564 



PRINTING, PROGRESS OF, IN RECENT YEARS. 



tributing section above and rotating. The type- 

 setting cylinder is stationary. Each cylinder has 

 an equal number of tangentially arranged type- 

 channels, in which the types rest upon their sides 

 in vertical lines, so that when the bottom type 

 of a line is removed the space it occupied is im- 

 mediately filled by the descent of its line. The 

 distributing-cylinder is caused to rotate by a 

 step-like movement at the top, which brings its 

 channels to coincide with and momentarily rest 

 directly over those of the setting-cylinder. Each 

 type has its appropriate series, of nicks, which, 

 coming in contact with the corresponding wards 

 in the channels of the lower cylinder, cause the 

 type to be dislodged and drop into the proper 

 place. In composition the depression of a par- 

 ticular key selects the desired type, which is im- 

 mediately pushed from the bottom of its line 

 out upon a rapidly revolving disk by means of a 

 rotating driver, which automatically operates the 

 appropriate horizontally moving ejector. The 



THE UNITYPE COMPANY'S SIMPLEX TYPESETTING 

 MACHINE. 



type, on being ejected from the column recess, is 

 thrown edgewise by the revolving disk against a 

 guard-rail, which rail directs the type lengthwise 

 in its circular travel upon a belt that conveys it to 

 a revolving lifter. By this it is raised into a long 

 setting-stick that extends across the machine in 

 front of the operator. Types successively ejected 

 upon the disk, as their appropriate keys are de- 

 pressed, follow each other in correct order to the 

 conveying-belt and into a setting-channel. After 

 a quantity equal to six or seven lines in one long 

 strip has been composed, the operator swings his 

 seat over to the left, and takes the lines into a 

 galley and justifies them that is, spaces out be- 

 tween the words so that every line is of the same 

 length. The distribution of the type is carried on 

 automatically while the composition is being done 

 at the keyboard. 



The simplex machine is also to be manufac- 

 tured with an automatic justifier, in which form 

 it is to be known as the unitype. 



The Dow composing- and distributing-machines 

 are now attracting much attention in the printing 

 trade. The composing-machine is the first to be 

 provided with a simple, practical, and inexpensive 

 automatic justifying device. Other type-compos- 

 ing machines have failed to compete successfully 



with the linotype because an extra man had to be 

 provided for doing the justification or spacing 

 out of the lines, or because the justifying mechan- 

 ism provided was too complicated or too costly 

 in its operation. The Dow is the first of the type- 

 setting machines proper that can be operated at 

 a high rate of speed by one man. It is not a 

 gravity machine, like most typesetters, but op- 

 erates positively, pushing the types with certainty 

 wherever they are wanted. The operator at the 

 keyboard manipulates the keys for a line, decides 

 where to finish the line, ends his word or di- 

 vides it with a hyphen, and strikes' a line-key. 

 The machine then automatically takes the line 

 away, measures the amount of remaining space 

 required to fill the line to the width of the col- 

 umn, divides this space by the number of 

 vacancies between the words in the line, sup- 

 plies spaces of the proper justifying size, in- 

 serts them, and thrusts the completed and per- 

 fect line into the galley. In the meantime the 

 operator has been at work on another line, and 

 when that is set the machine handles it auto- 

 matically as the first, and so on. The distribu- 

 tion is effected by a separate machine, which sim- 

 ply requires to be supplied with " dead " type for 

 distribution, and to have an attendant take away 

 the distributed type, properly aranged in channels 

 for the setting-machine. This distributor will 

 supply enough type for three or four fast opera- 

 tors on the keyboards of the setters. The ma- 

 chines are designed to be used for any ordinary 

 width of measure or size of type, this being the 

 first typesetting machine proper to handle several 

 sizes of type in the same machine. 



There are also two or three forms of composing- 

 machines that cast the type and melt it up again 

 instead of distributing. Of these the Lanston 

 monotype has been longest before the public, be- 

 ing first exhibited about 1890. This has been 

 used in several places, formerly on the Philadel- 

 phia Inquirer, and now on the New York Sun. 

 The mechanism is ingenious and complicated. 

 The Goodson graphotype is a somewhat similar 

 machine, with much fewer parts. The system 

 used on these machines, originated by Mackie, is 

 based on the use of a punched paper tape, which 

 is prepared on a sort of typewriter. The punched 

 holes represent letters and characters, and when 

 the tape is prepared, it is run backward through a 

 type-casting machine, serving to direct that ma- 

 chine what type to cast. As the type are cast 

 they are set up in lines and columns automat- 

 ically. 



Other composing-machines, known as the St. 

 John, Converse, Johnson, Botz, etc., are an- 

 nounced as in course of preparation, to be mar- 

 keted within a few years. 



Printing-Presses. The Gutenberg press con- 

 sisted of a screw, moved by hand, which raised 

 and lowered a platen, thus taking the impression 

 from the form of type placed upon a flat bed. The 

 first advance made upon this was by William J. 

 Blaew, of Amsterdam, about 1620. His press was 

 used in England till the end of the eighteenth 

 century, when the Earl of Stanhope caused to be 

 constructed a press with an iron frame and hav- 

 ing a combination of levers to assist the pressman 

 in obtaining a heavier and better impression. In 

 1827 a hand-press called the Washington, with an 

 improved toggle motion, was invented by Samuel 

 Rust, of New York. This patent became the 

 property of R. Hoe & Co., who since then have 

 made many thousands of these presses, and they 

 are in extensive use to-day for taking proofs and 

 single impressions. The printing-presses in mod- 

 ern use may be divided into several classes: Job 



