Evening star., 1934-05-13
Each of Three Presses Can Print, Fold,
Cut and Count 1000 32-Page Papers
Per Minute-First Plant of 80
Years Ago Recalled.

the other side when 1t passes through
the second couple.
The printing cylinders are large
enough to carry eight stereotype
plates, four on each side. The plates
are cast in semi-cylinders that may
be clamped tightly around the 1000
pound, l5-inch diameter solid steel
cylinders Thus, with each revolution
of a plate cylinder, eight full size
pages of The Star are printed and
eacn unit produces 16 pages per revo-
luton.
The heavy cylinders are machined
to an exact dynamic balance and they
revoive in precision roller bearings of
special durability.
Knife Slices Ink.
The linking is an interesting oper-
alton Attached to each pair of print
ing cylinders is trough of ink, in
which a roller slowly revolves. A
flexible knife blade, set close to the
roller. slices" off the surplus ink
so that just the degree of linking
required for even printing is left on
the roller The trough roller con-
facts a 'ductor" roller which trans
fers the ink film to one of a pair
of vibrating steel Notwithstanding
cylinders. where, at the same time,
other rollers smooth out the ink film
and still others transfer this film at
full press speed to the surfaces Of
the printing plates. The linking roll
ers, made of rubber instead Of the
usual composition, which prevailed
until few years ago. are designed
for high-speed work The oldfash-
ioned composition rollers would melt
at velocities such as those to which
the rubber ones are subjected.
When the double-printed web Of
paper emerges from one of the print
ing units, it passes through the folder
mechanism. The former crease and
fold the strips Of paper lengthwise to
form the page width of the news
paper, md then pass the folded strip
10 the cutting cylinder, where it is
cut into page lengths with saw-tooth
knives The folding rollers thereupon
crease the papers across the middle of
each page length.
At this stage the big press shows
that it has mathematical mind.
Counting accurately the fast-moving
stream of folded papers as they come
from the folders and cutters. the ma
chine takes a tug at every twenty
fifth or f1ftieth paper-the lots vary
ing at the discretion of the press
operator-so that this paper protrudes
from the others. 1t is easy. then. for
the circulation employees to pick up
the papers in counted lots. The pa
pers flow between flexible belts of a
conveyor that reaches from the press
to the floor above.
Rolls Fed to Press
The manner in which the rolls of
paper are fed to the presses deserves
special comment. The big rolls-36
inches in diameter and weighing
! about three-fourths of a ton, are
mounted on reelS-three rolls to each
reel. One of the most important
factors in good printing is keeping
the paper web at just the right ten
sion as it enters the printing units.
If the paper unrolls too fast, the
printing is blurred. and if the paper
does not unreel fast enough. the web
will tear and jam the press.
The new Scott presses eliminate
entirely the time-honored custom of
stationing tension operators" to con-
troll the flow of paper with manually
operated brakes. Now everything is
automatic, being controlled by a
patented device known as the Jones
automatic tension governor. This in
vention consists of a polished steel
floating" roller riding in loop of
the imprinted paper. close to the
point where the web enters the print
ing unit. The weight of this roller
is adjustable, so that the correct
weight to provide the proper tension
on the web may be regulated. The
floating roller Is connected directly
to a brake on the paper roll If
are released proportionately and the
paper speeds up. If the roller drops,
due to leSsening of the tension on
the web. the brakes take hold slight
ly to bring the tension back to prop
er degree.
Wnen Paper breaks.
So accurately has this tension gov
ernor been adjusted that the presses
may be slowed up, accelerated,
stopped or started without losing con-
troll of the tension on the webs. If
the paper should break, the roller
drops Immediately and locks the
brakes on the roll of paper, to pre-
vent unwinding.
A "believe-it- or mot" feature of the
powerful drive for the new presses
is the use of cotton gearing. These
gears are constructed under patents
of the General Electric Co. Used in
the printing units, they mesh with
carbon machine gear steel. For the
main driving mechanism, however,
gears of manganese steel meshing
with phosphor bronze gears are en-
ployed. All these gears run in a bath
of oil, Theoretically sealed in special
steel housings
The ease and simplicity with which
the great machines are controlled by
press buttons are astounding to nom
technical observers. The starting, the