New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-04-09

press at once and instead Of piles sheets to
size, a roll OF paper several miles In length hangs
IN bearings in convenient proximity. Tho end or
this immense web being introduced into the
press, the paper Is drawn through 1t at the
rate of 900 feet minute, a speed which must be
seen TO be appreciated prned both Sides cut into
lengths by knifebearng cylinders and finally laid down.
$1,000 finished TRTBINEs an hour II IL easy to cacu
late the immense saving in hand labor effected by these
machines, which, strange as it may seem. are much
smaller and more compact than their predecessors.
In the press last mentioned there remains but one
single recprocating mechanism that for the delivery OF
the sheets. and this indeed has become semroary from
the addition to it the collecting cylinder which, by
sending the sheets 10 IL six eight at tme enables 1t
TO dispose easily Of the torrent Of paper thrown into It,
but even this is now no longer found in the printing
press OF the hfth class, represented by the latest
acquisition to The TRIBUNE press In it rotary
folding machine il combined with and completes the
Web Perfectng Press that the roll OF four miles OF
Is IN thirty minutes printed both sides. cut and
folded ready for the mail without the intervention Of
human hand.
THE PFRFECnSG PRESS.
In this memorandum Messrs. Hoe have not claimed
the credit which belongs to them for the most inn
portant of the changes they describe. Our readers
viii remember, however the facts which tine mod
csty OF these gentlemen has deferred them from re-
hcarsing. and will especially bear in mind that the
first OF the great improvements. and the foundation
of all the rest-namcly the application Of the rotary
principle to the type cylinder-was the invention of
Richard VI. Hoe. The idea of printing from a long
roll OF paper, and on both sides of the sheet at
single operation, seems to have occurred to him and
TO several other manufacturers many years ago.
Various objects are gained by this modif-
cation Of the old process. Ii enables us TO dis
pense with feeders aud reduce the size and cost OF
the press and II is great convenience to print both
ed anf H., ,r1,a holt
sheet had to be sent to press at midnight the editor
was sometimes seriously embarrassed in the sclec-
tion and arrangement Of matter
The first "Wcb perfccting press" ever built was
the invention OF Sir Rowland Hill, the famous adj
vocate of cheap postage III England Il was pat
ented in 1885, and never came into practical use,
partly owing to the inconvenience of the COnical
type employed with 1t, but mainly in consequence
of the difficulty OF dspOSng OF the sheets fast rs
they were printed. Jephtha A. Wilkinson, of New
York, added various devices to the Rowland Hill
machine, but none OF them succeeded. Colonel
Hoe eudeavored To effect rapid delivery by the
invention, IN 1897, OF ihe double-acting fy-frame,
which at each vibration in either direction laid
down sheet but it was found that this required
a much heavier and tougher paper than American
journals are able TO afford for the low price at
which they are sold. At last, in 1861, the first prac
4. Bullock. II was PIT mp in Cincinnati. and two
years later Mr. Bullock built one of his Web Per-
frcting Machines for TIE TRIBUNE. which was tho
first paper in New-York to try them Naturally, per-
haps the earliest experiments did not fully answer
the expectations " the constructor and the machine
placed in this Office proving defective, .emoyed
after trial. Mr.. Bullock, however, was at work
IN the right direction. and succeeded after
% while ia overcoming difficulties, 50 that
his press now delivers in practice 5000
on 10000 copies IN hour printed on both
sides. II is used by a great many newspapers. The
Walter press constructed in the workshop of The
London TINES in 1869, and not much known IN
America is nearly identical with the Bullock IN gem
cral arrangement and capacity. And there are sew
eral other perfoctng presses, American and foreign.
the capacity Of which j. rather below than above
the figures Of tue Bullock and the Walter machines.
One obvious dcfcct in these presses - their
moderate speed. 4 nominal capacity of 10000
sheets per hour represents practical work
ing capacity Of about 5000. 20 that three or
four Of them are hardly enough for a daily metro
politan Journal. And the great obstacle 10 an in
crease of speed was found 20 be IN the delivery Of
the sheets after they were printed. The Walter
press required the attendance Of two men 90 pile
them up; the Bullock press deposited them auto
matically on a receiving board. Now 5000 copies
an hour mean, 1873 minute, and while It may have
been easy enough 10 hasten the revolution of wheels
and cylinders il was not easy 90 dcyise means OF
taking sheets OF paper from press at quicker rate
than 1873 a minute. Whenever the ly was driven
beyond that speed the paper was torn, and the
press room was Uttered with fragments.
II was Il. Hoe II Co.who gave us at last thor
oughly satisfactory and rapid wcb-press-a machine
Of the fourth class mentioned in the above memo
Tty, ~ he TP
Tribune establishment, DONG magnificent work at
the unparalleled speed Of 1900 perfect copies an
hour each and capable Of being driven. in case otneed.
Al the rate of $1,000 an hour each. The first of
these beautiful machines was placed IN our vaults
in 1915 when WE took possession of our present
buildinc and already M that time the English news
paper, had discovered their value six having been
ordered by The london Standard and eight by TIE
DdiIy Teltgrdph For speed, economy, neat workman
ship compactness and simplicity this press unques-
uonably cxccs all printing machines III existence,
except the still later achievement of the Hoes, which
we shall mention presently. 1t is only 20 feet long,
eject wide and feet HIGH thus occupying less than
half ~ much room rs the old slYcyinder press, and
IT'S weight il between thirteen aud fourteen tons.
Standing so low il has great advantage over other
wcb-prcsses, not only in convenience OF manage
mcnt. but in stcadness of movement In presses
whose heavy cylinders arc eIeNa'eu Co'NuoIdpi'
above the foundation, there is a Hckng Vibration
which intcrfcres materially with the quality oil the
work, besides limiting the speed
THE PAPER WEB.
The paper for Hoes perfecting press IS manutnc-
turcd in enormous webs" or continuous rolls OF
the precise width of a full sheet of THE TRIBUNE.
and nbout four and one-half miles long, which is
enough for 1000 copies of the paper. 1t Is
delivered 10 us wound on wooden core. which IS
pierced from end to end By rectangular open
ing. The first process Is to mosten the
papcr because it will not take
clcar innrcssion unless il is dpmp. TO