The American Printer: A Manual of Typography: Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.MacKellar, Thomas
History
The American Printer: A Manual of Typography: Containing practical directions for managing all departments of a printing office, as well as complete instructions for apprentices; with several useful tables, numerous schemes for imposing forms in every variety, hints to authors, etc.
MacKellar, Thomas
Graphic design (Typography); Printing -- United States -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.; Printing industry -- United States
If the plate is to be produced by the _swelled gelatine_ process, the
negative is varnished and sent to the gelatine room. Here the gelatine is
dissolved and the sensitized solution of bichromate of potash is added,
and it is flowed on plate glass, then placed in a drying box, where a
current of air is continually passed over it. When the gelatine is dry it
is placed in a printing frame, in close contact with the negative, and
exposed to the light. On removing the negative the picture is plainly
seen on the gelatine, the action of the light having changed the color
of the exposed portions of the gelatine, besides rendering those parts
insoluble, while the parts protected from the action of the light, by the
opacity of the negative, remain soluble, and are swelled up by immersion
in cold water. The gelatine is then an exact opposite of the plate, the
_whites_ being represented by the raised portions. From this mould, or
relief, a cast is made in a preparation of wax or plaster, when it is
ready for the stereotyper.
For the _wash-out_ or photo-electrotype process, the negative, when dry,
is not varnished, but is first coated with a rubber solution and then
with plain collodion, after which it is immersed in a dish of acetic
acid for about five minutes, when it is stripped from the glass and
turned over. It is then what is termed a reversed negative. The method
of preparing the gelatine is very much the same as for the _swelled_
process, with the exception that it is _cooked_ for about forty-eight
hours, and with the addition of several preparations which are introduced
at the time of sensitizing, to make it easily washed out. The negative is
exposed in the same manner as described before, but the time of exposure
is generally less. After being taken from the printing frame the gelatine
is gently scrubbed with a line brush, and kept in tepid water until a
very slight relief is obtained. It is then immersed in alcohol for a few
seconds, and dried with a cloth, when it is covered with a preparation
of lamp black and glycerine, which is allowed to remain about five
minutes, when the surface of the plate is carefully rubbed with clean
muslin, exposing the surface of the lines,—all this being done in a dark
room before an orange light, which is non-actinic. The gelatine is now
placed in a frame and exposed to the light from five to twenty minutes,
the lampblack protecting the spaces between the lines from the action of
the light, so that those portions remain soluble. The gelatine is again
scrubbed until the proper relief is obtained, after which it is allowed
to dry for about twelve hours, when it becomes hard and is ready to be
electrotyped.
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