The Norwich Mercury, a paper published by Mr. Bacon, contains a prospectus of his newly invented machine, to which is added a notice respecting its merit as compared with that of Mr. König, erected at the Times printing office, from which statement the following is an extract :— "In Messrs. Bacon and Donkin's machine, there is no reciprocating motion. The types are placed on a prism of as many sides as the nature of the form requires. This prism occupies the centre of an upright frame, like the roller in a copperplate press; below this is a kind of compound-faced roller, suited to the form of the prism; through between these the sheets to be printed (attached to the face of a piece of cloth) are passed in succession, and in the meantime the revolution in the type prism brings its different portions in succession under a system of inking rollers placed over it, by which it receives successive charges of ink, to be delivered to the sheets as they pass in succession between the lower rollers."

Mr. Hansard, in his "Typographia," says, that "one machine would not answer for all kinds of work." And "the only one of these machines that was, I believe, ever made, rests in peace as not being found useful."

On the erection of the machines for printing the Times newspaper, Mr. Bensley being apprehensive that there would be impediments thrown in the way of their general introduction by the workmen, who had already shown symptoms of opposition, was desirous that I should see them at work, that he might have my opinion on the subject. I accordingly went with Mr. Joseph Bensley, his eldest son, to look at them, and view their manner of working, and on my return, Mr. Bensley was anxious to see me, that he might have my report. I told him that truly they surpassed any thing I had imagined, and did the work so well, and so expeditiously, that I did not believe any opposition on the part of the workmen could prevent their coming into use. This opinion was gratifying to him: but I also told him that I foresaw another thing that might probably take place, which would have an equally injurious effect with respect to him. With considerable anxiety he asked to what I alluded; I told him that I thought some man of abilities would step in and simplify them, for they appeared to me complex in their construction. He treated this suggestion with indifference, as a thing that could never happen, and expressed himself perfectly satisfied that no person would ever make the attempt. My prognostication, however, was fulfilled; for immediately after, Mr. Edward Cowper, of the firm of Applegath and Cowper, printers, proved not only its possibility, but its practicability, by sweeping away at once wheels, &c. which had cost, as I was credibly informed at the time, at least 1500l. in the course of their experiments; and thus made the machine more simple, and less liable to be out of order, while he at the same time improved it greatly in its facility of working, and in the quality of the work it produced. Mr. Cowper took out a patent for his improvement; and, as I was told, in consideration of the expense that Mr. Bensley had been at in the pursuit, which amounted to at least 16,000l., offered him, as an act of justice, a share of the patent, which was accepted. The machine erected for "The Times cost the proprietor of that newspaper 3,000l. Messrs. Applegath and Cowper then commenced manufacturing these machines, which met with general approval; they also much improved the inking apparatus. After the dissolution of their partnership, Mr. Cowper established a manufactory for them at Manchester, in conjunction with his brother, he himself continuing to reside in London.

39

In the year 1824 a new mode of machine printing was introduced, that of printing with two colours simultaneously in the same impression. This arose out of the Commission appointed by Government to inquire into the best means of preventing the Forgery of Bank Notes. A pamphlet was

published by Sir William Congreve, describing the process as inimitable, except by their machine, for which they had a patent, so that no one else could possibly produce a facsimile. A design was made, generally composed of a great number of lines in a flourishing style, and, when engraved on two pieces of metal, these lines were printed with two colours, one part sinking below the other after each impression, and, there being two sets of inking rollers, each part was inked at the same time, when the lower part rose again to a level with the other, so that one part of these complicated lines should be black, and the continuation of them should be blue or red, or any other colour that might be thought proper, and any device that might be included in the design should also be in two colours, such, for instance, as the King's arms, and the register should be exact, so that each line should uniformly be perfectly continuous, notwithstanding the change of colour. Government adopted the plan for printing a new stamp on the backs of country bank notes, and also for the Excise Stamps for paper. So far, however, from being inimitable, I have no hesitation in saying, that there never was a plan suggested that was more easy of imitation, even with the common press, and by the customary workmen. The machines were made by Messrs. Donkin and Co.

A single machine, that is, a machine which prints one side of the paper only, may be estimated to produce upon the average one thousand impressions in an hour; and were I to attempt to describe the one by which the Times newspaper is now printed, I should state that it is the mechanism of four single machines combined in one frame, all being worked simultaneously by steam as the motive power: thus there are four places at which to feed it with paper, four printing cylinders, and four places at which the sheets are delivered when printed, so that the actual speed of each part of the machine is rather more than one thousand an hour. This ingenious and skilful combination is the production of Mr. Augustus Applegath.

I have seen it stated by the proprietor of a machine, that it would print at the rate of two thousand impressions in an hour: I have known another assert that his perfecting machine would print one thousand five hundred in the same time. This is a fallacy, which produces disappointment and dissatisfaction. I have had occasion in the course of business to satisfy myself as to their real capability, by attending and carefully observing them at work, and have thus ascertained that a single machine cannot be depended on for more than one thousand in the hour, nor a perfecting machine for more than seven hundred and fifty. I am well aware that both may be driven with greater speed for a short time, but in the case of newspapers and periodical publications, where punctuality is indispensably requisite, I would never calculate upon greater expedition.

With respect to the comparative merits of the cylindrical method of printing and those of the press, the manufacturers of machines as well as most master printers, not content with the real superiority of properties which the machine does certainly possess, attribute to it properties which it does not possess, and which are incompatible with it, namely, those of producing the finest work, and printing the finest impressions from highly finished engravings on wood at the rate of eight hundred or one thousand per hour; even an engraver on wood has fallen into this error, and has produced a work with numerous beautiful illustrations, in which the writer of the book has boldly defended this erroneous opinion, but the engraver himself has cautiously avoided the risk of, and shrunk

H H

from, the comparison, and has had the book printed at the press. The Penny Magazine has trumpeted the same fallacy; and yet the spirited Publisher has all his splendid works, with their beautiful illustrations, printed also at the press: thus tacitly acknowledging its superiority, and denying the opinions which he is the means of publishing to the world.

In producing the finest workmanship in printing, it is essentially requisite to use the best ink: this is ink made with strong varnish, which binds the colouring matter, and, when dry, prevents its smearing on being handled or setting-off in the process of binding; the colouring matters are selected with care from among those of the best quality; the whole is ground to a state of impalpability; the strength of the varnish causes the ink to require a great deal of distributing on the balls, which I prefer to rollers for the best work,- See BALLS,-in order to diffuse it equally on their surface; the form should be well and carefully beat, so as to coat the face of the types, &c. completely and uniformly with ink, without any superfluity; the pressure should be slow and gradual, what is termed a soaking pull, not quick and abrupt, and when the bar of the press is brought home, the workman should rest there a short time, in order to transfer the ink completely from the types, &c. to the paper, and fix it firmly on its surface. These precautions and care are necessary to produce the finest work in printing; and in every instance, in whatever art or manufacture the article may be, good workmanship and high finish will be found to require more time for their production than in an inferior article.

From the rapidity with which impressions are produced by the cylindrical method of printing, it must be apparent that it is not capable of executing work of a superior kind, as the ink must be weak to enable the light rollers to distribute it as expeditiously as it is required; the ink too must be prepared with a soft varnish to enable it to do so, which deprives it of the valuable property of drying, as well as of binding the colouring matter so as not to smear; this weak ink also incurs the risk of allowing the oil in the varnish to separate from the colouring matter, and thus spread in the paper and discolour it. Another imperfection is, that there is not time to ink the face of the type, &c. properly, which is thus obliged to be done in an imperfect manner with an inferior ink; and in taking the impression, again for lack of time, there is not pressure sufficient to fix the ink firmly to the paper.

As overlays cannot be used in cylindrical printing, the engravers on wood, when producing a subject which is to be printed at a machine, hollow out on the surface of the block the parts that are to appear light, as well as round off the edges that are to be printed lightly, and engrave on those lowered parts, so that the surface is not a perfect plane; and this is to answer the purpose of overlays, thus in practice allowing that of which they deny the necessity and which they ridicule in theory unequal pressure to produce the desired effect; but the object is not gained by this method, for, to obtain an impression from those lowered parts, thick woollen cloth, called a blanket, is used, which, owing to its elasticity, is pressed into the hollows as well as between the lines of the depths; so that an impression is produced, in which the lights are composed of crude lines, and the depths are muddy, and which show more than the engraved line, and thus the wood-cut does not possess that delicacy in the light parts, nor that firmness in the dark, which are produced by good workmen at the press, and which give to the whole a brilliant effect.

The hollowing of the block on its surface requires great care and

judgment, not only in ascertaining the precise situation and bounds, but also the precise depth to which it ought to be lowered; for if a thick blanket be used, the light parts will be produced stronger and heavier than is required, and if a thin one be used, they will either not appear, or, if they do, will be rotten, or else chalky; and some small parts in the depths will always require to be of a full firm colour, which a thick blanket and weak inferior ink will never produce. See ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. FINE PRESSWORK.

The advantages that cylindrical printing possesses are of great importance in the art, and not less so with respect to the public. Its power of printing larger sheets of paper than was ever before contemplated, has enabled the proprietors of newspapers to enlarge them to a previously unparalleled extent. The rapidity with which impressions are multiplied is also an advantage of great consequence, as in the case of morning newspapers, instead of going to press on the evening preceding the publication, they can now wait until five o'clock in the morning, and even later, when if a despatch or an express arrives with any important news, it is in the hands of the public at the usual hour of publication; neither is this rapidity of less advantage to periodical publications, more particularly to those of which a large number is printed, for example, the Evangelical Magazine, and the Methodists Magazine, of each of which there were printed about 24,000 copies. When these were done at press, it was necessary to put the last sheets to press ten days before the publication, whereas now they can delay them till the third day, and yet be punctual in publishing at the regular time. They thus avail themselves of any later intelligence that may arrive, and give it publicity a month earlier than before the invention of cylindrical printing.

Another advantage in machine printing is, the regularity and uniformity of colour through any number of impressions, as it can be regulated with the greatest nicety to any shade; in this instance it is superior to the press for the production of common work, in the uniformity of colour, but only superior to common work in its rivalry with the

press.

MACULE. If the joints of the tympan, or the head, or the nut of the spindle, be loose, or any accident happen in pulling, so that the impression be somewhat doubled, and not clear, it is said to be maculed. Cards under the winter, to produce a spring, have often been the cause of maculing the sides of the tympan or the ear of the frisket touching the cheeks will also produce the same effect. See DOUBLE. SLURRING. MAGAZINES. See NEWSPAPER POSTAGE.

MAKE. In casting off copy, they say it will make so much; as, it will make a sheet, two sheets, &c.

MAKE A MEASURE. See JUSTIFY A STICK.

MAKING READY. This term implies the process of laying the form on the press - fixing it in its place - placing the tympan sheet on the tympan placing the points to make register, when both sides of the paper are to be printed-making register-preparing the frisket and producing an equal impression from all the pages, and from every part of each page.

When an engraving on wood is printed, it also denotes the overlaying it, so as to produce an impression, which shall possess all the effect that the subject may require.

In common work, where despatch is required, thick blankets are used in the tympans; and when the types are much worn they are also necessary, to bring up the rounded face of the letter. It is too common in