The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-11-20

to its tinaL appearance in the finished
product they would marvel that We
get as good results as we do.
The paper, being printed wet. con-
tracts on driving, and the mathemati-
oally correct layout IF the engraved
plate bears only an approximate rcla-
| tiou to the dyed printed sheet The
! paper we print today will vary in
shrinkagc from what we print tomor-
row. As the physical proportions of the
! tree govern the expansion ana con-
/ traction of the paper made therefrum,
no two sheets are exactly the same
| the individual stamp is too minute to
be readily discernablc. but becomes Il
serious factor when the row is twenty
I stamps long as we print the sheets
But that is not all. To smooth the
! paper for the operation of cumming
! it is subject To 800 tons pressure i'm Il
! hydraulic press, and if very dry it
stretches but very little. but if the day
| is damp and humid it stretches per-
Ceptibly. The contraction of the gum
! itself is \ factor. and the atmosphere
conditions still another our perfOr-
ating machines have not human intel
| iigcucc and they blindly pcrforatc the
! sheets alike until their adjustment is
changed. Therefore. the best we can
do is To average the adjustment, and
it is only 10y chance that all the per
| forations are exactly central. Typo
! graphic printing, being done on dry
paper, eliminates many of these prob
iems, and no great feat is performed
IN perfectly ccntcriug a dry printed
stamp.
The amount of ink required for
printing the stamps for the last fiscal
year was jGS,ll7 pounds.
How Stamps Are Printed.
The present method of printing
stamps is accomplished upon what is
| known as -four plate power presses"
-Four plates are used i'm order that the
operations of mixing, wiping, polish
ing, and taking the impressions may
\ bC done simultaneously This press
| requires the services of printer to
polish the plates. one girl to lay the
sheet in position, and another girl to
TAX" it off after printing.
After each zoo sheets are printed
| they are counted and dried 10 secure
a Nat surface for subsequent opera
| lions they are pressed in hydraulic
press.
'HhRN /.
beneath glass roller which is bathod
IN a solution of dcXtrinc. (Which forms
| the gum,) and the sheets are then car
riod by grippcrs through drying
| chamber in which the gum is dried in
Tess than thirty seconds. Just before
| leaving the cumming machine the
sheets are carried through a device
that breaks tn" gum into innumerablc
cracks aud materially prevents subsc-
uuent curling
The printed aud gummcd sheet of
100 stamps is now fed through ru-
tihN pcrforator that perfOrates The
stamps i'm one direction and cuts the
sheet in half Another pcrforator of
HE same construction perforates the
stamps crosswiSc and makes another
cut thereby quurtcring the original
sheet
After q close aud rigid inspection
those sheets are counted and made
into packages for final packing for
shipment to the postoiilccs.
The gum on the back of the stamps
is made by scientifically roasting the
highest grade of tapioca starch such
as is used for making pudding. and as
l50,l5 pounds were used last year all
of the inhabitants of New York city
would have been given their hlI of
tapioca pudding for one meal with the
material used.
The sheets of 100 stamps each. AZ
sent To the postoiices during the fiscal
year 1913. piled upon each other. woul,
make chart over six miles high. and
placed end To end would make a. strip
over 10000 miles long: and as there |
are ten rows of stamps in each sheet. !
strip more than 1850. 900 miles long |
enough To girdle the earth six times, |
with something over
Just few words of a technical ma |
ture relative TO the inks used in the |
printing OF postage stamps. Before /
became director of the bureau, colors
for making the inks for printing |
stamps and other securities were Sc
lected by comparison with a standard |
tor match in hue and color strength. |