10 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



HOW TO PRINT CIKOULAHS AND HAVE 



THtiTE ILLUSTRATED, WITHOUT 



TV PES, PRESS, OR ANYTHING 



OF THE lilMK 



A PRINTING OFFICE THAT WILL PRINT 

 IN COLORS, FOR ONLY 50C. 



iff] OR some time, I have been deeply inter- 

 ested in a process I am going to describe 

 to you, and had fully decided to make 

 an attempt to do away with the high prices 

 asked for the apparatus, before the Sunday 

 School Times took up the matter. As they 

 have done it so well for me, I take pleasure 

 in making the following extract from their 

 issue of "Nov. 8th. The engraving is our 

 own work. 



A BOON' FOR SUPERINTENDENTS. 



There is no earnest superintendent who has not 

 felt the need of some simple and inexpensive way 

 of multiplying copies of programmes, maps, illus- 

 trative sketches, circular notes to teachers or schol- 

 ars, special outlines for teachers' -meetings, etc. 

 Printing is unsatisfactory and expensive; the elec- 

 tric pen and papyrograpta promised to supply the 

 need, but they are boih expensive and troublesome. 

 Laletv. howe\ er, some Frenchman, I think, hit upon 

 the happy idea of using a specially prepared moist 

 composition pad for receiving a transfer from a 

 written page, and making impressions directly 

 therefrom, the same as from a lithographic stone, 

 or more nearly like the multiple copying process of 

 Mr. Edison, in which he used unsized paper for the 

 transfer plate. Numberless copies of this foreign 

 invention have been put upon the market here, such 

 as the " Electrograph," the "Chierograph," the 

 "Copygraph," the "Jellygraph," the "Lithogram," 

 the "Multigram," and various other graphs and 

 grams the differences between which are not patent 

 to the observer. 



Every superintendent can, however, easilv and 

 cheaply make one for himself, and he will tind' it al- 

 most invaluable in his work, as from one writing or 

 sketch he can quickly make from fifty to one hun- 

 dred exact copies with the least possible trouble. 



For a piate capable of taking on an ordinary letter 

 page, procine one ounce of glue (the "white g tie" 

 makes the best looking pad, but any kind will an- 

 swer), and put it in soak in cold water until it is soft 

 and pliable. Then drain oil' the surplus water, place 

 the glue in a tin dish, and set this into another con- 

 taining hot water, similar to an ordinary glue-pot. 

 When the glue is melt"d, add six ounces of glycerine 

 which has previously been heated, and mix the two 

 thoroughly, adding a few drops of carbolic acid to 

 prevent moulding. Pour out this mixture into a 

 shallow pan a little larger than the size of a letter 

 sheet, say '.1x12 inches, and set it away to cool, tak- 

 ing care that the surface is free from bubbles. After 

 standing twelve hours it is ready for use. The pan 

 is best made of zinc, about half an inch deep, with a 

 cover, but a common baking-tin will answer every 

 purpose. 



To use this composition, first write or draw on a 

 sheet of paper what you wish to duplicate, with a 



good, sharp, steel pen, and a strong aniline ink. 

 When dry (blotting-paper must not be used , lay the 

 paper face down upon the pad, pressing it lightly 

 with the fingers, and allow it to remain there from 

 one to five mtautes, — one minute is generally suffi- 

 cient. On reVii iving the paper an impression will 

 be found on the face of the pad, and if another piece 

 of paper be placed upon it, it immediately receives 

 a similar impression; and as rapidly as sheets of 

 paper can be 1-iid upon the pad, lightly smoothed 

 with the haud, and removed, duplicates of the origi- 

 nal arc produced. As soon as enough are printed, 

 wash off the impression from the pad with a soft 

 sponge and cold water, and it is ready for use again. 

 This is all the apparatus, and, made as above, need 

 not cost over fifty cents. 



The best ink for use with the above is purple, 

 made from" B. B. purple aniline" dissolved in water. 

 From this I have taken one hundred and twenty-five 

 good copies of one writing, a beautiful red may be 

 made from "Eosi ne, " and a fine green from "Vic- 

 toria green," either of which is good for forty im- 

 pressions. " Nigrosine B. " makes a good black, but 

 will not permit of more than eight or ten copies. 

 Blue from "Sol. 15. 1$. blue" is but little better. To 

 make these inks, dissolve the aniline in water until 

 it is a bright color, filter through muslin, and evapo- 

 rate until it is so strong that the writitig shows a 

 bronzy hue when dry, taking eare not to inhale the 

 fumes while evaporating it. In writing, have plenty 

 of ink in the pen. If the pad has stood some time 

 unused, moisten the surface with water before us- 

 ing. 



Various substances may be added to the composi- 

 tion for the plate or pad, without materially affect- 

 ing its value. A portion of the glycerine may be 

 displaced by sugar. Soap has also been tried. If a 

 white plate, is desired, add whiting, or barata sul- 

 phate, or white lead, stirring them in well. The 

 principle of action is, that athin film of the plate is 

 taken off upon the face of each sheet, and with it the 

 ink. This causes the paper to feel sticky when lirst 

 printed, but it soon dries. As a consequence the 

 plate wears out, standing, perhaps, for two thous- 

 and impressions, but may be cheaply renewed. If 

 the surface be damaged, melt it again, over a slow 

 tire. 



A good plan by which to secure placing the sheets 

 true with the writing is, while the original is on the 

 pad, to place strips of paper around it, just touch- 

 ing its edges. These adhere to the pad, and form a 

 guide for laying the subsequent sheets. If there 

 are large blank spaces where there is no writing, 

 they may be covered in the same way to advantage. 

 Ink stains up >n the fingers can be removed by alco- 

 hol, followed by pumice soap. 



Plaintield, N. J. Geo. H. Babcock. 



There ! does not the above make it all 

 plain V These pads are offered for sale, at 

 prices all the way from $1.00, to $1(1 00; and 

 it was just because there is such a specula- 

 tion on them, that I have been moved to de- 

 scribe the way in which the apparatus is 

 made. Let us see ! the oz. of glue will cost 

 about 1 cent ; the 9oz. of glycerine, about 18c; 

 and the tin dish, 4c. This would be 25c. for 

 the materials for a pad, note size. The "13. 13. 

 purple aniline 1 ' is worth $1.00 per oz., but 

 an oz. would make about a gallon of the ink. 

 A bottle of ink could easily be furnished for 

 10c. I sent $3.50 to N. Y ., for an outfit, to 

 see just how nicely they got them up, but I 

 could easily furnish the whole, post paid, for 

 75c. With this process, you can easily give 

 prices on any thing you have for sale, and, 

 with a little skill in drawing, can make very 

 pretty illustrated circulars, and change them 

 every day, if you like. With the colored inks 

 mentioned, you could draw honey plants, 

 ive them the colors of life, and take a hun- 

 red copies of it, almost as easily as one. If 

 I had but a hundred or two subscribers, I 

 should try to give you one leaf, at least, of 

 samples of this new' art. 



P. S.— The P. M. G. has decided that all 

 letters copied by the above process can go at 



