Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-08

carries the stacks to tying ma.
chimes near the east wall Of
the room.
After they are tied with
wire. the stacks are showed
mechanically on a third con-
veyor-traveling at a 9O-degree
angle to the tiers. This con-
veyor, in turn. carries the stacks
to IS spiral chutes. which route
them directly to the waiting
trucks below.
Console" for Loading
The last word in automation,
however. is a large console"
from which q mailroom OPP
orator can direct the precise
number of bundles to be deliv-
cred into each chute. Through
a special communication sys-
TEN. the operator knows when
each truck Is in loading posi-
ton at the bottom of each
chute. and the precise number
of papers each truck needs tor
its route.
BY pushing keys on the
Console" the operator mott
Yates defiectors on the con-
veyor. which automatically di-
verts the required number Of
bundles to the proper chutes.
To avoid traffic jams" be-
tween stacks of papers on the
conveyors. electronic controls
hold stacks back If a collision is
imminent.
A large part Of this auto
matte process was used in ham
ding today'S editions Of The
Star. Part Of the equipment,
however. will be installed dur
ing the next several weeks.
Attenuation does not stop at
the mailroom level. AS each
truck is backed into its loading
position in the first-floor area,
the driver pulls a telescope
roller conveyor z feet into his
truck. AS papers come down
the chuteS. they automatically
move into the trucks-where
they will be touched for the
first time since coming of the
presses.
One-Way Traffic
To avoid congestion, truck
movement within the building
is strictly a one-way operation.
Empty trucks enter on a ramp
from Second street near the I
street corner of the building.
Making a left turn at the top
Of the ramp, they load up. and
leave the building through a
large exit to Virginia avenue,
turning either right or left to
head for their distribution
points.
The rail spur also enters The
Star building at grade from
Second street. between the truck
ramp and the south wall along
I street.
From freight cars on the
spur. power-driven conveyorS
carry some of the big paper
rolls to a huge basement stor-
Iage area. and some directly 10
the presses. ready for use. Ink
for the presses is piped from
three 1000 gallon storage tanks.
The final major departments
on the mechanical side" Of
the building - the composing
room and stereotype depart
ment-occupy a fourth floor
area 315 feet long by ITO feet
wide, almost precisely the size
of a football field.
The Stars linotype machines
were moved from the old plant
to the new composing room
last night, and still are being
installed today. Heavy equip
ment already is in place at the
north end of the room for
stereotyping - the newspaper
production process which con-
verts the pages of type set by
printers to curved metal plates
which fit on the cylinders of
the presses! Included are sew
eral of the latest-type machines
for handling the delicate color
reproduction work.
Printing Plates Dropped
! One Of the unusual opera
lions of the building is a means
of sending the page plates from
The fourth floor stereotype area
to the basement preSsroom. The
heavy metal plates will be
dropped down chutes. At the
bottom, a cushion of COM
pressed air will break the fall,
and shove the plates on con-
veyors leading directly to the
press units
At the south end Of the big
composing room, an area is set
aside for photo-composition---
a technique Of Photographic