles and Prayer Books on the new plan. This connection turned out unfortunately for Mr Ged;
* See Biographical Memoirs of William Ged; including a particular Account of his Progress in the Art of Block-Printing. Nichols, London, 1781, p. 1.
Printing. for Thomas James, whose types were little calculated to do honour to their exertions, had, it is alleged, leagued with the King's Printers to defeat a measure which might eventually hurt their interests; and it seems to have been the object of Fenner, after acquiring sufficient knowledge of the art to carry it on without assistance, to drive Ged from the concern.
To accomplish their purposes, these persons are said to have engaged only such people, and procured only such types as were most likely to render the undertaking abortive; and the workmen themselves, averse to an invention which promised to lessen the demand for their labour, were not backward in lending their assistance to the same end. One of the workmen engaged in the business informed Mr Mores, that the compositors, when they corrected one fault, purposely made half a dozen more, and that the pressmen, when the masters were absent, broke the pages intentionally in aid of the compositors. The consequence was, that the Bible and Prayer Books printed in this manner were suppressed at the University; the plates were afterwards sent to the King's Printing-house, and from thence found their way to Mr Caslon's foundery. (Memoirs of Ged, p. 36.)
Disappointed in his prospects, and depressed by the ill-usage which he had experienced from all with whom he was connected in this unfortunate speculation, Mr Ged returned to Edinburgh. His friends in this city being anxious that a specimen of his art should be published, a subscription was opened for this purpose, and an edition of Sallust was finished in 1739, in 150 pages 12mo. We copy the title-page of this curious and interesting monument of Ged's ingenuity: "C. Crispi Sallustii Belli Catilinari et Jugurthini Historiæ. Edinburgi, Gulielmus Ged, Aurifaber Edinensis, non Typis mobilibus, ut vulgo fieri solet, sed Tabellis seu Laminis fusis excudebat, MDCCLXXXIX."
Even in getting this small work carried through the press Mr Ged met with difficulties, which it is painful to believe should have obstructed his progress. No compositor could be found to set up the types from which the plates were to be fabricated; and the whole of the work was composed by his son James, then a boy about twelve years of age. He had been put apprentice to a printer about a year before, and with the consent of his master, he was allowed to work at this task in the night time when all the workmen were absent.
What became of the plates of this volume is not well known. Mr Alexander Tilloch, the ingenious editor of the Philosophical Magazine, and the second inventor of the art of stereotype printing, relates, in a paper on the subject in the tenth volume of that work, that he was in possession of one of them. "This plate," says he, "I first saw in the hands of the deceased Mr John Murray, bookseller, in the year 1782, but do not now recollect the way in which he said it came into his possession. Having, about a year ago, applied to his successors in business, Messrs Murray and Highley, to request, if the plate could be found, that I might be allowed to take some impressions of it, they very politely insist-
ed on my acceptance of what they had used for years as a flat weight to lay upon papers at the end of the desk." (Philosophical Magazine, Vol. X. p. 273.) Philip Denis Pierres, an ingenious printer of Versailles, had, along with a copy of the book, the plate of page 44, so early as 1773. Its size, appearance, &c. is minutely described in the first memoir of M. Camus (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 445); and Pierres, we are given to understand, made many fruitless attempts to discover the mode by which it was produced.
Some years afterwards another work, which is less known, was undertaken and finished by Mr Ged. This was The Life of God in the Soul of Man, in a small writing pot 12mo. The imprint of this little volume, which is as well executed as books were generally at the time, is, "Newcastle: Printed and sold by John White, from plates made by William Ged, goldsmith in Edinburgh, 1742." Mr Tilloch was in possession of a copy of this volume; and in the Philosophical Magazine has given an impression of a page of Ged's Sallust, and specimens of his own and Mr Foulis's stereotype, in Greek and Roman letters. (Vol. X. p. 272.)
William Ged died at Edinburgh, in but indifferent circumstances, on the 19th of October 1749, after having invented, and dedicated the greater part of his life to the improvement of an art from which neither he nor his family were destined to receive any benefit. From the testimony of his daughter, however, it appears that advantageous terms had been repeatedly offered to him if he would remove to Holland, or sell his invention to the printers of that country; but that he uniformly rejected offers, the acceptance of which would have had the effect of giving an advantage to strangers over the artists of his own country. (Memoirs of W. Ged, p. 26.) His son, James Ged, whom the disappointments of the family had induced to join the rebel army in 1745, was seized at Carlisle and condemned; but through the interest of some of his father's friends, was pardoned and liberated in 1748. Notwithstanding the ill success his father had met with, he published proposals for reviving stereotype printing, dated at London, 29th May 1751; but these proposals having met with but little encouragement, he went to Jamaica, where he died in 1767. His younger brother, William Ged, had previously removed to the same island, where he died the year after his departure from England; and the name of Ged and the art of stereotype itself was soon forgotten.
Fifty years after the invention of stereotype by Mr Ged, Mr Tilloch was led to a similar discovery, without having, at the time, any knowledge whatever that another had preceded him in the invention. "The knowledge of this fact," says Mr Tilloch, "lessened the value of the discovery so much in my estimation, that I felt but little anxiety to be known as a second inventor; and, but for the persevering attempts of others to deprive Ged of the fame his memory so justly merits, and which he dearly earned, I might still have remained silent." (Philosophical Magazine, Vol. X. p. 268.)
Mr Tilloch having communicated his ideas upon the subject to Mr Foulis, printer to the University of
Printing. Glasgow, where he then resided, that gentleman furnished him with a page of types ready set up for his first experiment. The success of this trial induced Mr Tilloch to make others; and after numberless experiments, in which he was assisted by Mr Foulis, he was at length able to produce plates, the impressions of which could not be distinguished from those taken from the types from which they were cast.
Mr Tilloch and Mr Foulis, who, as a practical printer, saw all the advantages which the art promised, now agreed to prosecute the business together, and, if possible, to bring it to perfection. In the mean time they accidentally learnt, that the art had been practised many years before by Mr Ged; and a biographical memoir of that ingenious man having been published soon after (in 1781) by Mr Nichols, they discovered that perseverance in the plan might be attended with difficulties which, till then, they had never contemplated. Notwithstanding, however, of the opposition which they were thus led to expect from prejudice and ignorance, Mr Tilloch and Mr Foulis persevered in their object, and took out patents for England and Scotland, dated 14th May 1784, to secure to themselves, for the usual term, the benefits of an invention which they considered as much their own as if nothing similar had been practised before.
Neither the ingenuity of Mr Tilloch, nor the public spirit of Mr Foulis, were, however, rewarded; for, owing to circumstances of a private nature, and after printing a few volumes in this way, the business was laid aside for a time; and Mr Tilloch's removal to London, and other avocations, prevented its being again resumed. The prejudices of the booksellers, besides, were so strong against books printed in this manner, that what volumes Messrs Tilloch and Foulis had completed were sold to the trade without any intimation of their being printed out of the common way. Their first attempts were confined to trifling popular books, such as The Seven Champions of Christendom, The Twelve Caesars, &c. and a cheap edition of The Economy of Human Life. A Greek volume, however, Xenophon's Anabasis, was printed in 1783; and they had prepared plates for several small volumes of the English poets, which, however, were never put to press. (Philosophical Magazine, Vol. X. p. 275.)
The art of stereotype printing was thus twice invented and practised in Britain, by natives of Scotland, prior to any thing of the same kind being attempted, or brought to the same perfection, in any other country of Europe.
In the year 1784 Francis Ignatius-Joseph Hoffmann, a native of Alsace, established himself in France as the printer of a stereotype journal, and an improver of the art; but, from the testimony of M. Camus, it would appear that he was in the knowledge of what Ged had previously done, and perhaps also knew of the patent and productions of Messrs Tilloch and Foulis. Hoffmann's process is thus described by himself: "A page set up with moveable types in the usual manner, serves to make an impression in a soft fat earth mixed with plaster, and prepared with a gelatinous paste, formed of gum and potatoe-sediment. This impression became a matrix,
in which a composition of lead, pewter, and bismuth, when pressed in at the moment of cooling, gave a solid page, which bore in relief the characters that had served to form the matrix." Printing.
By this process Hoffmann printed many leaves of his Polytype Journal; and the work entitled Les Recherches Historiques sur les Maures by De Chénier, in 3 vols. 8vo, which appeared in 1787. Hoffmann and his son had also procured, in 1785, an extensive privilege for their new mode of printing, and some improvements which they had made in the art of engraving; but by a new order of council, in November 1787, the establishment was suppressed. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 460.)
Hoffmann, thus deprived of his printing office (seemingly from having lent his art to the fabrication of prohibited books), turned his ingenuity to devise some method which should facilitate the ordinary mode of printing. He began with forming two kinds of punches to stamp the characters in his matrices; the first of single letters in the ordinary mode, and the second of the same letters combined into syllables of most frequent occurrence in the French language; such as air, etre, eurs, ment, &c. Hoffmann denominated this invention the Logotype art. By this combination the case for the types consisted of no less than 370 boxes. He published a Memoir on the subject in 1792; and in the same year procured a patent for his invention for the period of 15 years. Hoffmann does not seem to have been aware that logotype had been proposed by Henry Johnson in 1778; and in France the same plan is said to have been invented by a lady in 1774. (See the Article LOGOGRAPHY in the Encyclopædia.)
The proceedings of Hoffmann attracted considerable notice in France; and some numbers of his Polytype Journal having fallen into the hands of Joseph Carez, a printer at Toul, he was struck with the advantages which it presented, and in 1785 began his operations. His first idea was, to take off the impression of the moveable types in plaster; but he afterwards adopted the plan of impressing the page in metal while at a certain heat; and this impression served him as a mould for casting with accuracy the fac-simile of the original page. In 1786 Carez executed by this process an edition of a church book in two large vols. 8vo, of more than a thousand pages each, twenty volumes of other descriptions, and afterwards a Bible in nonpareil characters, the execution of which is indeed very creditable to his ingenuity. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 467.)
Other individuals, whom the attempts of Hoffmann excited to experiment, also made new discoveries in the art, or improved those already known; and all the departments of printing were afterwards improved by the artists called in to assist in the manufacture of Assignats at the period of the French Revolution, who were prompted to exertion, as M. Camus expresses it, "by a power which nothing could resist." Among the artists who assisted in the fabrication of Assignats, Firmin and Henry Didot, Louis Etienne Herhan, and Nicolas Marie Gatteaux, severally obtained patents for different modifications of stereotype printing in the year 1798.
From the specification in the patent of Herhan,
Printing. his mode of stereotyping seems to have been particularly ingenious. He invented moveable types, in which the letters, in place of being in relief, were sunk (en creux); and by merely setting up these types, or rather matrices, which were of copper, he was enabled to produce from them directly a stereotype plate, without the necessity of an intermediate moulding. Herhan printed specimens of this mode of stereotyping by moveable matrices of copper, which are extremely pretty. One is inserted in the Memoirs of the Institute, Vol. III. 510.
M. Poterat, many years afterwards, with a view to avoid the difficulty and expence of composing with matrices, suggested a plan by which the matrix of copper is soldered to the bottom of the types, which bear the characters in relief. But this plan is attended with an expence which more than counterbalances the proposed advantages.
Soon after their patents were obtained, Pierre Didot, the elder, Firmin Didot, his brother, and Louis Étienne Herhan, issued a prospectus for printing works in stereotype. An edition of Virgil in 18mo was published in the year 1798; and in spite of the clamours of those interested in opposing the scheme, Phœdru, and successively afterwards many splendid works, were given to the world, by which these individuals have rendered their names celebrated as improvers of the art of printing. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 502.)
M. Camus thus describes the mode of stereotyping practised by Didot and Herhan; only concealing the composition of the metal of which the types used in stereotyping were formed, and that of the metal which formed the mould.
The types are cast in the ordinary mode, but of metal of a particular composition, and sufficiently hard to bear without injury the pressure required to stamp the metal matrix. After the page is composed, it is enclosed in a steel box, where it is compressed on all sides, and the surface made accurately plane. The page thus disposed serves for a punch. The metal plate intended for the matrix has two essential qualities, that of being able to receive a pure and distinct impression, and that of not being subject to any alteration, or commencing fusion, when by the action of a press it is brought into contact with the heated metal. The punch, or page of moveable types, is now placed above the matrix, and an equal pressure is made upon it by a machine, in some respects resembling that used in giving the impress to coin. The matrix is afterwards fixed in a frame, and is ready for the next operation, which the French founders consider as one of the most essential in the process. A table firmly fixed to the ground is provided, and at one side of this table two pieces of wood of convenient height are fixed, with a vertical groove or canal. A piece of wood furnished with a tongue, or feather, is formed to run in these grooves, so disposed as to act in the manner of the rammer used in sinking piles. At the lower part of this piece of wood, perpendicular to its axis, is fixed a
screw, and the box or frame which contains the matrix has in its back a female screw to correspond. The matrix is thus screwed firmly to the mass of wood, or rammer, with its face downwards. A drawer or tray of thick paper, or card, is now placed on the table below the descending matrix. This tray is filled with melted type metal, and when the metal is at the point of congealing, a peg disengages the rammer, which falls with its weight upon the metal, which congeals at the same moment. The matrix is now disengaged from the stereotype page by the blade of a knife, and the operation is completed if all the parts of the process have been well executed.* The rammer is raised by a handle; and a thin slip of copper or brass round the matrix regulates the thickness of the plate. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 492, 493, and 505, 506.)
Previous to this period, it may be mentioned, that Firmin Didot in 1796 prepared an edition of the Logarithmic Tables of Callet, much in the manner of Vander Mey's Bible. The displacement of a figure in works of this kind, from causes well known to printers, often occasions a serious error; and, with a view to prevent similar accidents, after the pages were composed in the usual manner, and finally corrected, the form of types was soldered at the bottom, by which all chance of a figure being displaced was completely prevented. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 509.)
Towards the end of the year 1798, M. Bouvier, also one of the artists who were engaged in the fabrication of Assignats, stereotyped with considerable success, by a process different from that of Didot and Herhan. The metal of his plate was copper, and his mould was formed of argillaceous earth. M. Camus has given a specimen of a page cast in this way, which, however, does not seem so perfect as those fabricated by the other process. M. Bouvier, in extending his invention, applied it to many other purposes, one of which was adapting it to the printing of music. (Mém. de l'Inst. Tom. III. p. 509.)
The success of the French printers in stereotype printing naturally excited the attention of their brethren in England; and the next attempt to introduce the art into England was happily more successful than those which had been previously made. About the year 1800 Mr Wilson, a respectable printer in London, engaged with the late Earl of Stanhope, whose love for the mechanical arts is well known, for the purpose of bringing this mode of printing into general practice. His Lordship is said to have received his first instructions in the formation of stereotype plates from Mr Tilloch, the second inventor, and had afterwards the personal attendance of Mr Foulis for many months at his seat at Chevening, where his Lordship was initiated in the practical part of the operation.
After nearly two years spent in maturing the different processes connected with the operation, Mr Wilson announced to his friends that the ingenuity and perseverance of Earl Stanhope had overcome
* This operation is termed clichage, from clicher, a word signifying to make fall perpendicularly, quickly, and with force, a matrix upon a metal in fusion.
Printing. every difficulty,—that the various processes had been so contrived as to combine the most beautiful simplicity with the most desirable economy,—and that the public might look forward to the period when, by the application of this art to the manufacture of books, the prices of all standard works would be reduced at least thirty, and in many cases forty per cent.
In the year 1804 Mr Wilson offered, upon certain terms, the art of printing in stereotype to the University of Cambridge, for their adoption in the printing of Bibles, Testaments, and Prayer Books; but some differences between the syndics and the printer occasioned the contract to be dissolved. The plan, however, has been since adopted both at this university and that of Oxford; and thousands of Bibles, &c. are annually issued from their presses printed in stereotype. The art has also been gradually diffused, not only in the capital, but in other cities of the kingdom; and it was carried on to some extent in Edinburgh by the late Mr Charles Stewart, printer to the University, in the printing of school-books, for which, as insuring greater accuracy than the common mode, it is admirably adapted.
The mode of casting stereotype is sufficiently simple. A page of any work proposed to be stereotyped is set up in the usual manner, with the ordinary moveable types. From this page, when corrected, a mould in plaster, the basis of which is gypsum, is taken off, and from this mould an impression is cast in the ordinary type metal, from which the printing is made. Of course, the whole of a work to be stereotyped is set up by the compositor in distinct pages, from which casts are formed; and from these casts plates are procured from which impressions may be made, exactly the same in every particular as that from the moveable types originally set up. A stereotype plate is, therefore, nothing more than a fac-simile of the page from which it was taken; but the advantage in point of expence is, that a plate of stereotype does not require to be more than the seventh or eighth part of the thickness or height of the ordinary types.
In the selection of a proper substance for the moulds, and the management of the casting, the success of the operation chiefly consists. The head and tail pieces of the older printers were chiefly cast in moulds formed of clay or sand; Ged, Tilloch, and after them Hoffmann, used a composition, of which plaster of Paris was the chief ingredient; while Herhan, Didot, Carez, and others, procured their mould by impressing the types in a soft metal, or metal in the act of congelation. The substance required for this purpose must be of a nature so delicate when soft, as to be capable of receiving an impression from the finest lines, and when dry, must be capable of bearing without injury the action of the melted metal. Gypsum or plaster of Paris, when finely pulverized, and mixed with water, soon becomes hard, and will also bear any degree of heat. But gypsum contracts when exposed to heat, and is liable to warp; it is also difficult to expel the air and moisture which it absorbs and retains. The defects of the plaster of Paris are, therefore, to be counteracted by compounding it with other substances less absorbent; but whatever be added, must be capable of receiving and retaining a fine surface, so as to preserve a
perfect polish in the plate to be cast from it. Printing. The following simple expedient has been recommended as fully answering this purpose. A quantity of common whiting is dissolved in a tub of clean water, and made nearly of the consistence of what is generally used in white-washing. The plaster is mixed with this solution, which makes it contract but little from the heat, and renders it less liable to crack than when the plaster is employed alone.
In making the mould for the page to be cast, a frame of cast-iron is prepared, nearly half an inch wider and larger than the page or pages proposed to be cast, and nearly an inch deep. This frame determines the thickness and strength of the mould. Four cubic pieces of metal are now required, the height of which should be exactly four-fifths of the height of the types; as on the height of these the thickness of the stereotype plate depends. The page or pages, wedged up as usual in the chases or iron frames commonly used, are now to be laid upon the moulding table, and in the openings at the corners of the page are placed the four pieces of metal, on which the iron frame rests when laid over the page.
To prevent the adhesion of the plaster to the types it is necessary to oil over the surface of the page with a soft brush. Then a quantity of the white-wash is taken into a wooden bowl, and as much finely powdered gypsum added to it as will make it into a thin plaster. When reduced to an equal consistence, it is applied to the face of the types with a painter's brush, so as to fill every cavity; and the remainder is then poured in so as to fill the frame. When beginning to harden, the superfluous plaster is struck off with a straight metal rule, to smooth the back of the mould; and when sufficiently consolidated the mould is separated from the page, and dried in an oven.
The mould properly formed, the next process is the casting of the plate. For this purpose, the dried mould is put in a pan about two inches deep with the face upwards, and a small moveable screw is placed at each side or end of the pan, to fix the frame which contains the mould. The fluid metal (which is of the same composition as that used for ordinary types) is now applied to the mould in the pan, and carried to the oven, in which it should remain from one to two hours, to acquire an equal degree of heat; for, on the principle of equal temperature between the metal and moulds, the success of the operation materially depends; and unless the oven be kept sufficiently warm to raise the temperature of the mould to that of the fluid metal, the experiment cannot succeed.
After the plate has been cast, little imperfections are frequently discovered; such as that of the top of the e or similar letters, having been full of dust when the mould was taken. The workman now takes the plate, and after clearing it of all superfluous metal, pulls a proof, marks the defects, and proceeds to make the requisite alterations. If any letter or word chance to be damaged in the course of the operation, it is cut out, and a letter or word from moveable types of the same size, cut to the proper depth, is inserted in its place. When this is done, the plate is ready for the press. The pages are ar-
Printing. ranged upon wooden blocks, and fastened down with slips of brass and a screw.
Such is the process of stereotyping, as usually practised; and such is its accuracy, that plates may be cast from copperplates as perfect as the engraving itself. Wood-cuts and ornaments of every kind may be cast in the same manner.
A patent for producing stereotype plates, in a manner different from that now described, was granted to Mr Augustus Applegath, of Surrey, printer, in April 1818. Mr Applegath's plan, however, is so similar to the process of Didot and Herhan, that it is not necessary to describe it. Both his mould and plates are procured by an impress on the semifluid metal in the act of congelation, in the manner originally practised by the French printers; and the instrument he has invented for stamping the impression is the same in principle, though a little different in form, as the cliche or stamping-machine of our continental neighbours. (Repertory of Arts, Vol. XXXVI. Second Series, p. 69.)
As connected with stereotype printing, it may be mentioned that Mr T. C. Hansard of London procured a patent, dated the 1st November 1817, for a species of stereotype plate risers, with holdfasts or claws, which are formed of metal, are moveable, and easily adapted to any size of plates or forms. These plate risers were intended to supersede the wooden blocks
upon which the plates were generally fixed. (Repertory of Arts, Vol. XXXIII. Second Series, p. 262.)
The advantages of stereotype printing are, saving in point of expence, and security against typographical errors. For works in great and general demand, such as the Greek and Roman classics, standard books in foreign languages, Bibles, Prayer Books, School-Books, &c. the saving in stereotyping is considerable. The expence of renewed composition in successive editions is thereby saved; and the additional capital expended in preparing the plates is, perhaps, more than compensated by the facility with which small editions of works can be printed without laying aside a stock of paper in warehouses to meet the gradual sale. But it is only in works of this description that stereotype can be profitably employed. For works of living authors, successively improved by corrections and additions, stereotype printing is quite unsuitable. Mr Wilson, the coadjutor of Lord Stanhope, in extending the practice of the art in England, stated, that the probable saving by stereotype to the public might be from 25 to 40 per cent.; but whatever may be the advantages in point of expence, its merit in point of accuracy is unquestionable. Dictionaries, classics, works on arithmetic and mathematics, once made accurate, may for ever be kept so with but little chance of error. (q. q. q.)
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.*
FIG. 1, Plate CXI. represents a side elevation of the improved Stanhope Press; fig. 2, a front view, and fig. 3, an horizontal plan; the same letters of reference being used upon all the figures. A A shows a strong cast-iron frame of the form represented in fig. 2. This frame is screwed down upon a piece of timber B, which has another timber C morticed into it at right angles, forming a T frame, to serve as a base for the whole press. D D represent two horizontal rails, having channels formed along their upper surfaces, into which the two rails or ribs upon the underside of the carriage or table E E are adapted to slide. The carriage is put in motion by the action of the handle F and barrel W, which has three strong straps or belts passing round its circumference, as seen in fig. 2; the ends of the said belts being attached to the opposite ends of the carriage, in the manner of ordinary printing presses. The table E E is made perfectly flat upon its upper surface in order to receive the form of the types: M represents the tympan, which is jointed to the end of the table; it is composed of a light frame of wrought iron, and fitted up in the usual manner.
The rails D D upon which the carriage runs, are secured to the main frame A A by screw bolts a a; the outer extremities of the rails D are united together by cross bars, and supported by an arched frame b and upright pillar G, the foot of which is bolted down to the timber C. H H represent the platen, which is guided in its perpendicular motion by a slider, I, moving between angular ribs formed
within the opening of the main frame, as seen in fig. 2. The upper part d of the frame is considerably enlarged, and is perforated in the centre to receive a brass nut or female screw, through which the main screw of the press works. M shows an upright spindle, the lower end of which is formed with a pivot adapted to turn in a hole at the top of the arch of the main frame; the upper part of the spindle M works through a collar c, formed in a piece of metal, which projects from the main frame, and is secured by a screw, as seen in figs. 2 and 3. N represents the handle of the press: it is firmly attached to the lower parts of the spindle M, by passing through a cross hole in the said spindle, and having a nut on the opposite side to keep it in its place. Thus, when the handle is moved backwards or forwards it turns the spindle M round, and by the operation of the lever O, and connecting link P, the motion is communicated to the main screw, by the intervention of the arm or lever R fixed upon the top thereof. The platen is raised up and kept in contact with the end of the screw, by the operation of the balance weight S. The levers N O, and R, fig. 3, are represented in the positions they assume when at rest; but the dotted lines will serve to explain their positions when the power has been applied to the handle N; the motion in that case being limited by the broad part of the connecting link P coming to bear against a projecting rib formed upon the upper surface of the lever O; at which period the lever O and connecting
* Owing to an oversight, some of the figures in Plates CXI. and CXII. have been reversed.
Printing. link P will be nearly in one right line, and consequently exerting a very great power upon the lever R; which being nearly at right angles to the connecting link, is in a position to receive the greatest effect from the power applied to the handle N. The degree of pressure may be increased or diminished by the operation of the screw p at the end of the connecting link being disposed so as to admit of varying the effective length of the link.
Mr Parkin's Inking Apparatus.
Plate CXI. fig. 4, shows a side view of the apparatus, which was obliged to be placed vertically in the Plate for want of room. Fig. 5 shows an horizontal plan. A represents a square frame of metal which is mounted so as to slide freely backwards and forwards, being guided between a number of small rollers, b, the pivots of which turn in small standards attached to a fixed frame of cast iron, B, by screws and nuts so as to admit of raising or lowering any one of the rollers in order to adjust the position of the moving frame. I shows the inking roller, which is made of elastic composition, being supported upon pivots working in short pieces of metal which project from the cross bar a of the moving frame. The roller I receives its requisite supply of ink by passing over and rolling across the narrow table or metal plate T, as the moving frame is pushed in or drawn out by its handle H. The ink is distributed along the surface of the table T by means of a small furnishing roller F, being mounted in a carriage so as to be capable of rolling along the surface of the table T in a direction at right angles to the motion of the sliding frame A. The furnishing roller F is made of the elastic composition, and receives the ink upon its circumference, by coming into contact with the ink boxes or reservoirs 1 and 2, situated at each end of the table T. The boxes 1 and 2 contain a supply of ink which finds its way slowly through a fine wire grating forming the face of the boxes; and is taken off upon the circumference of the furnishing roller every time that the moving frame is drawn out or put in. The carriage of the furnishing roller moves upon small wheels along the surface of the lower rail C of the fixed frame, and the pivots of the furnishing roller are not inserted into round holes through the plates of its carriage, but have the liberty of sliding up and down a short distance in oblong holes; so that the circumference of the roller may always accommodate itself to the surface of the table T, along which it moves; the roller being kept down sufficiently by its own weight, in addition to the weight of several small metal rollers which are situated over the roller F, and adapted to bear upon it, for the purpose of distributing the ink more effectually upon its surface as it turns round. The traversing motion of the roller F, and its carriage along the table T, is effected in the following manner. The ends of the carriage have small catgut lines attached to them, which pass over pulleys i i, situated at the ends of the cross rail C; the catgut lines then return under the rail C and pass round small horizontal pulleys k k, fixed also to the lower rail, as shown in fig. 6, from whence they proceed to two pulleys m, one only of which is seen in the drawing fig. 4, being placed close together in one
frame, but so as to turn round quite independent of each other. The frame of the pulleys m is screwed to the fixed frame B, and the catgut lines pass up and over two pulleys n fixed in a frame in the same manner as the pulleys m. Both of the pulleys n are seen in the plan, fig. 5, where one of the catgut lines marked o is represented as attached directly to the cross bar e of the moving frame A; and the other catgut line p is conducted over a pulley q, which is mounted in a frame projecting from the fixed cross bar t of the frame B: the line p then returns and is attached to the cross bar e in the same manner as the line o. This apparatus is intended to be fixed behind the printing press (as represented by the dotted lines in fig. 7, Plate CXI.), in such position that the surface of the table T may be exactly on a level with the surface of the form of types to be inked; and so that the pressman may take hold of the handle H, and thereby move the frame A with its inking roller I across the types, to apply the ink and prepare them for printing.
Columbian Press.
A front view of this press is represented in fig. 7, Plate CXI., and a side elevation in fig. 8. A A shows the standards or main frame, of cast iron; they are united together at the bottom, but separate at the top; the main frame is supported upon four legs, x x. B B represent the rails or guides, upon which the carriage or table, C C, with its appendages of tympan, z, and frisket, y, is adapted to run, being moved backwards and forwards by the handle, E, and barrel, F, round which strong linen belts are passed, and affixed to braces e, m, at each end of the carriage, as in ordinary printing presses. D shows the platen, which is guided in its motion up and down by its square stem or pillar, d, being placed angleways, and sliding between pieces of metal, a a, which project from the main frame, A A. The pieces a a are furnished with adjusting screws and wedges for the purpose of tightening them up, and preventing any looseness in the platen. The stem d has a square plate, e, upon it at the part where it joins to the platen. The pressure is produced by a combination of levers situated at the upper part of the frame. G, H, I, shows the main lever, moving on a strong centre bolt at H, between a forked or divided part of the main frame; the end, I, of this lever also passes through an oblong opening formed between the bars, h, and projects some distance beyond the outside of the frame. The central part, G, of the main lever has a strong pivot or trunnion cast upon it, which projects out sufficiently on each side to enter into collars formed at the top of the stem, d, of the platen, being retained in their places by four screw bolts, two of which are seen at G in figure 7. m, n, o, shows the second lever, moving on a fixed centre pin in the main frame at m; it has the links n I jointed to it at the point n, one upon each side, as seen in figure 8: the uppermost ends of these links are also jointed on each side of the main lever at I. The point o of the second lever has the link or connecting-rod, p, jointed to it, whilst the opposite extremity of the connecting-rod is jointed to the lever or handle N, by which the pressman puts the system of levers into action.
Printing. The handle N turns upon a fixed centre pin passing through projecting pieces of the main frame, as seen at i i; and the connecting-rod p is furnished with a double or universal joint, where it unites with the lever o, to admit of the oblique motion of the handle N, when it is pulled forwards to produce the pressure.
A counter-lever, r, s, t, is applied at the top of the press, moving upon a fulcrum at s; this lever has a balance weight clamped upon it by a screw at r, whilst the short end, t, of the lever is attached by a link to the end of the main lever at the end I. By this means the weight of the levers and platen is counterbalanced sufficiently to raise them up, when the handle N is left at liberty. The different levers in this press are so arranged, that the first motion which is communicated to the handle N brings the platen down quickly; but by the time that its under surface arrives upon the tympan, the second lever, m, n, is brought nearly in a line with the direction of the links n I, which causes them to draw down the end, I, of the main lever with great power; at the same time that the point, o, of the second lever is in the most favourable position to be operated upon powerfully by the connecting-rod proceeding from the handle N. When the impression is produced, two balance weights act in concert to return the handle N, and raise up the platen. The main frame A A of the press is strengthened by a cross bar situated behind the main lever, which bar serves to connect the top parts of the frame together, as shown by the dotted lines in fig. 7.
Barclay's American Press.
Fig. 1, Plate CXII. represents a side elevation of this press; fig. 2 is a back view; and fig. 3 a horizontal plan, representing the table or carriage as partly run in. The same letters of reference are used upon all the figures. A A represents the cheeks or iron frame of the press, being of a curved form, as seen in fig. 2, and supported upon cast iron legs, B B. C C shows the table to receive the form of types; it is composed of a cast iron plate turned and ground perfectly flat upon its upper surface, and strengthened by deep ribs on the underside, two of which ribs are made straight, and serve as guides to slide in grooves upon the upper edge of the rails D D, as seen in fig. 2, for running the carriage backwards and forwards. The carriage is moved by the handle E in the usual manner. G G represent strong brackets which are cast upon the main frame of the press, and serve to support the rails D D, at the part where the pressure is applied. The farther ends of the rails are united by a cross piece, H, seen in fig. 3, from which two small pillars, I, descend to the ground, to support the weight of the carriage when run out. K K shows the platen; it is guided so as to move steadily up and down by the metal frames or bars, L L, being screwed to its upper surface in such manner as to embrace the upper part of the main frame of the press, and slide between small projecting pieces, c. c. The bars L L are furnished with spiral springs, which bear upon the top of the frame A A, and serve to balance the weight of the platen, keeping it always clear above the surface of the tympan, when the handle N of the press is left at liberty.
We shall now describe the manner in which the requisite pressure is effected in this press. R and S, figs. 1 and 2, represent two steel cylinders or rollers, having small projecting flanges on each end: the upper roller R, bears against the under surface of an inclined steel plate which is screwed to the projecting part T, of the main frame, and the under roller S, bears upon the upper surface of a similar inclined steel plate screwed upon the upper boss V, of the platen. In this situation a steel wedge is introduced between the rollers R and S, and this wedge is connected by a link W, with the lever or handle N, of the press, as shown in the plate, fig. 3. Now it is evident, that if the steel wedge is drawn forcibly between the rollers R and S, it will roll them along between the two inclined steel plates, and consequently force the plates asunder; and, since one of the inclined plates is fixed to the platen, and the other to the solid frame of the press, the platen will be forced down upon the types placed beneath it. The two small figures Y and Z, representing the rollers, &c. detached from the press, will serve to explain their operation. The rollers R and S, as also the inclined plates T V, and the wedge W, are made of steel, and hardened in the most perfect manner; otherwise, the immense pressure acting upon a mere line of contact upon their surfaces would indent them, and totally destroy their operation. The handle N, moves upon a fixed center of motion, at N, in the projecting part of the frame, Q Q, and the pressure is regulated by lengthening or shortening the connecting link W, which is furnished with a screw in the middle of its length for that purpose. The rails D D, upon which the carriage moves, are furnished with small square pieces of steel placed at regular distances.
Ruthven's Press.
Plate CXII. figures 4, 5, and 6. Fig. 4 on the Plate shows an horizontal plan of the press; fig. 5, a vertical section taken through the middle; and fig. 6, an end view. The same letters of reference are used on all the figures. A A represents the table or surface upon which the form of types is laid. This table is mounted upon a framing of cast iron, consisting of four upright legs, B, strengthened by diagonal braces C. Immediately beneath the table two levers, D E, D E, are situated, moving upon fixed centers or fulcrums, at D D. These levers are joined to double hooks or clutches F F, so that when the ends, E, of the levers are depressed or drawn down by the links, a (communicating with a third lever G, H, I), the hooks F F are drawn down also, but with a slow motion. The fulcrum of the third lever is at G, and the point H is where the power is applied to actuate it by the connecting-rod K; the opposite end of which is joined to a crank or short lever, situated upon an axis, L, which extends to the front of the press, and is furnished with a winch or handle N, for the pressman to move it by. M represents the platen. It has a strong metal bar, P, united to it by screws, r r, at the extremities of the bar P: strong iron bolts, d d, are secured by nuts upon their uppermost ends. These bolts have heads or projections formed at their lower ends, which are exactly fitted to the hooks or clutches, F F: by this means the
Printing. platen is connected occasionally with the levers D E, D E, and may be brought down upon the types by the pressman turning the winch, N, in the direction shown by the arrow in fig. 5.
By returning the winch N to its original position, the pressure is relieved, and the platen M may be removed from off the types. Thus, at the ends of the bar P, two springs e e are affixed, and in the ends of these springs small rollers or wheels are fitted to move freely upon these center pins. These wheels have grooves in their edges, adapted to run upon the angles of two rails R R, which extend on each side of the table A A, and project sufficiently behind the press to support the platen, when pushed back from off the types into the position shown in figures 4 and 6. The springs e e are so adjusted, that when the platen moves along upon the rails R R, its under surface will be raised up sufficiently above the tympan to allow it to come into its proper position, to produce the pressure; as shown by the dotted lines in fig. 6; or to go back into its original situation, without meeting with obstruction; but when the hooks F and bolts d are united, and the pressure brought on by turning the winch N, the springs yield and permit the platen to press upon the types. The platen in the model originally made by Mr Ruthven was contrived to be brought forward by a treadle; but in the presses since made, it is both brought forward and pushed back by the handle n. The centers of motion D D of the great levers, and of the lever G, as well as the pivots L of the winch N, are all supported in one frame, composed of two metal cheeks, which are situated beneath the table, and united thereto by screws, as shown by the dotted lines in the Plan, fig. 4. The lever G H is in the most favourable position to receive the action of the rod K, viz. perpendicular to it; and the lever G I is in a position to exert a greater power upon the links a, and levers D E, than when it is in the horizontal position; for when the pressman first takes the handle N, it acts with but little advantage as to power upon the levers, and, therefore, brings the platen down very quickly upon the tympan; but when the handle has arrived near the horizontal position, then the power it exerts to bring down the platen is immensely great. The tympan is jointed to one end of the table in the usual manner.
Bacon and Donkin's Printing Machine.
Plate CXIII. The machine represented in the Plate is furnished with a square prism, marked A, having four surfaces, upon which the types are fixed. The pivots at the ends of its axis are supported in bearings in the frames B B, and it is caused to revolve by a connection of wheelwork D E and F G, from the fly wheel and winch H. The types yield their impression upon the paper by means of the platen I, which is placed immediately beneath the printing prism. The circumference of the platen being formed, as shown at I in the section, fig. 3, applies itself in its revolution to the surface of the types. The ink is applied to the types by the cylinder K, placed above the prism. It is composed of a soft elastic substance upon a metallic cylinder or axis; and, that its surface may always apply to
the types, its spindle is fitted in the pieces L, which move upon an axis n, so as to allow the cylinder to rise and fall, and thereby accommodate itself to the prism. The inking cylinder receives its ink from a second cylinder M, which is called the Distributing Roller, having also an elastic surface, which is supplied with ink by a third roller N, made of metal, and turned as true and cylindrical as possible. The ink is deposited in quantity against this roller, upon a steel plate O, the edge of which being placed at a very small adjustable distance from the circumference, permits the roller, as it revolves, to carry down upon its surface a thin film of ink, which being taken off by the distributing roller, is applied to the surface of the inking cylinder, which, as before mentioned, inks the types.
The sheet of paper to be printed is introduced to the machine by placing it upon a blanket, which is extended upon a feeding board P, and drawn in at a proper time by having a small rail or ruler a, fig. 3, fixed to it; the ends of which are taken forwards by studs b attached to endless chains, extending from the wheels c (at the end of the platen seen in fig. 1), to other wheels d, which are supported in the frame of the feeding board. The wheels c, having teeth entering the links of the chains, cause them to traverse and draw the blanket and sheet of paper into the machine. The page or pages of types are composed in the usual manner in galleys, which galleys are attached by screw clamps to the sides of the printing prism, so as to be readily taken off. They are also furnished with adjusting screws to fix them exactly in their proper situations, as shown in the Front Elevation, fig. 1. The two wheels D E, which cause the prism and platen to accompany each other in their revolution, are formed, as shown in fig. 4, to correspond with the prism and platen: thus the upper wheel D, is a square with its angles rounded off, and the geometrical outline is exactly the same as that of the prism. The lower wheel E, is of the same shape as the platen, and its pitch line the exact shape of the surface thereof. These wheels being toothed must revolve together, so that no slipping or sliding can take place between the surfaces of the printing prism and platen at the point of contact.
To regulate the pressure upon the paper, the bearings in which the pivots of the platen are supported can be elevated by screws, and to prevent any derangement of the wheels, D and E, by such adjustment, universal joints are applied in their axes, as shown at R in fig. 1. The inking cylinder is turned round by a cog-wheel V upon the extremity of the axis of the prism, which is the same shape as the wheel D and shapes T. The wheel V communicates motion to a circular wheel W, fixed upon the end of the spindle of the inking cylinder. The wheel W gives motion to the distributing roller M, by a pinion f, and this again turns the ink roller N by a third pinion g, fixed upon the end of its axis n, which is supported upon bearings on the frame B B. The pieces L L, which support the pivots of the distributing roller and inking cylinder, are fitted upon the axis n of the ink roller, so as to rise and fall upon it as a center of motion. The steel plate o for regulating the supply of ink to the roller N, is supported by a bar
Printing. of metal extending across the fixed frame B B, and the ink is prevented from flowing off at the ends of plate o, by pieces of metal p, which enter a short distance into grooves formed round the ink roller N near its ends. The frame, supporting the feeding board P, is composed of two rails fitted upon round parts of the axis of the platen, and borne up at their outermost ends by a brace from the wood framing of the machine: these rails sustain the pivots of the wheels d, as shown at X in fig. 2. The feeding board has two ledges c formed along its sides to allow the rulers a of the blanket to slide freely upon, in their progress to the types; and the space left between the segments of the platen, as seen at G in the section, fig. 3, receives the ruler a.
Bensley's Printing Machine.
Fig. 1, Plate CXIV. represents a perspective view of a machine employed in Mr Bensley's printing office, which is moved by the power of a steam-engine. It is supposed to be in the act of printing, being attended by two boys, one of whom is occupied in laying on the blank sheets of paper, and the other in receiving the printed sheets as they quit the machine. Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal section of the machine, to explain the manner in which the paper passes through to receive the impression upon both sides, and also the means employed to apply the ink to the surface of the types. Though all the material motions of the machine are displayed, yet some of the minute parts, which produce the various movements, have been omitted, in consequence of the diminutive scale of the figures, which is only about one-third of an inch to a foot.
The supply of blank paper is laid upon a support or table, A, from whence the sheets are taken, one by one, by a boy standing upon an elevated platform, who lays them out upon the table B, which has a number of narrow linen tapes or girds passing across its surface. These tapes are formed into endless bands, which extend round the cylinders, or rollers C and D, in such a manner, that when the rollers are turned round, the motion of the tapes will carry the sheet of paper along with them, and deliver over the roller E, where it is seized between two systems of endless tapes, passing over a series of rollers to keep them extended. These endless tapes are so adapted, in number and position, as to fall between the pages of printing, and also on the outsides, or beyond the margin of the printing; they may, therefore, remain in contact with the sheet of paper on both sides during its whole passage through the machine; by which means the paper being once received or taken in between the two systems of endless tapes, it will be capable of continuing its motion along with the tapes, in order to bring it into a situation to be printed on both sides, without destroying the register (or coincidence of the pages on the opposite sides of the sheet). F and G represent the two main cylinders which effect the pressure upon the paper. They are mounted upon strong axes, which turn in stationary bearings affixed to the main frame of the machine. H and I are two intermediate cylinders situated upon axes between the main cylinders. Their use is
to effect the inversion of the sheet of paper, in order to print the opposite side.
Printing. We must now describe the manner in which the two systems of endless tapes before mentioned are arranged, to give a clear idea of the operation of the machine. We will suppose one system of tapes to commence at the upper part of the roller E, from whence they proceed in contact with the under portion of the circumference of the main cylinder F; they then pass over the upper portion of the intermediate cylinder H, and under the intermediate cylinder I, from whence they proceed to encompass a considerable portion of the main cylinder G; and by passing in contact with the rollers a, b, c, d, and e, they arrive again at the roller E, from whence they commenced; thereby forming one of the systems of endless tapes. The other system we will suppose to commence at the roller h. They are equal in their number to the tapes already described, and correspond with them also in their place upon the cylinders, so that the sheets of paper may be securely held between them. The second tapes descend from the roller h to the roller E, where they meet and coincide with the first system, in such a manner that the tapes proceed together under the main cylinder F, over the cylinder H, under the cylinder I, and round the main cylinder G, until they arrive at the roller i, where they separate; having remained thus far in actual contact, except at the places where the sheets of paper are held between them. From the roller i the tapes descend to the roller k, and by passing in contact with the rollers m, n, and o, they arrive at the roller h, from whence they commenced. Thus the two systems of endless tapes are established and arranged so as to be capable of circulating continually without interfering with each other. The cylinders F, G, H, and I, as also the roller E, are connected by toothed wheels, as represented in the perspective view, fig. 1, so as to cause their circumferences to move with one uniform velocity, and thereby prevent any sliding or shifting of the two systems of tapes over each other during their motion; as much of the perfection of the printing depends upon this circumstance. The separate forms of types for printing the two sides of the sheet are placed at a certain distance asunder upon one long carriage, which is represented in a detached state at fig. 3. This carriage, with the forms of type secured upon it, is adapted to move backwards and forwards upon steady guides or supports attached to the main frame of the machine; in such a position, that the surfaces of the types may be operated upon by the circumference of their respective cylinders F and G, to produce the impression as the carriage moves backwards and forwards. This reciprocating movement of the carriage is effected by a pinion fixed upon the end of a vertical spindle, K, fig. 2, engaging in the teeth of an endless rack, L L, which is connected by a system of levers with the type carriage in such a manner, that when the pinion is turned round, it engages at alternate periods in the teeth formed upon the opposite sides of the rack L L, and consequently on the opposite circumference of the pinion; thereby a continuous motion of the pinion communicates a reciprocating mo-
tion to the rack and carriage; the vertical spindle K is turned by a pair of bevelled wheels from the pinion P, fig. 1, which receives its motion by an intermediate wheel, Q, from the toothed wheel upon the end of the main cylinder G.
The mechanism for furnishing and distributing the ink upon the surfaces of the types in this machine is very ingeniously arranged, and performs its operation with great certainty. It is one of the most important points, and the most difficult to effect in printing machines. Two similar and complete systems of inking apparatus, one situated at each end of the machine, are adapted to ink their respective forms of types; we will therefore describe, by reference to the fig. 2, the inking apparatus situated at the right hand end of the machine. It consists of a cylindrical metal roller, N, which has a slow rotatory motion communicated to it by a catgut band passing round a small pulley upon the end of the axis of the main cylinder G. The roller N is adapted to carry down a thin film of ink upon its circumference, by turning in contact with a mass of ink disposed upon a horizontal plate of metal, the edge of which plate is ground straight, and fixed by screws r r, at a small adjustable distance from the surface of the said roller. O represents an elastic composition roller, which is mounted in a frame turning upon an axis, p, extending across the main frame of the machine. This roller is connected by cranked levers with a small eccentric circle fixed upon the end of the axis of the cylinder G (as seen in fig. 1), which causes it to move round the axis p, and remain for a short period in contact with the surface of the ink roller N (as seen by the position at the left hand end of the machine, fig. 2), thereby receiving a portion of ink upon its surface; it then descends and rests with its whole weight upon the surface of a flat metal plate or table, T, which is affixed to the type carriage, as seen in fig. 3; so that the reciprocating motion of the carriage causes the ink table T to receive ink upon its surface from the elastic roller O. In this situation, when the type carriage returns, the surface of the table T is obliged to pass under three small elastic rollers (seen at R), which are mounted upon pivots in a frame, with liberty of motion up and down, in order that the rollers may bear with their weight upon the surface of the table. The frame in which they are centered has also a slight end motion given to it by the inclined form of the end of the table T (as seen in fig. 3), bearing against a roller fixed upon the said frame. Thus the small composition rollers R operate in a very complete manner to equalize the supply of ink over the surface of the table T, and by the farther motion of the type carriage the ink table is caused to pass under four small elastic rollers (seen at S), which, in like manner, bear with their weight upon the surface of the table (but without end motion), and thereby take up the ink upon their circumferences. The type carriage then returns, for the table T to receive a new supply of ink, and by the form of types passing under the elastic rollers S, the letters become inked in a very perfect and uniform manner. Whilst the operation of inking the types is going on
at one end of the machine, the printing is performed at the other end on one of the sides of the sheet from the types last inked, and vice versa. The type carriage is caused to move steadily along with the circumferences of the cylinders F and G, by having racks Y Y formed on each side of the forms of types (as seen in fig. 3), which engage with sectors or portions of toothed wheels, x x, upon the ends of the said cylinders; at which part the surfaces of the cylinders are covered with a blanket or felt, to give elasticity, and cause them to press equally upon the paper, as in ordinary printing presses.
The machine is put in motion by a strap, y y, passing round a pulley, X, as seen in fig. 1, upon the axis of which pulley a pinion is fixed, engaging with the teeth of the large wheel upon the end of the main cylinder G. Thus the various cylinders, with their two systems of tapes, are caused to revolve with an uniform movement in the direction of the arrows (seen in fig. 2), whilst the type carriage travels alternately backwards and forwards upon its guides, as before mentioned. The operation of printing is performed as follows: The sheets of blank paper are laid one by one upon the table B, so as to bear upon the linen tapes which extend over its surface. In this situation the rollers C and D are caused to move a portion of a revolution, by the operation of a lever fixed upon the axis of the roller D, being acted upon by another lever fixed on the cog-wheel of the main cylinder F. This motion advances the sheet of paper sufficiently to enable it to be seized between the two systems of endless tapes at the point where they meet each other, or between the rollers h and E. As soon as the sheet of paper is carried clear off the table B, the rollers C and D are caused to turn back again to their original position, by the operation of a weight, W, and cord, w, as seen in fig. 2, ready to advance a second sheet of blank paper into the machine. The sheet of paper is carried along between the systems of tapes, and applies itself to the circumference of the main cylinder F, upon the blanket before mentioned; and by the continuous motion of the cylinder, the sheet of paper is pressed upon the surface of the form of types as they pass under the cylinder by the reciprocating motion of the carriage. By this means one of the sides of the sheet receives its impression at the same time the form of types situated at the opposite end of the carriage is receiving its ink, as before described. Now, by the continuous motion of the machine, the sheet of paper advances in company with the endless tapes round the intermediate cylinders H and I, until it applies itself to the blanket upon the surface of the main cylinder G; at which place it will be found in an inverted position, so that the printed side of the sheet is in contact with the blanket and the blank side of the sheet downwards, which, upon meeting with the other form of types at the proper instant, is pressed upon their surface sufficiently to produce the impression. Thus having arrived at the point i, where the two systems of tapes separate, the printed sheet is delivered upon the board Z, where it is received by a boy, and laid upon the pile.
Fig. 2.
Scale of Feet.
12 9 6 3 0 1 2 3
Fig. 1.
Scale
12 9 6 3 0 1
Scale
12 9 6 3 0 1
MESSRS BACON AND DONKIN'S
PATENT PRINTING MACHINE
Fig. 1.
This technical drawing shows the main body of the printing machine. It features a large horizontal frame supported by two vertical legs. On the left, a hand crank (H) is connected to a series of gears (G, F, D, E) that drive the rollers. The central part of the machine contains two large rollers (K) and a smaller roller (I) below them. Various gears (B, S, L, T, R) and a large gear (W) are visible, along with a vertical screw (V) on the right side. The rollers are labeled with letters O, N, M, K, and I.
Fig. 4.
This drawing shows a side view of the gear mechanism on the left side of the machine. It consists of two vertical shafts, each with a gear (D and E). The gears are mounted on a base that is part of the larger A-frame structure.
Fig. 3.
This drawing shows a side view of the printing mechanism. It features a printing bed (P) with a roller (A) at the left end. A chain (B) is used to drive the rollers. The rollers are labeled K, M, N, W, B, S, T, R, and I. The entire mechanism is mounted on a large A-frame.
Fig. 2.
This drawing shows a side view of the gear mechanism on the right side of the machine. It features a large hand wheel (H) connected to a series of gears (G, F, D, E, W, V, B, S, L, T, R, M, N, K, Q). The gears are arranged in a vertical stack, and the entire mechanism is mounted on a large A-frame.