Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-12-19
HOW SHEET MUSIC IS PRINTED.
A Process of Which the Public Knows Tery
LittIe-Every Page Printed by Hand.

n
LittIe-Every Page Printed by Hand.
If the public will be as much surprise.
TO learn how sheet music is printed as
was the writer, this article will be read
with interest. A walk through the
printing rooms of the largest music pull
fishing house in Boston, under the tutel-
age of it's courteous foreman, is full of
interesting instruction.
1t was into one of the many 'slofts'' in
which the establishment abounds that
the reporter was taken. One door was
filed with a veritable lacework of long
poles, placed horizontally, which were
loaded out of sight with sheet music
hung upon them to dry. The whole
place had the air of washing day at
home, and the reporter involuntarily
glanced around if perchance he might
get a glance of cold dinner lying about
''As fast us the sheets are printed we
lang them here over night said the
foreman, land then place them between
pasteboards and press them fiat. Then
hey are ready for market. Come UP
into the press rooms"
The press rooms are very unlike their
newspaper prototypes. Not sound
loud enough to interfere with converse
! ton is heard in them, for sheet music is
printed all by hand.
Two kinds of presses are used; the olG
style plank press and the improved or
3D. press. The latter consists of a slid
ing table several feet square, on which
are two raised blocks just the size of a
| sheet Of music, on which are placed the
plates from which the printing is done.
The plates having been mixed and this
paper laid on them, the printer gives a
turn to an immense wheel, 81 feet iii
diameter, the sliding table slides under a
large roller covered with a belt, and the
paper is forced against the plate, thus
giving the impression; and another revo-
luton Of the wheel brings the apparatus
back to its original position. The ''plank"
press is like the other, except that in
using it the plates are linked on bench
and laid on the blocks every time an i'm
preston is taken, while with the F'D''
press the plates are not removed from
the blocks until the edition is run off.
"Now, here is a man printing title
pages" said the foreman. 1--WE print
only one sheet at a time, and man can
take from 1900 to 800 impressions a
day. This plate, which looks exactly
like silver, IS composed of zinc, lead and
britannia. and is made almost exclusively
in New York. Every publishing house
manufactures its own ink. 1t can't be
bought 1t is very particular stuff and
must be made just SO, and it is very
delicate matter to make and take care Of
it. This title page has been engraved by
hand. The design is sunl1en, you see.
When engraved the plate is put on a hos
block, and beeswax is melted into the
design. That, too, is a ticklish matter.
If we wipe it off too soon, we spoil it,
and if we let it get too hard it crumbles
and won't hold the ink. Once bees
waxed, plate can be used for printing
for years.
Engraving the music plates is diff.
ferent process, however, from that used
in making the title page. The engravei
has to havea separate tool for every kind
of note--half, whole, quarter, rests, etc.
His outfit costs $400. He does not carve
into the plate as wood engravers do, but
stamps out each note separately with a
hammer. You can imagine what nice
work it is to adjust the tools just right
and how hard it is to engrave a sheet of
music"
The reporter watched the process OF
| printing, and saw something like this:
| After the plate had been fastened to its
block on the press the printer inks it
| with hood roller, just as other printers
ink their type in taking proofs. He then
IN LOT flyrt al ~
| the ink sticks to the beeswax, which
| covers the design or the notes, and the
rest Of the plate is comparatively clean.
| a second wiping with another rag leavea
| all but the design shiningly clean, the
paper is laid on, and the great wheel, re-
| volving soon takes the impression anc
| returns the printed pages to the printers
| hand. The plate is then wiped again,
geinl1ed, rewiped twice, and, in fact, un-
| lergoes the same process between each
impression.
cit is a curious fact" continued the
| foreman, ''that although this work is al
done by hand the printers never touch
the paper. A piece of pasteboard is
folded double and used as holder, and
with that the printer handles all his
| sheets, ttui never ietS HIS llhy Hduds
come in contact with them"
"Isn't music printed from type some
times?" asked the reporter.
Eyes. When we want to run off q
large edition of some cheap stuff, bookyl
or something of that sort, we set ths
music up in type. stereotype the pags
and print from it, just as you newspapea
| fellows do. But the work isn't as hand
some, and, besides, there is some music
written that can't be set up with type"
! All music plates after being used are
stored in ireproof vaults and indexed foG
possible future use. The foreman slater
the curious fact that in the great collec.
ton of which he has charge there ara
| more pieces of music whose names begin
with S than of any other letter, Whit.
| the II S are q close second. boston Globe.
| Distressful Feet
Much foot sensitiveness could be re-
moved by daily regular resting of then,
in cool water. This simple duty, which
could be utilized as a short reading time,
/ which obviates much distress, is GER
tainly worth performing. l found this
out last summer by taking swimming
lessons. really save the value of CHI
ropodists' bills, going out once a month
| instead of twice week to have my feet
treated, while. doing twice as much
walking as customary. Fannie Edgar
! Thomas.