, 1896-07-25

ordinary plate, after LOCO impressions or so
had been made from 1t, would wear out; 1t
would Therefore be unsuited for the printing
of hank-nOtes, of which we print as mary as
1907 0o from a single plate"
with regard TO the sheet Of stamps you
showed me Just now, the sheet contained
$40 impressions. | presume the artist did not
have to rmgrave the entire sheeH'
"On. no; the $40 Impressions are simply
facsimiles of one original die, and it is here
that the Perkins process Of hardening steel
plates comes in. The original die is done on
a bit of soft steel. That is hardened, and
then reversed on to a soft steel roller, 50 that
all the engraved lines which are sunk on the
fla die come up in relief on the roller. Then
the roller is hardened, and thus becomes in
it's turn a sort Of circular die. We now roll
it over a steel plate, and 'hus we are enabled
to get as many facsimile impressions as we
want
1t seems superior to electrotyping."
so II is, because the copper aad soft met
al which are used in e ec%trotyping will not
stand he wear and tear which steel plates
are equal to. In spite Of new inventions,
Perkins process is unriValled! ~
now A A NOTE IS MANUFACTURED
"a good deal that YOU have told me has
reference to the printing of postage stamps.
Now would you explain to me the process OF
printing bank-noteS?'
we viii commence with the paper" said
Mr.. Heath. THAT has to be handmade from
fine linen rag, in order to stand the wear and
tear lo which a bank note is ordinarily sub
ieclcd. Some IF the banks supply their own
Daper. In some cases we manufacture the
paper for the banks, forward it to them for
them to take care of, and they return it to us
to be made INTO bank-notes.
s'1hu seems rather a circular method of
doing business; from which, | should say,
the railway companies are the only people
who ben eft?'
.'W.Il. some of the banks prefer 10 keep
the paper in their own vaults until such time
as it is wanted for printing, You see, the
value invoked is very considerable, some
times uuning into millions, and therefore it
is scarcely possible TO take too much care.
Would YOU be surprised to know that the
sheets are checked from hand to hand some
tim : as often as a dozen times between their
arrival 1T the Office and their leaving it?"
.IIave YOU ever had a sheet lose"
at i, the greatest possible larity. Such
mishapS ale prevented by our imposing q
very heavy fine on our wOrkmen ten any loss
that may occur. lou must know that We ATE
OURSELVES responsible to banks and govern
mGutS iOr lie l&CIat NdIU6 OF any no . lIli we
may not he able to account for to th,m.'
"Of course YOU have to be carcf 4 only to
engage very responsible servants?"
..Our serv mts are only tax ~ on after care
full inquiry, and once they suit us we keep
them. We have worEmen who have been In
our employ over fifty years. Character is Of At
least as great Importance in such work as ours
as skill"
"lhe next stage in the manufacture IS the
printing | suppoHe?'
''WeIl. that consists Of a series Of stages.
There is hl>t the design TO he settled upon.
and this is a prominent feature in II e notes
that we print. The great advantage Of
the Perkins system lies i'll the facility it
affords for combination of various features
in the note. You must know that is one of
the greatest.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST IMITATION.
cob, | was going to ask You how you
manage to protect yourself against forgery,
which, | suppose, is the principal danger 10
be guarded against"
well, that is inst what l was going to
speak aront. One of the principal safeguards
consists in the use of portraits. landscapes,
or vigneltes engraved by frst-cla,s artists.
One of these may require six or eight weeks
to produce, and only artists whose talents
would place them above forgery could copy
it, if indeed it is possible to make an abso-
lntely exact copy. So banks and govern