_The Impression._—A diversity of opinion exists among good printers as to the proper force of the impression: by some a heavy and solid indentation of the paper is considered necessary; while others insist that an impression which does not indent the paper is preferable. But the indentation of the paper is no test of the force of the impression. A light impression against a woollen blanket will show more forcibly than a strong impression against a paper or a pasteboard tympan. Type is worn out not so much by the _direct_ impression of the platen or cylinder on the flat face of a form, as by a grinding or rounding impression on the edges of the type, caused by the forcing of the tympan between the lines and around the corners of every letter. Every fount of worn-out type, whether from cylinder or platen press, has suffered less from a reduction in height than from a rounding of the edges. When the type is new and the tympan hard and smooth, the impression can be made so flat that the type will not round at the edges, and the impression will not show on the paper. But this cannot be done with old type or with a soft tympan: the impression must be regulated to suit the tympan. On fine work, a rounding impression should be avoided, as it not only destroys type, but also thickens the hair-line and wears off the ceriphs. It is not sufficient that the paper should barely meet the type: there must be sufficient force in the impression to transfer the ink from type to paper. If there is not sufficient impression, it will be necessary to carry much ink on the rollers; and this produces two evils: the type is clogged with ink, and the form becomes foul; too much ink is transferred to the paper, which smears and sets off for want of force sufficient to impress it in the paper. Distinction must be made between a _light_ and _weak_ impression and a _firm_ and _even_ impression. The latter should be secured even if the paper is indented; though that is not always necessary. But a form of old type, a poster, or other solid form, must have a _heavy_ impression, or else a very tedious and careful making-ready. _To set New Tapes._—Pass the tape around and close to the cylinder. Lap it over one of the tape pulleys, and then pass it around the small guide pulley on the shaft above. To increase its tightness, throw up the guide pulley from the shaft, and set the binding screw more tightly. All these pulleys are movable on their shafts, and distance between them may be altered at pleasure. Let the tapes rest upon the outer margin of the sheet, and see that the overlays on the tympan over which the tapes pass are of equal thickness; if not of equal thickness, the sheet will wrinkle.