Part 4

Gloss printing is done in two ways; one by using the gloss inks specially prepared for the purpose, the other by printing the gloss preparation on over the finished job, or over that portion of it required to be glossed. To the inexperienced this is a difficult operation, attended by many failures. It is accomplished as follows:--Prepare a tint block the exact size and shape to cover the printing to be glossed. The block should be of boxwood or hard metal--soft metal will not do. Fix it on the press and make it ready as for ordinary work, with a good, even impression. Wash up the ink table, the rollers and the block itself thoroughly, removing the least trace of ink. Replace the rollers and distributors. Now, with a clean palette knife put a little of the gloss preparation on the ink cylinder or table, let it distribute for about a minute, and then pull an impression; if it comes up perfectly clean, the work may proceed, but if there are any signs of dirt, it is best to wash up again at once. While working the gloss, keep the machine in motion, and should the gloss become too sticky (which it is apt to do) sprinkle a very little turpentine on the rollers. It is best to have a separate hand to put on the gloss, so as not to delay the feeder, and the sheets should be taken away at once and laid out singly to dry. The two most important points are to have the machine clean and keep it in motion. After printing, wash up the gloss quickly with benzine.

TO BLEACH SHEEPSKIN PARCHMENT WHITE.

To bleach sheepskin parchment white, expose the pieces to strong sunlight under glass, in a moist atmosphere.

COLORS FOR PRINTING.

For a black color for printing, 25 parts paraffine oil and 45 parts resin are mixed, either by melting at 80°C., or by mechanical means at the ordinary temperature. To this mass 15 parts of black are added. For printing machines, the mixture is composed of 40 parts of resin only, instead of 45. Resin can, in some cases, be replaced by dammar. Other colors are mixed by substituting the equivalent of the color to the black. When cheapness has to be considered, paraffine oil can be substituted by resinous oil, and resin by Burgundy resin, etc.

HOW TO DYE PARCHMENT BLUE OR RED.

Parchment can be dyed green, blue or red. To dye it blue, use the following process:--Dissolve verdigris in vinegar; heat the solution, and apply it by means of a brush on the parchment, till it takes a nice green color. The blue color is then obtained by applying on the parchment thus prepared a solution of carbonate of potash. Use two ounces for one gallon of water. Another method is to cover it by means of a brush with aquafortis, in which copper dust has been dissolved. The potash solution is then applied as before, till the required shade is obtained. Another method is by using the following solution:--Indigo, 5 ozs.; white wood, 10 ozs.; alum, 1 oz.; water, 50 ozs. Red:--The parchment is dyed red by applying with a brush a cold logwood solution, and then using a 3 per cent potash solution.

TO MAKE PAPER FIRE AND WATER-PROOF.

To make paper fire and water-proof, mix two-thirds ordinary paper-pulp with one-third asbestos. Steep in a solution of common salt and alum, and after being made into paper coat with an alcoholic solution of shellac. By plunging a sheet of paper into an ammoniacal solution of copper for an instant, then passing it between the cylinders and drying it, it is rendered entirely impermeable to water, and may even be boiled without disintegrating. Two, three, or any number of sheets rolled together become permanently adherent, and form a material having the strength of wood. By the interposition of cloth or any kind of fiber between the layers, the strength is greatly increased.

A NEW BLOTTING PAPER.

A blotting paper that will not only dry the blot, but bleach the remainder of it can be made by passing ordinary blotting paper or card through a concentrated solution of oxalic acid. Care must be taken that no crystals appear, which would injure the porosity of the paper.

IMPERMEABLE PAPER.

To make impermeable paper, prepare the two following baths: (1) alum, 25 ozs.; white soap, 12-1/2 ozs.; water, 100 ozs. (2) gum arabic, 6 ozs.; Colle de Flandre, 18 ozs.; water, 100 ozs. Place the sheet of paper in the first bath to be well impregnated. In this bath the paper is left only for a short time. It is then dried and dipped in the second bath, the same precautions being used as for the first bath. When dry, the paper is hot-pressed in order to render it uniform.

TO MOUNT CHROMOS FOR FRAMING.

To mount chromos for framing, first soak for fifteen minutes in a shallow dish, or lay between two newspapers that have been thoroughly saturated with water; then paste to the panel of the wood or canvas which has been prepared to receive them. Care must be taken that there are no lumps in the paste.

A VARNISH FOR MAKING PAPER TRANSPARENT.

A varnish formed of Canada balsam, dissolved in turpentine, supplies a most valuable means of making paper transparent. The mode by which this is most satisfactorily accomplished is by applying a pretty thin coating of this varnish to the paper, so as to permeate it thoroughly, after which it is to be coated on both sides with a much thicker sample. The paper is kept warm by performing the operation before a hot fire, and a third, or even a fourth, coating may be applied, until the texture of the paper is seen to merge into a homogeneous translucency. Paper prepared according to this process is said to come nearer than any other to the highest standard of perfection in transparent paper. Care must be used in making, as the materials are highly inflammable.

CARBON PAPER.

To make carbon paper:--Take of clear lard, five oz.; beeswax, one oz.; Canada balsam, one-tenth oz.; lampblack, q. s. Melt by aid of heat, and mix. Apply with a flannel dauber, removing as much as possible with clean woolen rags.

LUMINOUS PAPER.

To make paper which shall be luminous in the dark, it is sufficient to mingle with the pulp the following ingredients in their proportions:--Water, ten parts; pulp, forty parts; phosphorescent powder, ten parts; gelatine, one part; bichromate of potash, one part. The paper will also be waterproof.

SIZES AND WEIGHTS OF DRAWING PAPERS.

The following are the sizes and weights of drawing papers:

Inches. Lbs.

Emperor, 72 × 48 620 Antiquarian, 53 × 31 250 Double Elephant, 40 × 26-3/4 136 Atlas, 34 × 26 98 Columbier, 34-1/2 × 23-1/2 102 Imperial, 30 × 22 72 Elephant, 28 × 23 72 Super Royal, 27 × 19 54 Royal, 24 × 19 44 Medium, 22 × 17-1/2 34 Demy, 20 × 15-1/2 25 Large Post, 20-3/4 × 16-3/4 23 Post, 19 × 15-1/4 20 Foolscap, 17 × 13-1/2 15 Pott, 15 × 12-1/2 10 Copy, 20 × 16 20

TO MAKE BRONZED PAPER.

Dissolve gum lac in four parts by volume of pure alcohol, and then add bronze or other metal powder in the proportion of one part to every three of the solution. A smooth paper must be chosen, and the mixture applied with a fine brush. The coating is not dull, and may be highly burnished.

Another process consists in first applying a coat of copal or other varnish, and when this has become of a tacky dryness, dusting bronze powder over it. After remaining a few hours, this bronzed surface should be burnished with an agate or steel burnisher.

TO MAKE DRAWING-PAPER TRANSPARENT.

Drawing paper of any thickness may be made perfectly transparent by damping it with benzine. India ink and water colors can be used on this paper. The paper resumes its opacity as the benzine evaporates, so that any place that has not been duly traced requires to be redamped with the benzine for that purpose. A sponge should be used for the application.

TO MAKE PAPER WATER-PROOF.

The following is a recipe for making paper water-proof:--Add a little acetic acid to a weak solution of carpenters' glue. Dissolve also a small quantity of bichromate of potash in distilled water, and mix both solutions together. The sheets of paper are drawn separately through the solution, and hung up to dry.

HOW TO SIZE POOR DRAWING PAPER.

To size poor drawing paper, take one oz. of white glue, one oz. of white soap, and one-half oz. of alum. Soak the glue and soap in water until they appear like jelly, then simmer in one quart of water until the whole is melted. Add the alum, simmer again and filter. To be applied hot.

TO PREVENT ALTERATIONS IN WRITING.

The following process of preparing paper will prevent alterations in writing:--Add to the sizing 5 per cent of cyanide of potassium and sulphide of antimony, and run the sized paper through a thin solution of sulphate of manganese or copper. Any writing on this paper with ink made from nutgalls and sulphate of iron, can neither be removed with acids nor erased mechanically. Any acid will change immediately the writing from black to blue or red. Any alkali will change the paper to brown. Any erasure will remove the layer of color, and the white ground of the paper will be exposed, since the color of the paper is only fixed to the outside of the paper without penetrating it.

TO PREVENT GUMMED PAPER FROM COCKLING.

It is well known that paper, when gummed, often cockles. To remedy this a little glycerine or sugar should be added to the gum.

COPYING DRAWING IN COLOR.

The paper on which the copy is to appear is first dipped in a bath consisting of thirty parts of white soap, thirty parts of alum, forty parts of English glue, ten parts of albumen, two parts of glacial acetic acid, ten parts of alcohol of 60°, and 500 parts of water. It is afterwards put into a second bath, which contains fifty parts of burnt umber ground in alcohol, twenty parts of lampblack, ten parts of English glue, and ten parts of bichromate of potash in 500 parts of water. They are now sensitive to light, and must, therefore, be preserved in the dark. In preparing paper to make the positive print, another bath is made just like the first one, except that lampblack is substituted for the burnt umber. To obtain colored positives the black is replaced by some red, blue, or other pigment.

In making the copy, the drawing to be copied is put in a photographic printing frame, and the negative paper laid on it, and then exposed in the usual manner. In clear weather an illumination of two minutes will suffice. After the exposure the negative is put in water to develop it, and the drawing will appear in white on a dark ground; in other words, it is a negative or reversed picture. The paper is then dried and a positive made from it by placing it on the glass of a printing frame, and laying the positive paper upon it, and exposing as before. After placing the frame in the sun for two minutes, the positive is taken out and put in water. The black dissolves off without the necessity of moving back and forth.

WASHING FORMS.

Forms sent down to machine ought not to be wet too much with lye or with water, otherwise it becomes necessary to dry them before working, which takes time and often much trouble. The wet works up little by little to the face of the letter, and then the form becomes unworkable. It has often to be taken off the coffin, the feet of the types have to be thoroughly dried, then some sheets of unsized paper have to be placed under the form; it has also to be unlocked, shaken, locked up again, the sheets removed with the moisture they have imbibed, and then it is to be hoped the form will be workable. If not there is nothing to be done but to lift it and dry it by heat.

Lye is generally used for washing forms which do not contain wood blocks; turpentine where wood-cuts or wood-letters are to be found in them. The bristles of the lye-brush should be longer than those of the turpentine-brush, and, in order to preserve it, each brush should be properly washed with water after using, and shaken and stood up to dry. If this is not done the brush will last but a short time.

There is no good in taking up with the brush a large quantity of lye or turps, and to shed it at once. Yet this is too commonly done, regardless of waste. In order to wash a form well the brush should be passed lightly over all the pages, in order to wet them uniformly. Then they should be rubbed round and round, and finally lengthwise and crosswise. Leaning on the brush not only wears away the bristles, but sometimes injures the face of the type, too. It is a bad practice.

After washing, before printing, a sponge with pure water should be passed lightly over the form, and then the form should be dried with a cloth. Care should be taken not to use a woolen cloth, which is liable to leave little pieces on the face of the types, and to see that there are no hard substances in it. After printing it is always best to wash with turpentine. Lye induces oxidation of the types, while turps leave an oily film on them, which preserves them from the action of the atmosphere.

HOW TO PREVENT OFF-SETTING.

A practical pressman says that a sheet of paper wet with glycerine and used as a tympan-sheet will prevent off-setting. This will be found better than using oiled sheets.

PRINTING ENVELOPES.

To prevent the lumpy particles of mucilage on gummed envelopes from "battering" the type, use a heavy piece of blotting paper as a tympan, and when beaten down, touch the injured part with a drop of water, which will bring up the impression again.

TO PREVENT SET-OFF ON WRITING PAPERS PRINTED ON ONE SIDE.

To prevent set-off on writing papers printed on one side, do not lay the sheets straight as they leave the press or machine; this will enable the air to get between them, and wonderfully expedite the drying of the ink. Do not allow the heap to become too heavy.

A QUICK DRYER.

A quick dryer:--Japanese gold size, 2 parts; copal varnish, 1 part; elber powder (radix carlinæ, carline thistle), 2 parts. Incorporate well together with a small spatula, and use in quantities to suit the consistency of the ink employed and the rapidity with which it is desired to dry. The usual proportion is a small teaspoonful of the dryer to about one ounce of average good ink.

TO PREVENT WARPING IN BLOCKS AND WOOD.

To prevent warping in blocks and wood-letter used in large bills, a French printer advises that they should be placed in a zinc basin, provided with an air-tight lid; they should then be thoroughly saturated with paraffine oil, and left thus for about four days, when they should be wiped with a clean dry rag. Prepared in this way when new, wood-letter resists the effects of lye, petroleum, turpentine, and atmospheric changes.

HOW TO KEEP ROLLERS WHEN OUT OF USE.

It is a good plan, when rollers are to be kept out of use for any particular time, to put them away with the ink on them. It protects their surface from the hardening effects of the atmosphere, and causes them to retain those properties which give them the much desired "tackiness." But about half an hour before using them, remove the ink and see that they are really in condition again.

PRESERVATIVE OF ROLLERS WHEN NOT IN USE.

The following preservative of rollers when not in use is often applied:--Corrosive sublimate, 1 drachm; fine table salt, 2 ozs.; put together in 1/2 gallon of soft water. It is allowed to stand 24 hours, and is to be well shaken before using. Sponge the rollers with the mixture after washing.

OILS FOR LUBRICATING ROLLER MOLDS.

Sperm and lard oils are the best for lubricating roller molds. If they are properly used, no trouble will be experienced in drawing the rollers.

CARE OF ROLLERS IN THE SUMMER TIME.

In hot, sultry weather rollers will not need sponging, as some of the materials used in their manufacture, having an affinity for moisture, will absorb enough humidity from the atmosphere to keep the surface soft. Indeed, too much moisture is absorbed in close and sultry weather. Cover the rollers while not in use with tallow (in damp weather); this will prevent the absorbtion of moisture and keep the roller dry. When starting up put a little tallow on the distributor. This will prevent the rollers from sticking, and keep them cool.

The safest thing for the pressman is to have on hand, as a reserve, a set of old, hard rollers.

Remember, it is not dry, hot weather that causes trouble so much as it is hot moist weather. When the weather is dry, soft rollers can be used, but when dampness comes on, take out the soft and put in the old hard rollers that have become rejuvenated by the absorption of moisture.

TO KEEP GREEN MOULD FROM ROLLERS.

Nothing destroys the surface of a roller so much as green mould. It takes all the life out of them. Green mould results from a damp place and a careless pressman, and is always a disgrace to all concerned.

TREATMENT OF OLD ROLLERS.

When rollers have been lying for weeks with a coating of ink dried on to the surface--a circumstance that often occurs, more especially when colored inks have been used--get an ordinary red paving brick (an old one with the edges worn away will be the best), place the roller on a board, then dip the brick in a trough of cold water, and work it gently to and fro on the surface from end to end, taking care to apply plenty of water, dipping the brick in repeatedly; and in a short time the ink will disappear. Nor is this all; for if a little care and patience is exercised, it will put a new face to the roller, making it almost equal to new; the coating of ink having, by keeping the air from the surface, tended to preserve the roller from perishing. Sponge off clean.

A RECIPE FOR PRINTERS' ROLLERS.

Best white glue, one pound; concentrated glycerine, one pound. Soak the glue over night in just enough cold soft water to cover it. Put the softened glue in a fine cloth bag, gently press out excess of water, and melt the glue by heating it over a salt water bath. Then gradually stir in the glycerine and continue the heating, with occasional stirring, for several hours, or until as much of the water is expelled as possible. Cast in oiled brass molds, and give the composition plenty of time to cool and harden properly before removing from the mold and inking. See that the ink is well spread before bringing the roller in contact with type.

TEMPERATURE OF THE PRESS ROOM.

The temperature of the press or machine room ought to be as near as possible the same as that at which the ink is manufactured--_viz._, 16° of Reamur (68° Fahrenheit). If the temperature of the room, and consequently, of the iron receptacles the ink is kept in, be considerably less, the varnish of the ink will stiffen, the paper will adhere to the type and peel off, or, if this does not occur, there will at least be too little varnish in the ink remaining on the type, and too much carbon, which, of course, will not sufficiently adhere to the paper, and may be wiped off even when the paint is perfectly dry. But if the temperature of the work-room be too high, the varnish becomes too thin, the ink loses its power of covering well all parts of the types, which then look as if they had been printed with lamp-oil. Colors of different hues require generally a somewhat higher temperature than black, say 70° to 75° Fahrenheit, but any printer who wants to see a clear and sharp impression of his types on the paper should not neglect to look sometimes to the thermometer, too low or too high a temperature being much oftener the cause of unsatisfactory printing than the ink we use.

WHEN TO WASH ROLLERS.

The press or machine man must be guided by the condition of the face of the roller, and the eyes and fingers will be the best guides. Where machine rollers are required for a weekly newspaper, they should be washed ready for the first set of forms, and when the number is long, a second set should be got ready and inked to work the second side, as the paper throws off a quantity of cotton waste, and powder, and neutralizes the tack so necessary to the face of a good roller and a clear impression. Should a roller require cleaning for a hurried work, the old ink may be removed with turpentine, but must be done quickly, and immediately distributed on the ink table, or the face will harden.

IMPROVED DRYER FOR PRINTING INK.

A small quantity of perfectly dry acetate of lead or borate of manganese in impalpable powder will hasten the drying of the ink. It is essential that it be thoroughly incorporated with the ink by trituration in a mortar.

HOW TO BEND A RULE.

To bend a rule, get it thoroughly hot and let it cool slowly; this will take the spring out, and it will stay in the shape it is bent to.

TO CLEAN GILT FRAMES.

Use a soft sponge moderately moistened with spirits of wine; allow to dry by evaporation. Do not use a cloth, and avoid friction. Another way is to use a very soft shaving brush, and to gently rub backward and forward a lather of curd soap. Rinse with water at about blood heat. This applied morning after morning to old and dirt-covered oil paintings will greatly restore them. In adopting this plan with regard to gilt frames around water colors or prints, be sure that not enough moisture is used to run off the frame, or the paper will be stained. The cleaning applies to gold frames only. Dutch metal will bear no cleaning, but a new material, not absolutely gold, but very like it, will stand any amount of soap and water.

CLEANING NEW MACHINERY.

As presses and machinery have their bright work covered with a compound to keep it from rusting while shipping, parties who receive the machinery will find benzine or kerosene oil the best articles to clean off the compound with.

TO MAKE INVISIBLE WRITING.

To make secret or invisible writing, procure some very thin starch, with which write with a quill pen (which should be a soft one) anything that fancy may dictate. Suffer it to dry perfectly; examine the paper upon which you have written, and not one letter can be distinguished by the naked eye. Procure a little iodine, which is an elementary body, dissolve it in water, and with a camel's hair pencil, a quill, or any other convenient article, dipped in the solution, slightly rub the paper on the side which has been written upon; the writing will instantly appear as distinctly visible as if written with the finest ink ever invented.

RED PRINTING INK.

Red printing ink may be made in this way:--Boil linseed oil until smoke is given off. Set the oil then on fire, and allow it to burn until it can be drawn out into strings half an inch long. Add one pound of resin for each quart of oil, and one-half pound of dry, brown soap cut into slices. The soap must be put in cautiously, as the water in the soap causes a violent commotion. Lastly, the oil is ground with a sufficient pigment on a stone by means of a muller. Vermilion, red lead, carmine, Indian red, Venetian red, and the lakes are all suitable for printing inks.

TO PREVENT ELECTROTYPE BLOCKS FROM WARPING.

To prevent electrotype blocks from warping, shrinking or swelling, place them in a shallow pan or dish, cover with kerosene oil and let them soak as long as possible, say three or four days. Then wipe dry and place in the form. After the first two or three washings they may swell a little; if so, have them carefully dressed down, and after that you will have little or no trouble with them, and can leave them in the form just as you would were they solid.

BLACK PRINTING INK.

To make a good, permanent black printing ink, take

Balsam copaiva 9 oz. Best lampblack 3 oz. Prussian blue 1-1/2 oz. Indian red 0-3/4 oz. Turpentine soap, dried 3 oz.

Grind on a stone until extreme fineness has been obtained. This ink will work clear and sharp, and can easily be removed from the type.