The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-18

By the application of the chemical mix ture to a Japanese napkin that article becomes as soft and pliable as a tissue Of silk The chemical preparation acts as an antiseptic and preservative. When applied to old documents 1t seems to knit the fibre together and prevent further de- cay. Under the present process of print ing paper money, the paper has to be thoroughly soaked in water. While 1t is in this soaked condition one side of the bill is printed. The sheet Is then placed in steam room and kept under a high temperature for thirty days, the time necessary for the ink to dry. The sheet Is again soaked as in the first instance, and the reverse side of the bill is printed The thirty-day drying process then has to be repeated. In cases where a third impression on the bill is necessary. which Is required when the printing Is done in two colors. the wetting and drying pro- cess has to be repeated third time, and another month is thus consumed in its production. Besides the delay of this process, the wetting and drying rot the fibre of the paper. and. although 1t is "starched" to give 1t the crisp appear ance. the starch soon wears out and the bill becomes limp and worn
 In printing bills on paper which has been treated by the new process, no wetting Is necessary. The ink loses none of its luster when applied to the paper as under the old process, and is thoroughly dry within forty-eight hours after the printing is done. Not only Is the appear ance of the bill much handsomer than un- der the old method, but its wearing, qual- ities are believed to be greater. Further experiments are to be made with the process this week, and it may develop that bills can be put through the starch ing process the same as heretofore, and their first crisp appearance given, if that is desired, although the soft and veivety texture would seem to be more attrac- tive.
 Hit Upon by Accident.
 The inventors of the new process had not regarded their discovery as of great importance, and 1t was only by accident that the matter was brought to the att tention of the officers of the Treasury De- parment, who are most enthusiastic over the results obtained thus far. Particu- iariy Is this so regarding the printing of postage stamps. over which there was q lively contest in bidding between the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and a private New York firm. The loss from the shrinkage of the paper had to be fig ured by the private concern. as we'll as
  tained the contract by a narrow margin in its favor. With the application of the new process and the consequent saving of one-fifth in labor and material, the Gov ernment will fare much better on this work than was expected. Tests have been made of the process by Julius Bien & Co.,. a New York printing firm, on piece of work for Nhe Government which had to be printed in fifteen colors. Ordinarily the shrinkage of the paper after it had re- ceived several impressions would have caused a large percentage of waste when the remainder of the colors were applied. But with the chemically treated paper every impression registered" perfectly.
 There are some details regarding meth ods of applying the new compound to pa per yet to be worked out, but these do not present any serious obstacles to its general application to all classes of paper. Neither does the expense of the prepara- tion prohibit its general use. The process does to paper what the nnercerising of cot ton does to that fabric. so far as an analogous case be cited.