Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1851-01-25
INTERESTING FACTs--PRINJING.

common, or letter press printing, such as
BOOKS, newspaper, &c, is carried on by
large number of tools or types, every one of
which cost money, labor and ingenuity to fit
! for use There are about two or three men in
the United States who can make the matrice
In which types are cast, so peculiar complete
proporlioned, uniform and exact, must the
work be done The letters are made princi-
pally Of lead, mixed with other metals, in or
der TO harden it sufficiently when cool.
For every sized and differently shaped
type, new matrices have TO be made, and
each with the same eXactness, or the font is
detective. In Roman each letter must be
made three times-large and small capitals
lower case, points, figures and other ndis-
pensabIe characters. To give some idea of
the number of characters and letters which
90 to form ion! of types, we will state that
there are two cases, as the printers call them
me lower case containing all the common or
small letters, with the figures and points or
punctuation, double letters, spaces and quad
rants this case has 81 boxes. and every ono
Is occupied. The upper case containing the
large and small capitals and numerous marks
and characters which are in common use, has
IS boxes. Thus it seems the type founder,
In order 10 supply common font of Roman
letters, has to have constructed $50 matrices
and the Italics are not included here,
which will make over 100 more-iust TO
manufacture letter, &c, of size and cores.
ponding faces. HeIe then, there must be
about $50 characters and some of them
good many times over TO print a newspaper.
To give the uninilia,ed the number and pro-
portion Of types uscd-it may answer Just to
state that we use, say for common average
font.
$500 1900; 5000 d 1000
l2,oooj 1000; 9 l,GOO 6,OOO; 5000
4OOj k 500; J, 1900; m 5000; 5000
5000 p 1000 q $50 5000 ; 5000 /;
5000 u 1000 v 1000 500; 500;
y 1000; 2O0.
Nothing is here said of points, figures, dou-
bic letter, and other characters, which would
swell the list amazingly. And all this makes
one Item III common newspaper office -
Nor Is anything said of the numerous pic
lures, flowers, ornamental shades, condensed
extended, &c, types used in Job and news
paper printing, all of which is necessary TO
make The stock Of an ordinary newspaper
establishment. The types cost from 80 cents
10 So a pound
A common newspaper Office ought 10 be
supplied with from 1000 10 1900 lbs; of type.
These with some $500 worth of wood work,
$3.50 for hand press, a good many dollars
for brass rules, and still more for iron mate
rials, ink, SC, will make very large alb
slraction from $1,000 The usual width of
newspaper columns is about II ms wide
And an EN- is the thickness of line.
The following is an epitaph written by
schooImasler in an inland town in Connect
cut, on the death Of a lavorte child, which
fell into the waterol saw mill dam and was
drowned,
jus. below a Ca Nil dam
a Child was drownd slam
Black water white head
The Child was Kilt stun dead.
Tie ucIglors came down unto the wafer
Alfrtosce what was the matter
They and thgr parents wcpt and groaued
For their Irst born child drowned