PRINTING MACHINES.
The associated inventions of paper making and printing have progressed hand in hand together; the increased facility with which paper can be made by machinery having been equalled, if not surpassed, by the rapidity with which it can be printed.
The old wooden printing press, that was in general use at the beginning of the present century, is now an object of curiosity, and a few specimens of it are to be seen, even in country printing offices.
The principal working part of the wooden press consisted of a block of wood, having a perfectly flat and smooth surface, half the size of an ordinary sheet of printing paper, which was brought down upon the types by means of a screw that was turned by a long lever. The types, placed upon a flat stone embedded in a movable table, were inked with large soft balls covered with pelts. The damped paper was put into a frame, at the back of which blankets were placed, and was laid lightly on the inked types. The movable table was then pushed under the block of wood, called the "platten," the long lever was pulled with great strength, and the platten being thus brought forcibly upon the blankets and paper, one-half of the sheet was printed. The lever, on being released, sprang back to its former position, and the table with the types upon it was pushed farther under the platten, which was again pulled down to print the other half of the sheet. The table was then pulled back, and the sheet of paper, printed on one side, was removed. These operations occupied considerable time, and the regular work of two men, with a wooden press, was to print 250 sheets an hour on one side.
This original contrivance for printing was supplanted by the Stanhope press, one of the most admirable arrangements for the advantageous application of the lever that is to be found in the whole range of mechanical contrivances.
The improved printing press, invented by Lord Stanhope, the first of which was completed in 1800, is made altogether of iron. The platten is of the full size of the sheet of paper to be printed, and the work is done at a single pull. The requisite power is obtained by a combination of levers, so adjusted that the platten is brought down rapidly in the first instance, before any pressure is required, and when it comes to bear upon the types, the levers act with the greatest possible mechanical advantage, so that the handle moves through the space of a foot, whilst the platten descends only the twentieth part of an inch. By this means a large sheet of paper can be printed off by a single pull, and with more impression and greater sharpness than by two pulls with a wooden press.
Great as was this improvement in the printing press, its action was still very slow, compared with the rapidity of printing we are now accustomed to, it being considered quick work, with a small Stanhope press, to print 500 sheets an hour. The author remembers to have seen the Globe newspaper printed by an old wooden press in 1820; and, about the same time, the London Courier, by a Stanhope press. In order to supply the large demand for the latter paper, it was then customary to print off three pages early in the day, and to set up the types for the fourth page, containing the latest news, three or four times, and to print it at as many separate presses. The pressmen could thus, by great exertion, perfect the printing, when three presses were used, at the rate of 1,500 an hour. The Times newspaper, which greatly exceeds the size of the Courier, is now printed by a machine at the rate of 13,000 an hour.
The invention of printing machines was preceded by the manufacture of inking rollers, to supersede the pelt balls for distributing the ink over the types. Earl Stanhope had endeavoured in vain to construct inking rollers, for which purpose he tried skins and pelts of various kinds, but the seam proved an obstacle that he could not overcome. In 1808, a "new elastic composition ball for printing," which consisted principally of treacle and glue, to serve as a substitute for pelts, was invented by Mr. Edward Dyas, a man of great original genius, the parish clerk of Madeley, in Shropshire. These balls were first introduced into the extensive printing office of the late Mr. Edward Houlston, of Wellington, where they were for some time exclusively used, and that printing-office consequently became celebrated for the excellence of its work. A similar composition was some years afterwards cast in the form of rollers, upon a hollow core of wood, by the late Mr. Harrild; and these rollers have proved a far more cleanly and more expeditious mode of inking the types than the balls. These inking rollers supplied an essential want in the working of Printing Machines.
The invention of Printing Machines underwent many changes before it was brought to a practical form. Such a machine was first projected in 1790, by Mr. Nicholson, who proposed to place the types and paper upon cylinders, and to distribute and apply the ink also by cylinders. Another plan, more closely approaching that of the printing machines afterwards perfected by Mr. Napier and others, was to place the types upon a table and the paper upon an impressing cylinder, and to move the table backwards and forwards under it. In 1813, Messrs. Donkin and Bacon proposed placing the types upon a prism, which was to revolve against an irregularly shaped cylinder, on which the paper was to be placed. Nothing, however, could be effectually done in producing a proper working printing machine until the invention of inking rollers.
In 1814, Messrs. Bauer and Kœnig succeeded in constructing a machine, which was erected at the Times office, that produced 1,800 impressions an hour; and it continued in use till 1827. This rapidity of action, compared with that of the most improved printing press, produced a revolution in the art of printing; attention was then directed almost exclusively to the further improvement of the machines, and the platten press was neglected.
In the form of printing machines generally used, the types are laid upon an iron table that is moved to and fro by the turning of a wheel connected with a steam engine. The paper is placed upon cylinders covered with flannel, and the impression of the types is produced by the cylinders being fixed so closely to them that, as the table passes backwards and forwards, there is great pressure. The types are inked by a series of rollers, by which the ink is distributed and evenly laid on the face of the types without any manual labour.
The mechanical power gained by an arrangement of this kind arises from the pressure being exerted on a small surface at a time; consequently the power required for producing the impression of the types is not nearly so great as when the whole surface of the types makes the impression at the same instant. The force actually pressing on the types, from contact with the cylinders, is very much less than that brought to bear on them by the platten of the Stanhope press; but as it acts on a smaller surface at a time, the amount of pressure on each part, successively, greatly exceeds that received by any similar portion when it is impressed all at once. The difference of the action of the platten and of the cylinder may be compared to the different effects produced by a knife when pressed with its edge and with its flat side against a yielding surface; the pressure on the flat surface may not be sufficient to leave any impression, whilst a much smaller pressure on the edge will produce an indentation.
The accompanying woodcut is a representation of one of Messrs. Applegath and Cowper's machines for printing both sides of the paper at the same time.
It consists of a cast-iron frame, about 14 feet long and 4 feet wide, on which the iron table, with the types upon it, slides backward and forward under two large cast-iron cylinders, covered with blankets, whereon the paper is laid. The pages of type to be printed on one side of the paper, and those pages that are to be printed on the back, are wedged into iron frames, called "chases," and these chases are fixed on the table at such a distance from each other, that they will pass under the two cylinders in the same relative positions. The sheets of paper are held on to the cylinders at their edges by means of tapes, and are so laid on by the workmen, that the type may be impressed on them with an equal margin all round. At each end of the machine is a supply of ink, which is taken from long iron rollers, about three inches in diameter, each of which turns in contact with a flat iron bar, that only allows a small quantity of ink to pass. A composition inking roller is made to vibrate between the inking table, where on the ink is thinly and evenly spread, and the iron feeding roller, and thus delivers the requisite quantity of ink on to the table. Several other composition rollers are placed across the inking table, with their axes resting in notched bearings, so that as the inking table moves forward and backward, those rollers distribute the ink evenly over it. There are four other rollers (none of which are shown in the diagram), which take the ink from the table; and as the types pass from under the cylinders, after printing a sheet, and return to them, they pass twice under the inking rollers. Each sheet of paper is laid by a boy on a web of tapes, by which it is carried round one paper cylinder, and then over and under two wooden drums to the other paper cylinder. The sheet of paper, in the course of its progress, is turned over, so as to receive the second impression on the other side; and as the tapes that carry it along leave the second cylinder, they divide, and the printed sheet falls into the hands of a boy.
In the printing machine which was shown at work in the Great Exhibition, invented by Mr. Applegath and made by Mr. Middleton, for printing the Times, the arrangements differ materially from those of the horizontal machines already described. The types, instead of being placed on a table, and moved to and fro under the impressing cylinders, are fixed to a large vertical cylinder, upwards of 16 feet in diameter, and there are eight impressing cylinders ranged vertically round it, with their axes fixed. By this arrangement there is no loss of time in withdrawing the types from under the cylinder to be again inked, but they move round from one fixed cylinder to another, receiving their ink between each, and thus producing eight impressions in succession during one complete revolution. At the Times printing office there are now three machines of that construction, two of which, with eight cylinders, print ten thousand an hour, and the other one, which has nine impressing cylinders, thirteen thousand.
The operations for printing that newspaper exhibit marvellous efforts of human ingenuity and skill, brought to bear in producing with the requisite rapidity a sufficient number of impressions to supply its enormous circulation. After the types have been composed and corrected, and ranged into columns and screwed up into their chases by upwards of one hundred hands, each page of type is attached to the large vertical cylinder—a curved form having been given to the type to adapt it to the circular surface. Nine men, standing each one beside a heap of damped paper, feed the largest machine by separating the sheets singly from the heap, and present them successively to the action of small rollers, that give each sheet a forward impulse, which brings it within the grasp of a series of endless tapes. These tapes catch hold of the sheets of paper, and carry them down to the level of the types. They are then shot along horizontally to the pressing rollers, covered with blankets, round which they are carried and pressed against the types; after which the endless tapes carry them away, and deliver them printed to a man below, who spreads them one over the other. A large reservoir of ink at the top of the machine supplies the inking tables, from which it is spread evenly over the inking rollers, and, at each revolution of the type cylinder, nine sheets are printed on one side. They are then taken to a second machine to be printed on the back, or, as it is called, "perfected." The accompanying engraving shows the general arrangement of the machines.
Few mechanical contrivances present so striking an illustration of the application of human ingenuity to the production of important results, and to the saving of labour, as these printing machines. To see the sheets of paper travelling along the tapes—to see them shoot downwards, carried sideways in one direction and back again, and delivered with half a million of words impressed upon them in less than three seconds, seems like the work of magic. To copy that number of words, thus printed in three seconds, would occupy a rapid penman forty days, working ten hours a day.
Great as are the printing powers of these machines of Mr. Applegath's, they have been surpassed more recently by one placed close beside them, invented by Mr. Hoe, of New York. In that machine the type cylinder is placed horizontally, by which means the paper is supplied directly to it without altering its direction. As many as twenty thousand impressions in an hour have been produced by the American machine, but it is not yet sufficiently perfected to be brought into regular use.
In another part of the Times establishment there is an ingenious machine for wetting the paper, by which contrivance much labour and time are saved. The paper, heaped in a pile at one end of a table, is presented in quires at a time to the action of a roller, which drags it on to a moving endless blanket, that is kept wet by a stream of water, and the upper surface is wetted by a long brush, placed over the blanket. The wetted paper is heaped upon a truck, which gradually descends, to keep the upper sheets on a level with the table, till the paper is piled up a yard in thickness. The truck is then raised, by hydraulic pressure, to the level of the floor, and is wheeled away and another one is loaded. Between nine and ten tons of paper are thus wetted daily; and the sheets of the Times printed during a year, if spread out and piled one upon another, would form a column as high as Mont Blanc. The quantity of ink daily consumed in the printing is upwards of two hundredweight. The machine is worked by two steam engines, each of 16-horse power; and the noise of the numerous wheels and rapidly revolving cylinders is almost deafening.
The great rapidity and the comparative cheapness of printing by machines, together with the greater facility of making paper by machinery, have been the means of creating a demand for books which it would be impossible to supply, unless those means were at command. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of copies of publications, that spread knowledge among the people of the highest interest to the welfare of man, and replete with useful information of every kind, are now sold at prices which would be impossible, were it not for the improvements that have been made in the manufacture of paper, and in the means of printing.
Nor should we omit to notice, as one of the causes that have contributed to the production of cheap literature, the art of stereotyping, which has been perfected during the present century. Earl Stanhope, the inventor of the admirable press that bears his name, was prominent in bringing that art to perfection.
Numerous attempts had been made in the last century to produce casts from pages of type. So early, indeed, as 1700, some almanacks and pamphlets were printed in Paris from castings; and an edition of Sallust was printed in Edinburgh in 1739, from stereotype plates produced by Mr. Ged, a goldsmith. The process, however, was not encouraged, and on his death it was not further proceeded with. The most important advance in the art was made by M. Hoffman, of Alsace, who, in 1784, succeeded in obtaining stereotype plates by casting them in moulds of clay mixed with gelatine in which the pages of type were impressed, with which he printed a work in three volumes; but the castings were imperfect, and the plan was soon afterwards abandoned. Among the many plans tried to obtain perfect casts of the types when set up, was one contrived by M. Carez, a printer of Toul, who, in 1791, endeavoured to obtain casts in lead from a page of type, by allowing it to drop on the fused metal when it was in a state of setting. The matrices thus obtained were in like manner impressed on a fusible metal, which melted at a lower temperature than the lead. Good casts were often thus procured, but the uncertainty of the process, arising from the frequent fusion of the lead matrices, caused it to be discontinued. Other plans were tried in France with more or less success, but nothing was done practically until Lord Stanhope directed his attention to the subject in 1800, and resorted to the original method of obtaining matrices, by impressing the pages of type in a cold plastic substance. He employed plaster of Paris for his mould; and when they were thoroughly dried, they were plunged in fused type-metal; and in this manner a perfect cast in metal of the original page of movable type was produced. The process has been still further perfected, and casts from movable types, and from wood engravings, are now made with great facility, and the impressions from them are quite equal to the originals.
When it is intended to stereotype a work, the movable types used in composing it are new, and the "spaces" that separate the words from each other are longer than is customary when the type is to be printed from. These elongated spaces reach nearly to the face of the letters, so that the plaster may not sink between them. By this means the mould is easily removed from the face of the page of type. The metal casting of each page is very thin, and when required to be used, it is screwed on to blocks of wood to the same height as ordinary types.
Several attempts have been made to apply other substances than plaster of Paris and type-metal for stereotyping. At the Great Exhibition there were specimens of gutta percha stereotypes, that produced excellent impressions, and there were also fine stereotype castings of type in iron, from which a copy of the Bible had been printed. Papier maché has been found to be a material peculiarly applicable for the purpose, and it is now superseding the use of plaster of Paris for taking casts of the types.
By the application of the art of stereotyping, casts in metal of valuable works can be kept ready at any time, to be printed from when more copies are required; and the expense is saved of keeping on hand large stocks of printed paper, or of having a work recomposed when a further edition is wanted.
The inventions of Printing Machines and stereotyping were strongly opposed at first by pressmen and compositors, as calculated to diminish the demand for their labour. In "Johnson's Typographia," published in 1824, the "new-fangled articles" are mentioned in a spirit of great bitterness; and the writer thus poured forth his lamentations at the prospective ruin of the members of his profession:—"We are much surprised at the apathy and supineness shown by the body of master printers with respect to the subject under discussion; they most assuredly had good and sufficient grounds for an application to Parliament for a tax, that should bring the work so executed upon an equality with that done by manual labour."—"We feel satisfied that the above would not have met with encouragement from a British public, had they been aware of the evils attendant on it; they have not only to pay a full price for the work, but also extra poor's rates, in consequence of the men being thus out of employ; likewise they are countenancing the breaking up and destruction of all the energy and talent of that art which was England's proudest boast, and her shield against all the threats of her foreign foes."
These predictions of ruin have been completely falsified. It has been with the Printing Machines as with most other improved machinery for the saving of labour: on their first introduction some hands, no doubt, were thrown out of employ, but the advantages derived from the saving of labour very soon reacted favourably in creating a greater demand for labour than before. The number of cheap periodicals, and the extensive issues of cheap literature in every form, require a much larger number of workmen to supply the demand, even with the aid of machinery, than was needed in the best days of the manual printing press; and at no time were so many compositors and pressmen employed as at present.
In the Reports of the Juries of the Great Exhibition, some interesting statistics are given, showing the influence of the invention of Printing Machines in extending the demand for books and periodicals. "The machine," it is observed, "created a demand, and called into existence books which, but for it, would scarcely have been thought of. As the machine-work from type and woodcuts was far better than the ordinary printing of the day, booksellers were induced to print extensive editions, because they saw the machine could accomplish all they required. One of the first booksellers who availed himself of this power was Mr. Charles Knight, who projected the 'Penny Magazine,' on a hint from Mr. M. D. Hill, Queen's Counsel. Each number, published weekly, consisted of eight pages of letterpress, illustrated with good wood engravings. The public was astonished at the cheapness and good quality of the work, but it was its immense sale which rendered it profitable; for some years it amounted to 180,000 copies weekly. Mr. Knight, whose services in the cause of educational literature entitle him to the highest praise, expended £5,000 a year in woodcuts for this work. The Cowper machine has been the cause of the many pictorial illustrations which characterize so large a portion of modern publications. The 'Saturday Magazine,' 'Chambers' Journal,' the 'Magasin Pittoresque,' in France, and numerous others, owe their existence to this printing machine. The principle of cheap editions and large sales soon extended to established works of a higher value. A remarkable instance of this was the edition of Sir Walter Scott's Works, with notes, edited by himself; instead of the old price 10s. 6d., they were sold at 5s. a volume,15 and the demand created by this reduction in price was so great, that, though the printer had a strong prejudice against machines, he was compelled to have them, the presses of his large establishment proving totally unable to perform the work, which amounted to upwards of 1,000 volumes per day for about two years. The Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have adopted Mr. Cowper's machines for printing vast numbers of Bibles, prayer-books, &c., &c. A Bible which formerly cost 3s. may now be had for 1s. Mr. Cowper recommended the Religious Tract Society to put aside their coarse woodcuts, to have superior wood engravings, and to print with his machine. The Society adopted those suggestions, and the result is, that by sending forth well-printed books, it could now support itself by their sale, without any aid from subscriptions."
As an illustration of the facilities afforded by the invention of Printing Machines in producing cheap editions of the writings of popular authors, the following curious facts relating to the Works of Sir Walter Scott, in addition to those furnished in the Reports of the Juries, may be found interesting.
In 1842, a general issue of these Works, in weekly sheets or numbers, at twopence each, was commenced by the late Mr. Robert Cadell, of Edinburgh, and completed in 1847. Of this edition, up to the present period (1858), the astonishing number of TWELVE MILLIONS OF SHEETS have been issued, the weight of which amounts to upwards of 335 tons! Another edition was published simultaneously by Mr. Cadell in monthly volumes at 4s., each containing about 360 pages; this series has reached a sale of more than 500,000 volumes. A third cheap issue, at eighteenpence a novel, is now being published by the present proprietors, Messrs. Adam and Charles Black, of Edinburgh. Nearly 300,000 volumes have already been printed of this edition.
It may be mentioned here, although hardly coming within the scope of the present article, but as affording a striking example of what literature has contributed to the revenue of the country in the person of a single author, that upwards of 3,500 tons' weight of paper16 have been consumed in producing the various editions of Sir Walter Scott's Writings and Life; and the duty paid to Government on the paper, even at the present reduced rate, amounts to no less a sum than £51,450!
Since the Juries made their Reports, the development of cheap literature has been greatly extended. Newspapers, some of which contain eight full-sized pages, of six columns each, printed in small type, are sold for the marvellously low price of a penny, and are stated to issue as many as 50,000 copies daily; and some of the newspapers and other periodicals, printed on good paper, are issued for a halfpenny. Among the works of a standard character, published at prices which nothing but a very extensive scale could make remunerative, may be mentioned the popular series which includes "The Reason Why," and "Enquire Within upon Everything." Of the eight volumes already issued, each containing about 350 closely printed pages for half-a-crown, nearly 170,000 copies have been sold within a period of less than three years.