The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-18
ALLEGED MECHANICAL WONDER.
A Machine Which, 1t Is Claimed, Will
Set, Justify and Correct Type.
From the american Art Printer.

Set, Justify and Correct Type.
From the american Art Printer.
At last we have it, An automatic ma
chine that is printers case, that will set
type just as compositor does, correct and
justify it, take its own proof; is type
writer or printer, plate-caster, a photo
grapher, and a type-distributor, all in one.
Can you realize it,
H. Newton Stansbury, a native of New
York city, but late resident of San Fran
CISCO, CAL, has invented the machine we
allude to. On paper it looks startling, but
we have not said all. This combination
type-setter, stereotyper, printer and dis
tributor occupies space of only IS inches
high by s inches wide and II inches Deep
and will set any width of column or page.
1t will do the work of five fast compositors
in setting, beside saving the time of dis
tribution, and saving many o.her things,
such as the great cost of present plants, the
wear and tear of material now so great.
And all is done by the working of keys a
la Kodak camera: "You press the button,
we do the restP'
Perhaps the reader thinks we are face
tlous, and are trying to spring joke upon
him. Not so. We are writing of an actu al
machine that contains complets font Of
type Of, say, 5000 characters, caps. small
caps, lower case, italics, accents, signs, etc,
a keyboard like a typewriter, and "A simple
mechanical combination connecting the
type with the keys; facilities for correction
before taking proof or typewriter print, the
type being in sight of the compositor.
The keys of the StanDury machine are
played upon after the manner of the type
writer, but instead of one letter being
stamped each time a kew is struck the letters
themselves form into line, one after the
other, side by side, from left to night and
upside round as dhand-set type is in the
composing stick, until an entire line is set
punctuated, spaced, corrected ..and ,justife
with even ends, the same as in a column Oh
page mot ragged like typewriter work.,
Each line is set in duplicate, the second
line appearing at the back of the machine
precisely as it does before the eye of the
| composltOr in front. A print is then taken
of the whole line, which is then instantly
distributed by touching key, and you are
| ready for the next line.
All this is done by pressing the fingers on
keys. There is no other motive power; no
steam, no electricity. There is no dirt nc
wet. Everything is clean, and as easy a:
| typewriting. and takes no more room than
a typewriter. The touching of keys auto
| natically sets up, spaces, corrects and Justi
! fies, prints and distributes the whole line
1
line, and also takes a photograph, which
can afterward be used for etching or trans
ferring to stone for hthographing.
| The font may consist of as many charac
| tiers as desirable, from 26 to 100 or more
and as many of each as needed, up to fifty
| or more. The keyboard provides for as
| many keys as there are distinct characters.
| One key works as many letters as the font
may contain of the kind. Thus the KEY
| p1arLyad A works oil tho A1c in ba font Tn
font may be of any style of face, any Ian
guage, any size of face. Speed is limited
only by the skill of the compoSitor, and any
| one can work the machine who can spell
and has fingers to use. 1t really needs q
| good compositor, however, or one with
| similar experience aud knowledge of gram
| mar and punctuation, to run the
machine 1t does not do away with
| the compositor, but makes his work
much easier, and enables him to do far
more. In use on newspapers, the compost
tor never needs to spend extra time in fill
| ing his ca Q, for this case is always full
| Again, he can take as many proofs as he
desires before he touches the key that dis
| tributes his line. The line is always full OF
spaces that stand for both indentations
spacing and terminal quadrats. The pune.
tuation marks carry their spacing with
them-a full point has an EN- quad the
| anu lnlclIOkdblOu DOillUS LOe
colon and semi-colon. carry hair space
inside and the proper spacing on the out
side; a comma carries its space with it on
the outside. A glance over any newspaper
will show how much tins will be slved by
| this plan. All leads are dispensed with. the
matter being loaded or left solid by auto
maric process.
This moral machine, too, inasmuch as
1t Will cure the sin of stealing sorts-a crime
that has lain heavy on the soul of many a
compositor who would be honest, but who
became prey to the devil when once "out
OF Sorts" The case is always full of type
and cannot run short. Further, it is always
ready for operation and can be worked day
or night by two sets of hands. When we
say that 1t will do the work of fivo men and
more we mean that in every hou. that it is
at work it will produce more than five fast
compostors can possibly set up in that
hour-plus the saving of time now wasted
in distribution, the tina of the proven, the
galieyman and the matrix maker-an as.
founding aggregation! This, too, not
counting the saving of the present cost OF
material which would go out of fashion
with the adoption of this notwithstanding
machine.
Who next will turn the world upside
dowEl