Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-29

ne sometimes uf1QcfidtS Ptdtc WIN
thin paper In places where heavy shadows
appear in the engraving, and this insures.
by the differently distributed pressure,
good rendition of the lights and shades In
the printed impression. or II the subject De
merely lettering. It brings out the zinc lines
strongly. But this proceeding requires the
greatest cal efulness and Judgment on the
part Of the printer.
The pressure necessary to bring all the
ink out of the lines of the plates on to the
paper having been exactly determined, the
printer begins making the impressions. On
more modern makes Of presses the plate.
with its underlays. is kept in a stationary
position on the press bed. without being
lifted from the linking slab to the bed, as In
the old way. The plate is filled In" either
with q roller made of soft textile material
thoroughly coated with an ink composed of
a mixture Of dry color, oils and dryers, or
the ink is daubed on wish dauber Of simi-
lar material to that Of the roller. In either
way. the plate is quite coated over with the
ink. With soft roll Of cheese cloth the
printer dexterously wipes OF the ink from
the surface Of the plate. so that none is re-
moved from out of the lines, and then, with
the hand alone and q little whiting. quickly
polishes away the stains left by the oily
ink. The paper Is then laid upon the plate.
Girls usually do this. and are called feed
ers. The wheel at the side is then revolved
by the printer. sending the press bed with
the plate and paper. under the roller. Mod
Grated by the hacker on the roller the
fiber OF the paper down into the engraved
lines containing the ink, which adheres to
the paper after # is removed from the plate.
Engraved Letter Paper.
This whole operation Of filling in, wiping
and polishing the plate and printing each
impression separately is continued until the
order is completed. Expedition is gained on
modern presses by q quicker movement of
the bed In going under the roller and In its
being brought back to its former position
automatically. The impressions being In re-
lief. are easily smirched. and have to be
carefully laid aside in rows TO permit the
oily ink to dry. Etchings and the like which
require artistic development previous 10 the
pulling Of the impression, such as the max
ing of tfnts and high lights on the surface
Of the plate by the printer himself, are best
done on the old-fashioned presses OF slow
movement
The monograms, crests and address lines
that are so much used on correspondence
papers nowadays are also usually made IN
shops where plate printing is done as the
two arts are closely allied. Combinations
OF letters making the personal monograms
or the address lines as they appear on let
ter paper. are engraved most usually on
little blocks of steel. called dies In a way
similar TO engraving on a plate. Crests
and coats Of arms are best when sunk
into the die. That is, the engraver, after
first cutting or etching the ruiiments Of
the design in the metal, sinks IL deeper by
beating into it with hard steel punch, and
afterward retouching the design with the
graver. This method in the resulting i'm
preston presents a very high relief and
beautiful finish Some engravers make a
speciality OF sinking dies and do no other
kind Of engraving.
Stamping from dies is an operation quite
dissimilar to plate printing. The press used
for the purpose Is small, but massive, ana
rests on a stoutly built bench. The die is
held engraved face downward. fastened
in little movable steel case that fits
in groove at the lower end of a
vertically supported short steel bar.
which transmits to the die a stamping
received by the bar being struck
on its upper surface by the downward reyo-
luton Of an upright steel screw. operated
by hand. The die is drawn upward away
from the paper. after the impression is
made. by set OF powerful springs.
Like plate printing this process necessi-
tates an abundant use Of ink a very small
quantity Of which appears in the impression
on the paper. The die is removed from the
press. but while still in the small case is