San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-12-26
BY MACHINERY
How the "Thorne" Type-Setters
Work.

From the Hartford Post.
The Post is besieged with inquiries
from all parts of the country concern
ing the practical working of the Won
derful Thorne type setting machines,
which are known to have been i'm
operation in setting the type for this
paper for nearly three years, and for
the last year or more have been thus
employed to the exclusion of all hand
composition for reading matter. The
Post has four of these perfected ma
chimes in its composing room,
though rarely more than three
are in use, as single ma
chine will "setn from one to
two columns per hour easily. The
Post has given the Thorne the sever
est possible tests, at times under the
most unfavorable conditions, with
view to discovering all imperfections
or weaknesses, and all causes of COM
plant which would be likely to de-
velop under its practical use in news
| paper and book offices, or wherever
| types are set for printing. The result
| is all that could be wished, and the
Post is prepared to indorse the ma
chine fully and heartily as being a
perfect substitute for hand labor and
a wonderful economizer of time and
money in the composing room.
1t may be of interest to readers of
the Post, as it certainly will be to
contemporary publishers, to read a
brief and not too technical description
of the workings of the type-setting
machines, as used in the daily pro-
duction of this paper. The machines
are started at 1880 o'clock every MORN
ing, small electric motor furnishing
the slight power need, Each machine
has Keyboard, similar to that of an
ordinary typewriter, and at each
keyboard sits a young lady operator.
Before her is spread the copy which |
she is to put in type, and her nimble |
fingers pass with such rapidity over
the keys that she is able to set as |
much type on the machine in a given |
time as three or four compositors |
would in the same time set by |
hand. Her "casen is always |
full, for the machine automat-
ically keeps itself onstantly |
supplied with type, and thus no
time is lost In distributing" Should
it be necessary to change copy at any
moment, or any number of times, it
can be done in an instant, and the in
terruption of rushing in an item at
the last moment, when machine
happens to be otherwise employed,
causes not the slightest Inconvenience
or delay. With ordinary care few or
no errors are made; the machine it
self cannot make mistake, and all
errors that occur are the result of in
sufficient attention or undue haste on
the part of the person operating it.
Every letter is deftly directed to its
proper position by the ingenious ill.,
tie packer" with as much dellcacy
and positiveness as if it possessed in.
telligence, and with such apparent
daintiness of toucn as to render in
jury to the types almost beyond pos
sibility.
The machine is simple in it's design
and construction; it's parts are all
easily accessible, and it runs hour
after hour without giving its attend
ants any trouble beyond supplying it
with copy and taking away the gal
ley after galley of perfectly set type
which it produces during the eight
working hours of every day.
AS before stated, the Thorne ma
chine is giving perfect satisfaction
here. 1t has proved itself equal to
all the emergencies of a daily news
paper, and has come to occupy place
in the regard if not the affections OF
everybody connected with the Post,
which could not be filled in any other
way. 1t has come to stay, first be-
cause it gives better service than
handwork has ever given, second be-
because it does it's work with
thrna n fp1r tin1aS tho ~ mid nf tho |
ordinary compOsitor, and third be-
cause it saves very large per cent of
the cost under the old method. This
is great deal to say of any machine;
but the payroll of the composing room
for the last dozen years will substan-
tiate the statements, and figures in
such cases do not prevaricate.
A great many persons have, first
and last, within the past year visited
the Post mechanical departments for
the purpose of observing the operation
of type setting by machinery. These
include mum Der of prominent editors,
publishers and practical representa-
ttves of the principal printing indus
tries of the country, some of whom
have subsequently adopted the
Thorne machine for immediate use in
their own establishments.
The young ladies who presided at
the Post machines are not easily an
nOyed by visitors, who are always
welcome. The era of type-setting ma
chimes is upon us, as the keenest
critics now generally admit. EN-
plOying printers recognize the signi-
ficance of the fact in the steadily in
creasing number of orders for the