A short history of the printing press and of the improvements in printing machinery from the time of Gutenberg up to the present day

A Short History of The Printing Press

A Short History of The Printing Press And of the Improvements in Printing Machinery from the Time of Gutenberg up to the Present Day

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR ROBERT HOE NEW YORK 1902

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE PRINTING PRESS 5 THE EARLIEST FORM OF THE PRINTING PRESS 6 THE BLAEW PRESS 7 STANHOPE PRESS 8 CLYMER’S COLUMBIAN PRESS 8 PETER SMITH HAND PRESS 9 WASHINGTON HAND PRESS 10 TREADWELL’S WOODEN-FRAME BED AND PLATEN POWER PRESS 11 ISAAC ADAM’S BED AND PLATEN PRESS 14 SINGLE SMALL CYLINDER PRESS 18 DOUBLE CYLINDER PRESS 18 SINGLE LARGE CYLINDER PRESS 19 STOP CYLINDER LITHOGRAPHIC PRESS 26 ROTARY ZINCOGRAPHIC OR ALUMINUM PRESS 27 TWO-COLOR ROTARY ZINCOGRAPHIC OR ALUMINUM PRESS 30 FOUR CYLINDER ROTARY TYPE-REVOLVING PRESS 31 TEN CYLINDER ROTARY TYPE-REVOLVING PRESS 31 APPLEGATH’S TYPE-REVOLVING PRESS 40 BULLOCK PRESS 42 LONDON TIMES ROTARY MACHINE 46 FIRST HOE WEB PRESS 50 DOUBLE SUPPLEMENT PRESS 51 QUADRUPLE PRESS 59 STRAIGHT-LINE PRESS 59 SEXTUPLE PRESS 62 APPLETON ROTARY BOOK PRESS 68 ROTARY TYPE-REVOLVING WEB PERFECTING PRESS 69 THREE PAGE WIDE PRESS 70 NEWSPAPER AND PAMPHLET PRESS 71 ROTARY ART PRESS 75 “TIT BITS” PRESS 80 OCTUPLE PRESS 81 DOUBLE SEXTUPLE PRESS BUILT FOR THE NEW YORK JOURNAL 84 “COLLIER’S WEEKLY” PRESS 90

THE PRINTING PRESS

About the year 1450, Gutenberg was engaged in printing his first book from movable types. No method of taking the impressions simpler than that employed by him can be imagined, unless it be with a “buffer,” or by means of a brush rubbed over the paper laid upon the “form” of type, after the manner of the Chinese in printing from engraved blocks. His printing press consisted of two upright timbers, with cross pieces of wood to stay them together at the top and bottom. There were also intermediate cross timbers, one of which supported the flat “bed” upon which the type was placed, and through another a wooden screw passed, its lower point resting on the centre of a wooden “platen,” which was thus screwed down upon the type. After inking the form with a ball of leather stuffed with wool, the printer spread the paper over it, laying a piece of blanket upon the paper to soften the impression of the platen and remove inequalities. This was the machine which Gutenberg used. The mechanical principle embodied in it was found in the old cheese and linen presses ordinarily seen in the houses of medieval times.

Were Gutenberg called upon to print his Bible to-day he would find virtually the same type ready for his purpose as that made by him, no change having taken place in its general conformation; but he would be bewildered in the maze of printing machinery of the beginning of the twentieth century.

The simple form of wooden press, worked with a screw by means of a movable bar, continued in use for about one hundred and fifty years, or until the early part of the seventeenth century, without any material change. The forms of type were placed upon the same wooden and sometimes stone beds, incased in frames called “coffins,” moved in and out laboriously by hand, and after each impression the platen had to be screwed up with the bar so that the paper which had been printed upon it might be removed and hung up to dry.

The first recorded improvements in this press were made by William Jensen Blaew, a printer of Amsterdam, some time about 1620. They consisted in passing the spindle of the screw through a square block which was guided in the wooden frame, and from this block the platen was suspended by wires or cords; the block, or box, preventing any twist in the platen, and insuring a more equal motion to the screw. He also placed a device upon the press for rolling in and out the bed, and added a new form of iron hand lever for turning the screw. Blaew’s press was introduced into England, and used there as well as on the continent, being substantially the same as that Benjamin Franklin worked upon as a journeyman in London, early in the last century.

Little further improvement was made in the printing press before the year 1798, when the Earl of Stanhope caused one to be made, the frame of which, instead of being of wood, was one piece of cast-iron. A necessity had arisen for greater power in giving the impression, especially in the printing of woodcuts, and the tendency was naturally toward larger forms of type, requiring greater exertion on the part of the printer; the labor in working one of the old screw presses was about equal to that of the plowman in the field. The Earl of Stanhope reserved the screw, but caused to be added a combination of levers to assist the pressman in gaining greater power, when giving the impression, with less expenditure of energy. These machines were very heavy and extremely cumbersome. They were the first iron printing presses ever constructed, and came into use to some extent. The printers, seizing upon this new idea of a combination of levers to increase the power, were induced to place them upon their wooden presses, the improvement resulting generally in the destruction of the latter, which were not adapted to stand the strain. The iron platen employed by the Earl of Stanhope had, however, previously been used upon the wooden presses.

The next practical improvement was made by George Clymer of Philadelphia, who, about 1816, devised an iron machine, entirely dispensing with a screw. A long, heavy cast-iron lever was placed over the platen, one end attached to one of the uprights of the cast-iron frame, and the other susceptible of being raised and lowered by a combination of smaller levers, worked by the pressman after the manner of the ordinary hand press. The impression was given and the platen raised and lowered by a spindle, or pin, attached to the centre of the large cross lever at the top, this being properly balanced to facilitate its being raised with greater ease. Mr. Clymer carried his invention to England, where it was introduced to some extent and was known as the “Columbian” press.

In England there were iron hand presses made by Rutheven, by Brown and by others, all, more or less, improvements upon the Stanhope.

In 1822 Peter Smith, an American, connected with the firm of R. Hoe & Co. in New York, devised a machine which was in many respects superior to any up to that time. The frame was of cast-iron, and in place of the screw with levers, he substituted a toggle joint, at once simple and effective.

In 1827, however, Samuel Rust of New York, perfected an invention which was a great improvement on the Smith press. The frame, instead of being all of cast-iron, had the uprights at the sides hollowed for the admission of wrought-iron bars, which were securely riveted at the top and bottom of the casting. This gave not only additional strength, but greatly diminished the amount of metal used in construction. This patent was purchased by R. Hoe & Co., who improved upon it, and proceeded with the manufacture of the presses, although the “Smith” continued to be used to some extent. The new invention was known as the “Washington” press, and in principle and construction has never been surpassed by any hand printing machine. They were manufactured in great numbers, and continue to be manufactured and sold at the present time for taking fine proofs, although the universal adoption of the cylinder press has almost entirely superseded them for other printing. The number made and sold by Hoe & Co. alone, a majority of which are now in use, is over six thousand. They have been sent all over the world. This style of press is made in seven sizes.

The following is a description of this press: The bed slides on a track and is run in and out from under the platen by turning a crank which has belts attached to a pulley upon its shaft. The impression of the platen is given by means of a curved lever acting on a toggle joint, and the platen is lifted by springs on either side. Attached to the bed is a “tympan” frame covered with cloth, and standing inclined, to receive the sheet to be printed. Another frame, called the “frisket,” is attached to the tympan, and covered with a sheet of paper, having the parts which otherwise would be printed upon cut away, so as to prevent the “chase” and “furniture” from blacking or soiling the sheet. The frisket is turned down over the sheet and tympan and all are folded down when the impression is taken. Automatic inking rollers were attached to this machine, operated by a weight raised by the pull of the pressman, the descent of the weight drawing the rollers over the type and returning them to the inking cylinder while the pressman placed another sheet upon the tympan. Still further improvements in this inking apparatus were made and patented by Hoe & Co., in which the distribution of the ink on the rollers was effected by means of an apparatus driven by steam power and which also caused the inking rollers to move forward over the type at the will of the pressman.