THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

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vise, and compares it carefully with the
first proof, marking such errors as es-
caped the compositor when making his
first corrections. In cases where great
accuracy and perfection are aimed at, a
third proof is taken, and sometimes,

is culled the platen. The form, having
the white sheet upon it, with the frisket
covering over the parts which would
otherwise come in contact with the ink
on the furniture, is forced under the
platen, and the impression is made by
means of the horizontal bar, as I have
before told you. After this, the crank is
turned in the opposite direction from the
one in which it moved before, the tympan
is lifted up, and. then the frisket, when
the sheet, printed on one side, is ready
to be removed.

But we must take care that the press-
man does not go on with his form yet;
for I should not wonder if there were at
least a hundred typographical errors in
it, some of. which, very likely, if they
were suffered to remain as they are,
would be ludicrous enough. Let us
glance at the proof-sheet, now, and see
how nearly right the compositor has ar-
vanged the types. The examination of
the proofs is a part of the business be-
longing to the proof-reader. He takes
the proof-sheet, and looks over it care-
fully, while a boy reads the copy aloud.
All the errors are marked on the mar-
gin of the proof. Sometimes, when he
is reading the proof of a slovenly and
careless compositor, he has a great ma-
ny marks to make. He finds a great
many wrong letters; some of the types
are bottom upward; some of the lines
are spaced unequally ; some words have
been left out, and some have been put in
twice. It takes a long time to correct
such a proof; though a careful compos-
itor gets along with this part of the
work without much trouble.

When the first proof is corrected,
there is another one taken, called the
revise. The proof-reader takes the re-

 

 

 

 

SL

though more rarely, a fourth. After
this, the form is supposed to be correct,
and the pressman takes it into his charge,
to work off, as he calls the business of
passing the sheets through the press.
The paper is slightly wet before it is
printed. It takes the impression from:
the types better than when dry. One
side of the paper being printed, the
pressman turns it, and goes through the
same process with the other side. Some-
times the same pages are printed on
both sides, care being taken, in placing
the sheet upon the tympan, after the
paper is turned, that the odd pages are
printed on the back of the even ones.
In this case, the sheet is cut after it is
printed, and sixteen pages appear on
éach separate half-sheet, which are fold -
ed by themselves. Sometimes, a aiffer-
ent form, containing sixteen additional
pages, is worked on the second side of
the sheet. In this case, the sheet may
be folded without cutting.

The ink which printers use is not a
liquid, like the ink used in writing. It
is almost as thick as tar. This ink is
placed on a smooth table, and a soft
roller is made to pass over it, until it
is thoroughly distributed on the roller.
You will stare, when I tell you what the
roller is made of. Its composition is nei-
ther more nor less than glue and mo-
lasses, united in certain proportions, so as
to form a substance somewhat like In-
dia-rubber, though softer, and having a
mneh more delicate surface. This roller