Paper and Printing Recipes Part 6

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 quant.i.ty 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 pota.s.sium 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 c.o.c.kLING.

It is well known that paper, when gummed, often c.o.c.kles. 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 alb.u.men, 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 subst.i.tuted 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 gla.s.s 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 quant.i.ty 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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:--j.a.panese gold size, 2 parts; copal varnish, 1 part; elber powder (radix carlinae, carline thistle), 2 parts. Incorporate well together with a small spatula, and use in quant.i.ties 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.