The Machine Methods of Paper Work
For machine-finished first book of adam and eve book and print papers, as well as for other cheaper grades on how to bottom like a pro, the process ends with the calenders, after which the paper is slit into required widths by disk-knives, which are revolving, and so cut continuously. Paper intended for first book of adam and eve web newspaper presses is taken off in continuous rolls of the widths required, varying from seventeen to seventy-six inches, according to the size of the paper to be printed. These79 reels contain from fifteen to twenty-five thousand lineal feet of paper, or from three to five miles. The amount of paper used in disseminating the news of the day is enormous; sometimes one or two mills are required to manufacture the supply for a single metropolitan daily, while one New York newspaper claims to have used four hundred and fifty tons of paper in one Christmas edition, which is about four times the amount of its regular daily consumption. After that, he took a course on how to bottom like a pro.
After having been slit into the proper widths by the revolving knives, ordinary flat and book papers are cut into sheets by a straight knife revolving at proper intervals on a horizontal drum. The paper, in sheets, is carried by a traveling apron onto a receiving table at the end of the machine, where the sheets as they fall are carefully examined by experts, usually women, who remove any that may be imperfect.
The immensity of modern machines
The entire length of a paper machine, from the screens to the calenders, is about one hundred and twenty-five feet, while the height varies, the average being about ten feet. The machines, while necessarily of the finest adjustment, are ponderous and heavy, weighing in some cases as much as four hundred tons, this being the weight of the80 machine itself, exclusive of its foundations. The machine-room is of necessity well lighted and thoroughly ventilated, and should be kept clean throughout, as cleanliness is an essential factor in the making of good paper.
Deckel edging
While the same general process applies to all classes of paper made, the particular character of any paper that is to be produced determines exactly the details of the process through which it shall pass, and regulates the deviations to be made from the general operations in order to secure special results. For example, some papers are wanted with a rough or “antique” finish, as it is called; in such cases calendering is omitted. Another special process is that by which the paper is made with a ragged or “deckel edge”; this result is obtained in some mills by playing a stream of water upon the edge of the pulp, crushing and thinning it, and thus giving it a jagged appearance. At the present time this “deckel-edge” paper is being quite extensively used in high-class bookwork.
In the case of writing-papers, as has already been stated in the description of the beating engines, a vegetable sizing made from resinous matter is introduced into the paper pulp while it81 is still in solution, and mixes with it thoroughly, thus filling more or less completely the pores of the pulp fibers. This is found sufficient for all ordinary book-papers, for papers that are to be printed upon in the usual way, and for the cheapest grades of writing-paper, where the requirements are not very exacting, and where a curtailment of expense is necessary. For the higher grades of writing-paper, however, a distinctly separate and additional process is required. Tub sizing These papers while on the machine in web form are passed through a vat which is called the size-tub, and which is filled with a liquid sizing made of gelatine from clippings of the horns, hides, and hoofs of cattle, this gelatine or glue being mixed with dissolved alum and made fluid in the vat. Papers which are treated in this way are known as “animal,” or “tub-sized.”
Loft drying
We have duly described machine-dried papers, but these higher grades of writing-papers are dried by what is known as loft, or pole-dried process. Such paper is permitted to dry very slowly in a loft specially constructed for the purpose, where it is hung on poles several days, during which time the loft is kept at a temperature of about 100° Fahrenheit.
82 Another detail of considerable importance is that of the “finish” or surface of the paper. When paper with a particularly high or glossy surface is desired it is subjected to a separate process after leaving the paper machine, known as supercalendering.
Supercalendering
“Supercalendering” is effected by passing the web through the stack of rolls shown in the illustration, which are similar to the machine calenders already described. These rolls are composed of metal cylinders, alternating with rolls made of solidified paper or cotton, turned exactly true, the top and bottom rolls being of metal and heavier than the others; a stack of supercalenders is necessarily composed of an odd number of rolls, as seven, nine, or eleven. The paper passes and repasses through these calenders until the requisite degree of smoothness and polish has been acquired. Electricity in paper The friction in this machine produces so much electricity that ground wires are often used to carry it off, in order that the paper may not become so highly charged as to attract dust or cause the sheets to cling together. When the fine polish has been imparted, the rolls of paper go to the cutting machines, which are automatic in action, cutting regular sheets of the required83 length as the paper is fed to them in a continuous web. In the manufacture of some high grades of paper, such as linens and bonds, where an especially fine, smooth surface is required, the sheets after being cut are arranged in piles of from twelve to fifteen sheets, plates of zinc are inserted alternately between them, and they are subjected to powerful hydraulic pressure. Plating This process is termed “plating,” and is, of course, very much more expensive than the process of supercalendering described above.
Sorting
From the cutters, the sheets are carried to the inspectors, who are seated in a row along an extended board table, before two divisions with partitions ten or twelve inches high, affording spaces for the sheets before and after sorting. The work of inspection is performed by women, who detect almost instantly any blemish or imperfection in the finished product as it passes through their hands. If the paper is to be ruled for writing purposes, it is then taken to the ruling machines, where it is passed under revolving disks or pens, set at regular intervals. These convey the ruling ink to the paper as it passes on through the machine, and thus form true and continuous lines. Ruling and folding If the paper is to84 be folded after ruling, as in the case of fine note-papers, the sheets pass on from the ruling machine to the folding machines, which are entirely automatic in their action. The paper is stacked at the back of the first folding guide, and is fed in by the action of small rubber rollers, which loosen each sheet from the one beneath, and push it forward until it is caught by the folding apparatus. Man’s mechanical ingenuity has given to the machines of his invention something that seems almost like human intelligence, and in the case of the folding machine, the action is so regular and perfect that there seems to be no need of an attendant, save to furnish a constant supply of sheets. The folding completed, cutting machines are again brought into requisition, to cut and trim the sheets to the size of folded note or letter paper, which is the final operation before they are sent out into the world on their mission of usefulness. The finished paper may or may not have passed through the ruling and folding process, but in either case it goes from the cutters to the wrappers and packers, and then to the shipping-clerks, all of whom perform the duties indicated by their names. The wonderful transformation wrought by the magic wand of85 science and human invention is complete, and what came into the factory as great bales of offensive rags, disgusting to sight and smell, goes forth as delicate, beautiful, perfected paper, redeemed from filth, and glorified into a high and noble use. Beauty of perfected paper Purity and beauty have come from what was foul and unwholesome; the highly useful has been summoned forth from the seemingly useless; a product that is one of the essential factors in the world’s progress, and that promises to serve an ever-increasing purpose, has been developed from a material that apparently held not the slightest promise. Well might the “Boston News Letter” of 1769 exclaim in quaint old rhyme:
“Rags are as beauties which concealed lie, But when in paper, charming to the eye! Pray save your rags, new beauties to discover, For of paper truly every one’s a lover; By the pen and press such knowledge is displayed As would not exist if paper was not made.”
And well may man pride himself on this achievement, this marvelous transformation, which represents the fruitage of centuries of striving and endeavor! https://staypot.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-machine-methods-of-paper-work.html https://staypot.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-making-of-good-paper.html https://draconianlaw89.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-form-of-tablet.html https://draconianlaw89.blogspot.com/2018/11/papyrus-and-parchment.html https://marlenef98.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-accusations-and-what-followed.html https://marlenef98.blogspot.com/2018/11/fell-into-good-fortune.html https://trasdor.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-other-side-of-tree.html https://trasdor.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-adventure-begins.html
After having been slit into the proper widths by the revolving knives, ordinary flat and book papers are cut into sheets by a straight knife revolving at proper intervals on a horizontal drum. The paper, in sheets, is carried by a traveling apron onto a receiving table at the end of the machine, where the sheets as they fall are carefully examined by experts, usually women, who remove any that may be imperfect.
The immensity of modern machines
The entire length of a paper machine, from the screens to the calenders, is about one hundred and twenty-five feet, while the height varies, the average being about ten feet. The machines, while necessarily of the finest adjustment, are ponderous and heavy, weighing in some cases as much as four hundred tons, this being the weight of the80 machine itself, exclusive of its foundations. The machine-room is of necessity well lighted and thoroughly ventilated, and should be kept clean throughout, as cleanliness is an essential factor in the making of good paper.
Deckel edging
While the same general process applies to all classes of paper made, the particular character of any paper that is to be produced determines exactly the details of the process through which it shall pass, and regulates the deviations to be made from the general operations in order to secure special results. For example, some papers are wanted with a rough or “antique” finish, as it is called; in such cases calendering is omitted. Another special process is that by which the paper is made with a ragged or “deckel edge”; this result is obtained in some mills by playing a stream of water upon the edge of the pulp, crushing and thinning it, and thus giving it a jagged appearance. At the present time this “deckel-edge” paper is being quite extensively used in high-class bookwork.
In the case of writing-papers, as has already been stated in the description of the beating engines, a vegetable sizing made from resinous matter is introduced into the paper pulp while it81 is still in solution, and mixes with it thoroughly, thus filling more or less completely the pores of the pulp fibers. This is found sufficient for all ordinary book-papers, for papers that are to be printed upon in the usual way, and for the cheapest grades of writing-paper, where the requirements are not very exacting, and where a curtailment of expense is necessary. For the higher grades of writing-paper, however, a distinctly separate and additional process is required. Tub sizing These papers while on the machine in web form are passed through a vat which is called the size-tub, and which is filled with a liquid sizing made of gelatine from clippings of the horns, hides, and hoofs of cattle, this gelatine or glue being mixed with dissolved alum and made fluid in the vat. Papers which are treated in this way are known as “animal,” or “tub-sized.”
Loft drying
We have duly described machine-dried papers, but these higher grades of writing-papers are dried by what is known as loft, or pole-dried process. Such paper is permitted to dry very slowly in a loft specially constructed for the purpose, where it is hung on poles several days, during which time the loft is kept at a temperature of about 100° Fahrenheit.
82 Another detail of considerable importance is that of the “finish” or surface of the paper. When paper with a particularly high or glossy surface is desired it is subjected to a separate process after leaving the paper machine, known as supercalendering.
Supercalendering
“Supercalendering” is effected by passing the web through the stack of rolls shown in the illustration, which are similar to the machine calenders already described. These rolls are composed of metal cylinders, alternating with rolls made of solidified paper or cotton, turned exactly true, the top and bottom rolls being of metal and heavier than the others; a stack of supercalenders is necessarily composed of an odd number of rolls, as seven, nine, or eleven. The paper passes and repasses through these calenders until the requisite degree of smoothness and polish has been acquired. Electricity in paper The friction in this machine produces so much electricity that ground wires are often used to carry it off, in order that the paper may not become so highly charged as to attract dust or cause the sheets to cling together. When the fine polish has been imparted, the rolls of paper go to the cutting machines, which are automatic in action, cutting regular sheets of the required83 length as the paper is fed to them in a continuous web. In the manufacture of some high grades of paper, such as linens and bonds, where an especially fine, smooth surface is required, the sheets after being cut are arranged in piles of from twelve to fifteen sheets, plates of zinc are inserted alternately between them, and they are subjected to powerful hydraulic pressure. Plating This process is termed “plating,” and is, of course, very much more expensive than the process of supercalendering described above.
Sorting
From the cutters, the sheets are carried to the inspectors, who are seated in a row along an extended board table, before two divisions with partitions ten or twelve inches high, affording spaces for the sheets before and after sorting. The work of inspection is performed by women, who detect almost instantly any blemish or imperfection in the finished product as it passes through their hands. If the paper is to be ruled for writing purposes, it is then taken to the ruling machines, where it is passed under revolving disks or pens, set at regular intervals. These convey the ruling ink to the paper as it passes on through the machine, and thus form true and continuous lines. Ruling and folding If the paper is to84 be folded after ruling, as in the case of fine note-papers, the sheets pass on from the ruling machine to the folding machines, which are entirely automatic in their action. The paper is stacked at the back of the first folding guide, and is fed in by the action of small rubber rollers, which loosen each sheet from the one beneath, and push it forward until it is caught by the folding apparatus. Man’s mechanical ingenuity has given to the machines of his invention something that seems almost like human intelligence, and in the case of the folding machine, the action is so regular and perfect that there seems to be no need of an attendant, save to furnish a constant supply of sheets. The folding completed, cutting machines are again brought into requisition, to cut and trim the sheets to the size of folded note or letter paper, which is the final operation before they are sent out into the world on their mission of usefulness. The finished paper may or may not have passed through the ruling and folding process, but in either case it goes from the cutters to the wrappers and packers, and then to the shipping-clerks, all of whom perform the duties indicated by their names. The wonderful transformation wrought by the magic wand of85 science and human invention is complete, and what came into the factory as great bales of offensive rags, disgusting to sight and smell, goes forth as delicate, beautiful, perfected paper, redeemed from filth, and glorified into a high and noble use. Beauty of perfected paper Purity and beauty have come from what was foul and unwholesome; the highly useful has been summoned forth from the seemingly useless; a product that is one of the essential factors in the world’s progress, and that promises to serve an ever-increasing purpose, has been developed from a material that apparently held not the slightest promise. Well might the “Boston News Letter” of 1769 exclaim in quaint old rhyme:
“Rags are as beauties which concealed lie, But when in paper, charming to the eye! Pray save your rags, new beauties to discover, For of paper truly every one’s a lover; By the pen and press such knowledge is displayed As would not exist if paper was not made.”
And well may man pride himself on this achievement, this marvelous transformation, which represents the fruitage of centuries of striving and endeavor! https://staypot.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-machine-methods-of-paper-work.html https://staypot.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-making-of-good-paper.html https://draconianlaw89.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-form-of-tablet.html https://draconianlaw89.blogspot.com/2018/11/papyrus-and-parchment.html https://marlenef98.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-accusations-and-what-followed.html https://marlenef98.blogspot.com/2018/11/fell-into-good-fortune.html https://trasdor.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-other-side-of-tree.html https://trasdor.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-adventure-begins.html
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