The Democratic pioneer. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1845-1853, 1848-05-19
From Il . New Lisbon Aurora.
something about Printing.

something about PRINTING!
We live in an age and in a couniry
wherein il would be considered almost
proof "flonacy orgreat temerity at least,
to-say that printing is not one ofthe mos
useful arIs, That the art Of printing is
like salt--'it is the preservative Of all
ris'--seems 20 be a position conceded
BY civilized communities where its bene.
Tits have been difTused with either an un
! sparing or stinted band. That II has ia n
lcltiSaied tue MAJ ch of tmprovtment,sp,e cad
ansoad and propagated CORE CT principles,
sieIalded forth the precepls OF CHRISTIAN.
iay, carried civilization, The art and know.
1Jedge into foreign. degraded, heather
l:a"ds, aud tina. j, has eleyasd man, shown
Fslin what he is and what he ought TO be,
besides conferIng numerous other invai
cable advantages, no one who is cugniz,
ant 10 its operations, will for a moment, :,
doubt. Bui tie intention 10 commencing
this article was nos to eulogize the art
for the beDetactions it has conferred on
4 Common or letter press printing, such
as books, newspapers, &c F., is carried on
by large number OF tools or types, eve
ry, one of which costs money, labor and
ingenuity to Fl i, for use. type of long
primer slZe,* such as this article appears
in, although IL is but eleven twelfhs of an
ySNh In, |, nnH
fourteenth thick on an average, st,i costs
some thing. 1t is said that there are bu,
Two or three men 10 the U States who
Can make he matrices in which |, pes are
CAST, peculiar, complete. proporttoned,
un form and exac, must the The work be
done Tie letters are made, principally +,
to ina rden il sufficiently when cool while
; itibe same times these orther ingredients
csuse the fused compositlun to fill the
ttsost tenuous crevice of the mattix CON.
p3etely. For every sized type and every
differently shaped vpe-snd there are
more than 500 shapes and sizes Of eac
letter in our alphabet in use--new ma
, itices have TO be made, aud each W iih the
same exsciness, or the fount is detective
IN roman, each letter must be made throe
imes-large aud small capitals, lower
lnther Indispensable characters. To gave
ssA4,e il lea Of the number of sharacters ane
Z {Htfers whtcE 60 nom aJoamt OF types, 1
e may answer TO state that there are two
u e. case, containing all the common OF
small letters, with the figures and poinis
for punctuation, double letters spaces
quadrals --this case has commonly 81
b, xes, aud every Que is occupied, The
p upper case, containing the large and email
e capitals, and numerous marks and char
e acIeis whICh are IN common use, thai 9.
boxes, aud but 2 or three Of them are un
occupie ed. Thus ii seems he llpefounde
d 10 order TO supply common iOnnt OF rn
d man letter has 10 have consttucted about
cluded here " hlch will make over hun
e dred more--just to manufacture letters
&c., Of one size and CORES spending faces
+, Here, then, there must be about tlro hun
Gred and Dty characters made, aud some
( Of them good many thousand times over
just to print the plain matter of a com
mon newspaper. To give the uuiniliate,
an idea OF the numbers and proportiuns o
3 pes used--ior printers have 10 secrets
thai know oft may answer TO state
,ha' we use, say for a ounInon average