The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-08-24
B posrAL.CRps.
The Manner In Which They are Gotten Up.
From the New York Tribunel

ID.
From the New York Tribunel
The paper upon which postal-cards
are printed comes in sheets about twenty
two inches by twenty-eight inches in
size, and is packed in boxes containing
about 1000 sheets, and weighing $50
pounds each. After the boxes are I'M
packed, the first thing in order is the
printing. This is done by two Hoe CYL
inder presses, each of which prints forty
cards ut single impression. The
printed sheets are then placed in racks
and allowed to dry for two days, in order
to prevent any plotting or DETACHMENT
Now they are ready for the cutters, of
which there are three, ut present. By
the first, which is a rotary cutter, the
sheets are divided crosswise in ten strips
containing four postal cards each. The
strips pass through this machine as rap
, idly as one can follow another. The
strips are then collected 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;" lever is
pulled which sets the machinery in mo-
ton, and up comes heavy knife with
diagonal motion. and there are 400
postal complete in twinkling. A
bit of brass is removed, allowing the un-
cut packages to pe moved up proper
distance under the knife, and the pro-
cess is repeated. The cards are then
taken in punches convenient to be
handled, and the edges are carefully
brushed to remove all dust and
"feather." They then pass into the
hands of eighteen girls, by whom they
are counted ont into packages containing
twenty-five cards each. Twenty pack
ages are placed in pasteboard boxes,
which again are packed in wooden boxes,
containing from 1000 to $4,000 cards
apiece.
The presses are now printing about
100000 cards a day. The contract
requires that 100000 cards shall be
made IN day, if the demand is SO great.
1t is not expected that many visitors
will enter the rooms in which the cards
are made, but precautions are taken to
prevent the loss or abstraction of cards.
Every sheet printed is registered by the
press, and the company is compelled to
give an account of every one. If few
cards were lost it would cost consider
able trouble, although the loss itself
might be trifing Any cards that are
spoiled i'll the cutting or defaced in any
way are retained and destroyed by the
Government inspector
The Postoffice officials in this city do
not regard postal-cards with favor.
Postmaster James expressed the opinion
the other day that they were emphati-
cally nuisance, and one OF the subor
dinate officials asserted that postal-cards
caused falling off in the sale of stamps
of $1,000 a day. The daily sales of
cards, he said, would amount to 1000
on an average on some days as many
as 100, 900 had been sold. There was a
gradual increase in the sale of cards,
and this had been the case since they
were first introduced. Other causes
beside the demand for postal-cards had
affected the sale of stamps, the daily
falling off in which amounted to about
$4,000. The causes we're the hard times
and the sale of stamps by country Post
masters, which had recently been ex-
posed. Postal-cards in this country
could not fail to be a loss to the Govern
ment, because they were carried so far
at trifiing cost. In England they had
met with more success on account of the
limited territory over which they had to
be distributed.