Evening star., 1936-03-22

learn something about real efficiency
and speed
Nov, the plate that prints the bond
is under that roller which. as you'll
notice. is charged with finest ink. The
plate soon passes under wiper which
removes the surplus ink; however, a
peculiar adjustment or wiping pro-
cedure must be made by the operator
of the machine so that exactly the
right amount of ink is left in the
engraved line.
"As each plate comes hurtling
through the machine the operator
polishes the plate with a piece OF
ordinary whiting. His hands are COW
cred with a facing Of ink. Now his
movements, as you'll note, must be
amazingly quick, deft and precise. If
he bears down too hard or doesn't
wipe against the line, the result will
be a blurred line on the bonds.
THE operator Is allowed 3i2 cents
shortage a day. If he exceeds
this figure. he pays for his loss out
of his own pocket. But it's all fig
ured on q monthly basis. So If he
runs over his quota one day and then
makes up for it a bit later on he
can manage to break even without
much dificulty. Rarely, by the way,
does one of our printers have to shell
out q penny for mistakes made by
himself"
You note that each plate, as it
speeds through the machine, is
clamped very tightly onto a piece OF
sturdy steel Underneath the plate
is a very thin piece of cardboard. only
one six-thousandth Of an inch thick
Why is 1t used? Ollie explains:
Bear in mind that the plate print
er's duty is to get out of the engraved
picture just as much as the designer
and plate maker put in. Otherwise
he's failed. In order to understand
what's meant here, try this simple
test; run your finger across an en-
graved visiting card and Immediately
your sense of touch will tell you that
It's been raised, or, as the printers
term has it, given a cameo effect.
1.-THE thin piece Of cardboard we
use In printing the bonus bonds serves
the same purpose. What is most
desired by the bureau experts is a
sharp impression and not a forced
looking one"
After the bonds have been printed
they are placed overnight In "dry
boxes" where the temperature aver
ages between 140 and 180 degrees
Fahrenheit. In emergency cases the
bureau specialists actually could dry
as many as 100000 sheets Of bonus
bonds q day. For in the building
there are 265 separate units Tor de-
hydrating Federal securities. How
ever, under present conditions 1t has
been found necessary to utilize only
IS units for the bond work.
But why should the bonds be dried
at all? Explains one Of the workmen:
"As you've observed during your bu-
reau tour, the bonds are wet printed,
and contain about 8 per cent Of water.
AL Of this, Of course, must be re-
moved"
A peep into one Of the drying units
Is q revelation. It Is, as might well be
imagined, made Of heat-resistant metal
throughout, and contains a number Of
portable trucks or cars, composed oi
fine screened wire trays, upon which
the bonds are placed. Each truck Will
hold about 5000 sheets at maximum
After each car has been filled with
its allotted number Of bonds it II
pushed into its regular place against
the wall and closed in with q dool
made of insulated metal. Whereupor
the operator of the drying unit. sta
toned outside. simply presses buttor
and starts draft of air circulating
This shoots he kontally across ths
car, out Of numerous tiny holes bull