Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-10
: ABOUT STRETCHING,
1T HAS REvoLuTIoNlzED THE ART
OF NEWSPAPER PRINTING.


The Process Was First Invented in Paris,
A Great Advance Has Been Made i'll
Rapid Pressworls in the Last Twenty-Five
Years-Many Plates Used Now Daily.
OF the thousands of people who glance
over the pages of newspaper few have
any idea of the work necessary TO be done
TO make the paper what it is. The old say
In that half the world doesn't know how
the other half lives" applies perhaps with
more force to the readers and the makers
of newspaper than to any one else. This
is especially true in these days of modern
improvements, when the newspaper man
has called to his aid so many of the devices
of science, and is constant absorbing the
followers of other callings, besides bring
ing into being arts that we're before I'M
known.
Among these latter the art of stereotyp-
ing, though perhaps little known, is most
important and, indeed, essential in the
lightning rapidity of today. Every ''per-
fecting" press absolutely requires the use
of either stereotype or electrotype plates;
and as the latter are much more costly, be-
sides requiring more time, stereotyping is
used almost without exception. The type
itself could not be used on these presses.
mainly because the curves of the cylinders
on which the plates are placed are too
small They are made thus small in order
to admit of greater speed.
Besides this, if type were used on these
presses the forms would have to be reset as
many times as there were single presses,
and here again the increased time and cost
compel the modern newspaper man to
lOnl- inc
The forms, therefore, must be duplicated
by some process or another without caus-
ing any serious loss of time or any great
expenditure of money. Stereotyping full
fills these requirements.
INVENTION AND GROWTH
The papier mache process of stereotyping
was invented about the year 1915 in Paris.
The credit of the invention lies between a
Frenchman and two Swiss, James Dele
gani and Louis Quanchi, all of whom
worked in the same establishment in Paris.
Not much Roadway was made for long
time, partly because of the opposition of
printers, whom it was thought the inven-
ton would throw out of work. So great
was this opposition that in the revolution
of AS the only establishment in Paris was
wrecked by the mob, and the proprietor,
Quanchi, was forced to flee for his life
back to Switzerland. He afterward re-
turned, and on one occa sion was paid 500
francs by man from London for the priv
ilege of looking on at the operation. His
son is now foreman of The New York
Herald.
Delegani went to Lonoon, established a
shop, and soon after, in 1854 or 1855, began
stereotyping the first paper in the world to
use the process, The London Times. At
lnto -,
and part Of the paper was printed from
type and part from plates. After time
they began to stereotype whole pages, and
made such progress that on the receipt of
the news of Lincoln's assassination in 1865
plate was completed in thirty-five min
utes, then remarkably good time.
The process was introd iced in this coun-
try by John Duncan in partnership with
Charles Craske. For long time they met
with no encouragement, and after five
years, being $500 behind, Duncan retired
from the partnership in disgust and left
the business entirely to Craske A singu-
lar commentary on the slrewdness of sue
cessful business men is here TO be found in
the fact that Hoe s. Co, the press build
ers, were violently opposed to the new
process. 1t is safe to say that no single
firm in the world has pr1fited more by the
invention than this one, which thirty years
ago fought so strongly against it.
PLATES FOR BIG DAILIEs.
In the latter part of 1850 a suitable press
was completed for The Tribune, and that
paper was the first one to be stereotyped in
this country. Mr. Craske owned the plant
took the work by contract, and EMPLOYED
James Steele, Frank Ferris and others
who had learned the secrets of the bust.
ness.
In short time all the other big dailies
took up the new art, and for a number of
years Craske held the contracts for nine
papers In this city, and had in fact a
monopoly. At the present time there are
upward of thirty papers stereotyped in this
city, employing 40 men To the uniniti-
ated the number of plates required on our
big dailies is astonishing. The Sun, for in
stance, uses every day no less than $50 to
200; The Herald requires over $50, and The
World, morning and evening, from 300 to
400
On Saturdays these figures are doubled,
and The World alone consumes, !" to use
fitting expression, about $50 plates, every
one, of course, being the size of a page
and never used but once. After once using
the plates this eighteen tons of metal,
more or less, is remelted, and nothing is
lost except what goes up in smoke.
If ''the height of art is to conceal art"
then the stereotyper must be awarded 1.-The
cake" 1t requires an expert to tell, from
its appearance, whether paper is stereo-
typed or not. It seems a characteristic of
the trade to work quietly and effectually.
They have a model trade organization and
have few quarrels with employers, and
why should they? Possibly, the poet man.
aged paper and had The stereotypers in
his mind when he said they have
Made a solitude and called it Peace.
Edwin Arlingt ON in Journ alist.
Diet for Rheumatic Govt.