The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1924-01-31

could find out just why or what it
means. The art of printing pictures
has been the subject of more inven-
lions and more progress in the life
of the present high school gradute
than was made in a thousand years
before, and that is the subject of
more questions and more marveling
by visitors in our shop than any
thing else. 1 will explain a few
things that I have learned about it.
Suppose you take a block of wood
of any size you like, but exactly nine
hundred and eighteen thousandths
of an inch in thickness, and so we'll
seasoned that it will not shrink nor
swell, and mark the letter 80" on
| it in black ink. Then take a sharp
instrument and cut away around the
letter and inside of it to depth of
about one-eighth of an inch, leaving
the linked part undisturbed, and
you have manufactured one wood
type. If you wish to make a type
that will print picture, draw the
picture in the wood and then take
sharp instrument and cut away all
but the linked lines, leaving them to
do the printing, and you have be-
come an engraver. That is the way
this picture printing started, and II
the lines in the wood were fine, of
course the wood wore away easily
and spoiled the printing face of the
block. In making one of these ready
for printing there was so much cut
ting to do, the product came to be
called wood cut"
AS they improved the work they
got so they used a metal block and
carved the picture on it, and it lasted
indefinitely, but it required so much
labor to carve the metal, somebody
went to looking for something that
would lift out the fine streaks of
metal between the dark lines of ink.
Photography was developed and it
was found that they could save a |
great deal of pen work by photo
the picture upon the metal
block, but they still had to carve out |
the light streaks and leave the dark |
ones. Some chemist hit upon an idea |
when he remembered that certain |
chemicals will cut or dissolve certain |
metals, but cannot do anything |
where there is dark coloring pig
He could touch a pen point |
Of ink on it and then spread the
chemical over it and the chemical
action would take away a slight
amount Of the surface excepting
where the color pigment of the ink
rested, and there 1t would remain
or uncut by the chemical.
When this was understood, they be-
gan doing the carving or engraving
oh h,,f fhavr CIT mol IL |
he product q "cut" even tho no cut
ing is done with instruments. Zinc
8 the metal used and II 1t needs to
,e made very durable for long wear,
t is placed in q fluid that has copper
solution in it, and the copper at
aches itself in a thin film all over
he zinc. This process is called plat
ng. The whole block is also known
IS a plate, a cut or an engraving;
md this class of block Is also sub
livided into halftones, electrotypes
nd stereotypes. 1t Is the stereotypes
hat have given Snake river printers
o much grief in their long struggle
o master the process of making
hem. 1t holds out such fine field
or improved service and Efficiency
he two thousand and three thou
and per cents told you about in
HAPPIER three, the progressive fell
ows kept trying every few years
nd generally quit worsted until
bout three years ago, excepting,
elieve, in the office of the Pocatello
ribune, where they have operated
n large scale successfully for
ing time.
If a firm in Chicago wanted to
lsert an advertisement in a thou
ind newspapers, and 1t had a
Icture in 1t and some typesetting,
nd most of the newspaper Offices
ad no means of making the desired
'rm, the advertiser would get some
'undry to cast thousand cuts and
lip them to a thousand newspapers
II service That might use I'D To-