PRINTING. 



699 



there are three composition rollers, c, so situated as 

 to press upon tue table when it comes under them. 

 '1 he axes of these rollers rest in a part of the frame- 

 work, and act by their weight upon the table; and in 

 order still farther to insure an equable distribution 

 of the ink, the axes of these rollers are capable of a 

 slight motion sideways, which motion is of a sort 

 of zig-zag description, and given by the form of the 

 sides of the table which guide the rollers. The ink 

 being thus spread upon the table, must next be dis- 

 tributed upon the form of types. To distribute the 

 ink that has been spread upon the table, over the 

 types, there is another system of three or four rol- 

 lers, d, also fixed on axes supported by the frame. 

 These rollers are like the spreading rollers, capable 

 of a motion up and down, their axes resting in guides 

 lixed in the frame- work, but they are not, like the 

 spreading rollers, capable of any sideward motion. 

 These distributing rollers act like the spreading 

 ones, by their weight, first in receiving the ink from 

 the table, and then in distributing it upon the form 

 of types. It has already been observed that there 

 are two sets of inking apparatus, one at each end 

 of the machine, entirely similar to each other ; and 

 from the description of the machine we have given 

 above, it will be readily perceived, that while the 

 operation of inking the types is going on at one end 

 of the machine, the impression is taking place at the 

 other, and that while the carriage is moving towards 

 the inking rollers, the eccentric roller is down to 

 deliver the ink from the metallic roller to the table; 

 but when the carriage is returning the eccentric 

 roller rises to receive ink from the metallic roller. 

 Simple though the inking department seems to be, 

 it was nevertheless one of the most difficult to ac- 

 complish. 



Fig. 4. is an improved form of Cowper and Ap- 

 plegarth's machine, the general principles being the 

 same as those of the machine shown in Fig. 3. The 

 same letters of reference are used as in Fig. 3. and 

 we. will now take a general view of the process of 

 printing a sheet, in order that the details given 

 above may be more closely connected together. 

 The sheets of blank paper are laid one by one on 

 the table B by one boy, and are carried by the web 

 of linen tapes passing over its surface to the roller 

 e. The tapes in this table move upon rollers which 

 have an alternating motion, so that when a sheet 

 has been advanced to the roller e, the tapes return 

 to their original position to receive another sheet. 

 The motion of this set of tapes is so managed, that 

 the sheet just arrives at the junction of the two 

 systems of tapes at e, when that part of the main 

 cylinder F, which is furnished with a blanket (to 

 give elasticity to the pressure) has arrived at the 

 roller e. The sheet is thus grasped by the two 

 systems of tapes, and held upon the surface of the 

 blanket on the main cylinder F, which revolving, 

 presses it upon the inked form of types beneath. 

 By the reciprocating motion of the carriage the other 

 form of types, belonging to the cylinder G, is receiv- 

 ing ink, while the paper on the cylinder F is getting 

 the impression. The sheet is now carried round 

 the two cylinders H and I along with the tapes, and 

 delivered by them upon a blanket on the main 

 cylinder G, where it will be found inverted, that is, 

 with its printed side next to the cylinder. Here it 

 receives the second impression, and, after leaving the 

 form, the two systems of tapes separating, no longer 

 grasp the sheet, which is consequently delivered 

 upon a table in the centre of the machine. Here 

 it is taken by a boy and placed upon a pile. 



It is worthy of observation that not less than 

 seventy printing machines were constructed by 

 Messrs Cowper and Applegarth, all acting upon 



the general principles we have been describing; 

 but with a view to simplification and accuracy the 

 arrangement of these seventy machines was such 

 that not one of them was identical in mechanical 

 detail with another. It is the general tendency of 

 mechanical invention to simplify, and a notable in- 

 stance occurs in the history of this machine. No 

 fewer than forty wheels were removed from the ori- 

 ginal machine of Konig, by Cowper and Applegarth. 



Some notion of the execution of the printing ma- 

 chine may be formed from the following announce- 

 ment in the Times of February 14, 1828. "It is 

 now nearly fourteen years since ' The Times' first 

 issued from our office printed by steam and a me- 

 chanical apparatus. At that time we spoke as we 

 thought with becoming praise of the perseverance 

 and ingenuity of the inventor, Mr Konig, and with 

 sufficient modesty, we trust, of our own firmness and 

 resolution in overcoming opposing difficulties and 

 even dangers. This surprising machine has since 

 received certain improvements from the hand of its 

 original inventor ; but we have now to present to 

 our readers and the public, an account of a vast and 

 most beneficial change which has taken place. The 

 first machine printed but 1100 sheets per hour, 

 the reader now holds in his hand an impression 

 which anew machine has yielded at the rate of four 

 thousand an hour. Such ease, rapidity, and accuracy 

 united, could hardly ever before be ascribed to any 

 fabric constructed by the hand of man. Let but 

 the reader contemplate, if he can, what must be the 

 rapidity of those motions which throw off four thou- 

 sand printed sheets in every hour, or nearly seventy 

 in a minute." The paper is now printed at the rate 

 of 4200 impressions per hour, and in cases of great 

 emergency at the rate of 5000 per hour. The ori- 

 ginal inventor of the printing machine had much 

 difficulty in bringing it into operation, and even 

 after having satisfied himself of the efficacy of his 

 contrivance, he encountered the greatest difficulties 

 in bringing it into use. Konig himself states that 

 " Scarcely ever was there an invention brought to 

 maturity under such circumstances. The well known 

 fact, that almost every invention seeks as it were 

 refuge in England, and is there brought to perfec- 

 tion, seems to indicate that the continent has yet to 

 learn from her the best manner of encourag- 

 ing the mechanical arts. I had my full share in the 

 ordinary disappointments of continental projectors, 

 and after having spent in Germany and Russia up- 

 wards of two years in fruitless applications, I pro- 

 ceeded to England." Dr Olinthus Gregory, when 

 discussing this subject in a lecture delivered in 1826 

 to the Deptford mechanics' institution, remarks, 

 " What could not be accomplished by the encourage- 

 ment of princes on the continent, was effected by 

 the aid of private individuals in London." 



The great expedition secured by the printing 

 machine, compared with the operation of the hand 

 press, alarmed the journeymen printers, who consi- 

 dered its introduction highly injurious to the inte- 

 rests of the trade, as having a tendency to diminish 

 the number of hands employed. They therefore 

 gave it all the opposition in their power in London, 

 as afterwards in Edinburgh and Dublin. Its intro- 

 duction to Glasgow occurred at a later period, and 

 the intelligence of the workmen had attained suffi- 

 cient strength to convince them of the erroneousness 

 of such an idea, and accordingly not the slightest 

 opposition was made. To those who have given 

 serious attention to the subject, and viewed it in all 

 its bearings, it must be evident that whatever 

 cheapens the cost of printed works, must increase 

 the demand, and that in a far greater degree than 

 the mere ratio of the diminution of price and a cor- 



