The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1877-08-30
Postal Cards.

Postal Cards.
The removal OF tho postel card
manufacture to New York has led
the ubiquitous reporter TO "write
up" on the subject, and the follow.
ing data are condensed from a tate.
ment in one Of the daily papers:
The present contrnct for the man.
ufacture Of postal cards was award
cd TO the American Prototype Com.
pany, Of this city. The Post Office
Department for some time consid
er the propriety Of changing the tint
OF the paper on which the cards are
printed, but finally decided te retain
the buff color which had boon used
hitherto. The manufacture ol
cards by the Prototype Company is
now carried on in the second story
Of the old Tribune Building. The
Office Of this department of the com
pany's business is on the floor a.
bove, the entrance TO which is from
the first story of the main building
The rooms in which the cards are
made and stored can only be reach-
cd by passing through the Office
and descending stairway.
The paper on which tho cards are
printed is made by the Parson Man.
ufacturiug Company of Holyoke
Mass, and is delivered to the Pho
totype Company through Wool
worth & Graham Of this city. II
comes in sheets twenty-five by TWEEN.
ty-eight inches in size, and is pack
ed in boxes containing about 1900
sheets and weighing $50 pounds
each. The printing is done by two
Hoe cylinder presses, each OF which
prints forty cards at single i'm.
preston. The printed sheets are
placed in racks and allowed to dry
two days in order to prevent an y
blotting or DETACHMENT. Now they
are ready for the cutters, Of there
are three at present. BY the first,
which is a rotary cutter, the sheets
are divided crosswise in ten strips,
containing four postal cards each.
The sheets pass through this ma.
chine a. rapidly as one can follow
another. The strips are then col.
lected in packages Of 100 each, the
edges are made exactly even, and
the packages are then placed on the
iron tables Of the cutters, which
sever them in the opposite direction
Of these cutters there are two,
both known as the Cranston "under
cut" Ten packages of 100 sheets
each, after leaving the rotary cutter
are placed in the "under.cut :" le
YER is pulled which sets the machi-
merry in motion, and q heavy knife
with Q diagonal motion, cuts The
400 postal cards complete. The
cards are then taken 10 lunches con
venient to be handled. and the edg-
es are carefully brushed TO remove
all dust and Feathers" They then
pass into the hands of eighteen girls
by whom they are counted out in
packages containing twenty-f G
cards each. Twenty packages arc
placed in pasteboard boxes, which
are again packed in wooden boxes
containing from 1000 to 25,00(
cards apiece.
The presses are now printing o.
bout 100000 cards q day. Tht
contract requires that 100000
cards shall DO made in q day. if the
demand is 90 great. This quantity
can easily exceed with the presses
now in use, as their capacity is l.
200, 900 cards daily. At present
the presses are run forteen hours {
day. The work was begun on July
2. The Prototype Company is re-
quired to deliver the cards in boxes
at tho New York Post Office, from
which they are distributed. The
contract is for four years from July
l, and the company receives 60 &C.
100 cents for each 1000 cards.