PRINTING. 
proceeds to compose another line in the 
same manner. But before he removes the 
brass rule, he notices whether the line ends 
with a complete word, or with an entire 
syllable ofa word, including the hyphen that 
is put to denote the division, when a word 
is divided into syllables. If he finds that 
his words exactly fill the measure, he has 
nothing more to do with that line, but pro- 
ceeds with the next. But if he finds the 
measure not entirely filled at the ending of 
a word or syllable, he puts in more spaces, 
diminishing the distances between the 
words, until the measure is full; and this 
operation, which is cMeA justifying, is done 
in order that all the lines in the composing- 
stick may be of equal length. Much de- 
pends upon exactness in justifying; and 
great care is taken by expert compositors 
that the lines are neither too closely wedged 
into the composing stick, nor yet loose and 
uneven. 
The spaces are, pieces of metal, of various 
thicknesses, exactly shaped like the shanks 
of the letters. They are used to regulate 
the distances between the wordsi 
When the composing-stick has been 
filled with lines, being generally in number 
about ten or twelve, the compositor empties 
it, on to a thin board, called a galley, being 
of an oblong shape, with a ledge on tw'o 
sides, and a groove, to admit a false bottom. 
When the compositor has filled and emptied 
his stick until he has composed a page, he 
ties it up with a piece of pack-thread, and 
removes it from the galley, either to the im- 
posing-stone, or to such other safe and con- 
venient place as he may think proper. And 
in this manner he proceeds until he has com- 
posed as many pages as are required to 
make a sheet, or, in some instances, a half- 
sheet. He then proceeds to arrange the 
pages on the imposing-stone, which is a very 
large oblong stone, of about five or six 
inches in thickness. The pages are so 
arranged, that, when they are printed, 
they may be folded so as to follow each 
other regularly. Great care, and some in- 
genuity, is requisite in the imposing of a 
sheet or half sheet, particularly of works in 
sizes less than folio or quarto. In Stower's 
Printer’s Grammar, a very excellent and 
copious work on the subject of printing, 
are given upwards of fifty schemes of impo- 
sition, ot sheets of almost every possible 
size. 
Having laid down or disposed the pages 
in right order on the imposing-stone, the 
compositor proceeds to what is called 
dressing the chases. The chase is a rectan- 
gular iron frame, of different dimensions, 
according to the size of the paper to be 
printed ; having two cross pieces, of the 
same metal, called a long and short cross, 
mortised at each end so as to be taken out 
occasionally. By the different situations of 
these crosses the chase is fitted for different 
volumes ; for folios, quartos, octavos, (See. 
To dress the chase, a set of furniture is ne- 
cessary, consisting of small slips of wood 
of different dimensions. The first thing to 
be done, is to lay the chase over the pages ; 
after tliis, that part of the furniture called 
gutter-sticks, are placed between the re- 
spective pages. Then another part of the 
furniture called reglets are placed along 
the sides of the crosses of the chase. The 
reglets are of such a thickness as will let 
the book have proper margins after it is 
bound. Having dressed the inside of the 
pages, the compositor proceeds to do the 
same with their outsides, by putting side- 
sticks and foot-sticks to them. Thus the 
pages being placed at proper distances, 
they are all untied, and fastened together 
by small wooden wedges, called quoins. 
These small wredges, being firmly driven 
up the sides and feet of the pages, by 
means of a mallet, and a piece of hard 
wood called a shooting-stick, all the letters 
are fastened together. The work in this 
condition is called a form, and is ready for 
the pressman, who lays it upon the press, 
for the purpose of pulling a proof. When a 
proof is pulled, the form or forms are 
rubbed over with a brush, dipped in ley, 
made of pearl-ash and water ; they are then 
carefully taken off the press, and the 
proof and forms delivered to the composi- 
tor’s further care. 
As it is impossible for the most careful 
compositor so to compose all his sheets as 
that they shall not require to be carefully 
read and corrected before they are finally 
worked-ofF, the next thing to be done is to 
put the proof, along witli the copy from 
which it has been composed, into the hands 
of the reader or corrector, whose business 
is to read over the whole proof two or 
three times with great care and attention, 
marking such errata in the margin of every 
page as he shall observe. 
The corrections are always placed against 
the line in which the faults are found. There 
are different characters used to denote dif- 
ferent corrections ; thus s-' is put to signify 
that a word is divided" that ought to be in 
one, as ye rson instead of person ; a mark 
