The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1890-08-02
SHEET MUSIC PRINTING.
An Interesting PrOcess Of which tn
4 ,ls5 Public Knows Very Little.


sls. Public Knows Very Little.
II the public will be as much sur
prised 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 publishing house in Bos-
ton, under the tutelage of its courteous
foreman, is full Of interesting instruc-
tion.
1t was into one of the many "lofts" in
which the establishment abounds that
a Boston Globe reporter was taken. One
floor was filled with veritable lace
work 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 involun-
tarily glanced around as If perchance he
might get glance of cold dinner lying
about.
"As fast as the sheets are printed we
hang them here over night" said the
foreman, ''and. then place them between
pasteboards and press them fat. Then
they 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 conversation IL
heard in them. For sheet music is printed
all by hand.
Two kinds of presses are used; the old
style plank" press and the improved or
"D' press. The latter consists Of
sliding table several feet square, on
which are two raised blocks just the
size OF sheet of music, on which are
placed the plates from which the print
Ing is done. The plates having been
linked and the paper laid ON them, the
printer gives turn to an immense
wheel, 81 feet in diameter, the aiding
table slides under large roller covered
with belt and the paper is forced
against the plates, thus giving the i'm
preston; and another revolution OF the
wheel brings the apparatus back to it's
original position. The plank" press is
like the other except that in using it
the plates are linked on a bench and
laid on the blocks every time an impress
sion Is taken, while with the sd" press
the plates are not removed from the
blocks until the edition is run of.
Now, here is q man printing title
pages" said the foreman. "We print
only one sheet at time, and man can
take from fifteen hundred to eighteen
hundred impressions day. This
plate, which looks exactly like
silver, is composed OF zinc, lead
and britannia, and is made al
most exclusively in New York. Every
publishing house manufactures its own
ink; it can't be bought. 1t is very par
ticular stuff and must be made just so,
and 1t is . very delicate matter to make
and take care Of it. This title page has
been engraved by hand. The design is
sunken, you see. When engraved the
plate is put on hot block and beeswax
is melted into the design. That, too, is
aticklish matter; If we wipe it of too
soon we spoil it, and II we let it get too
hard it crumbles and won't hold the ink.
once beeswaxed, q plate can be used for
printing for years.
Engraving the music plates is diff
ierent process, however, from that used
In making the title page. The engraver
mas to have separate tool for every
KIND OF note-half, whole, quarter
rests, etc. His outfit costs $40O. He
does not carve into the plate as wood
engravers do, but stamps out each note
separately with hammer. You can
imagine what nice work it is to adjust
the tools just right and how hard it is
10 engrave q sheet of music"
; The reporter watched the process Of
printing and saw something like this:
After the plate had been fastened to its
olock on the press the printer inks 1t
with hood roller, just as other print
ers ink their type in taking proofs.
lie then wipes the plate carefully
with q cloth; the ink sticks to the
beeswax, which covers the design or the
notes, and the rest of the plate is COM
paratively clean. A second wiping with
another rag leaves all but the design
shiningly clean, the paper is Laid on,
and the great wheel, revolving soon
takes the impression and returns the
printed pages to the printers hand.
The plate is then wiped again, reinked,
rewiped twice, and, in fact, undergoes
the same process between each impress
sion. ss otdtia.at 1t .4
ut is curious fact" continued the
foreman, "that al though this work is all
done by hand the printers never touch