The Arizona sentinel., 1886-09-11
MAKING WALLPAPER.
The Ingenious Machinery Used in It's Manufacture.
Modern Conditions of the Trade-The Changes of Fashion-Hand Printing The New Material Employed
 for Wall Decoration.

The householder of the present day certainly has reason to be thankful that the wallpapers with which his rooms may be decorated can not be as easily discarded as bonnet or a cloak, for if such were the case, itis probable that if his purse were deep enough, he would have to pay for new coverings for the walls of h;s house every year. Each year the manufacturers of wallpapers issue new books containing samples of the designs in stock, and each year the designs, coloring, and styles of these goods undergo changes more or less marked, and paper which last year was eagerly sought for may this year meet with no sale whatever, should there be any stock left over. Not only do the styles change, but the colors also; one year the demand will be the greatest for pronounced positive colors, and the next year soft, subdued tints and shades, almost indistinguishable, will be most in demand. Then, again, the manufacturer of wallpapers has to provrie different styles and colors to suit the demands of the trade in differ ent parts of the country. In New York and the Eastern States the demand may be greatest for dark browns or greens or other colors of deep tone, while at the West these goods will find no sale whatever, and the trade there will run altogether in colors of light tint or vice versa. So with patterns also.
 The he.manufacturers of wallpaper now calculate on change of fashion every year, and only manufacture enough stock to last through one season. If" said one of the principal manufacturers in this city few. days ago, ''the fancy of the public should be so much taken by any special design that the demand for paper of that pattern should con- tinue more than one season we could very easily turn of as much more stock as may be wanted. We keep the de- signs from which these goods are print ed from year to year. They are all labeled and stored away where they can be produced at any time. It is not often, however, that we use the same patterns for two successive years, eX- cept it may be for the cheaper grades of goods. We manufacture enough of each style to supply the trade for the year, and if we have any left over at the close of the season, which rarely hap pens, these goods are sold at discount to jobbers, or are disposed of at auction sales. It is singular thing that goods which will meet with ready sale right along one year will be refused by deal CTS as soon as they see a new book of designs. We print each design in from four to six or eight different colors, or shades of the same color. Of course, it is impossible for us to tell whether or not the designs and colors of the papers will meet with a ready sale, but it is very seldom that we fail to find somewhere market for the stock. The improvements made in the machinery for the manufacture of the wallpaper enables us to accomplish a much greater amount of work, and also to produce much more varied as- sortment of goods than we could in former years.
 A tour of inspection through one of the largest manufactories in this city was made 6 few days since by re- porter. The paper on which the de- signs are printed is manufactured es- pecially for this purpose, and it is of varying weight. It is received in large heavy rolls, resembling the rolls of paper used in newspaper offices. This paper is first passed through the grounding" machine, where the ground color, be it light or dark, is ap- piled 10 the surface of the paper by +Ho, .- >Iol A.
 Oughly distributed by means of set of brushes, some of which move from side to side, while others are stationary. Some of the improved machines can apply this ground color to two rolls at the same time. If it is desired that the paper shall have the silvered appear ance seen in some papers ''mica" coat, as it is called, is applied. This coloring.matter is pulverized isinglaSs mixed with white lead. The cOlors of th;s mixture can not well be shaded, and therefore in such cases the differences in shade are made by using paper of different cOlors. After the ground color has been applied the roll of paper is placed on a frame work and is slowly unrolled, and then carried on an endless band over large drum, resembling the cylinder of a printing-press. The machine on which the paper is printed, in fact, resembles very closely cylinder printing press. except that the process of printing is reversed; the paper passes over the drum or cylinder, and the designs are printed by the rolls, which are placed on the lower part of the framework and revOlve in the same direction as the cylinder. Each roller is stamped with a different part of the figure forming