A. A. Stewart

“ The increasing use of machines for book and periodical composition during the past few years is gradually eliminating the double cases which were necessary for large quantities of type when type was set solely by hand-work. Type cases in pairs are still generally used, however, and in many composing rooms they hold the chief working fonts of large as well as small sizes of type. A thorough familiarity with the box plans of the upper and lower cases should be the first acquirement of every apprentice. ”

“ Lines of type are easier handled by the aid of a composing rule. It is not practicable to set small types in the stick without some support or to set a second line immediately next to another without a lead or rule to separate them. The composing rule furnishes a smooth surface against which to place the types as they are assembled and to keep them in line while the respacing and justifying is done. The rule is also convenient for lifting lines out into the galley and for handling them in later operations. ”

“ Philadelphia
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PREFACE THERE is a prevalent notion that setting type by hand is not now as important a part of the printer’s vocation as it was years ago. Ingenious composing machines now perform so much of the work of putting into printable shape the literature of the world that it is often assumed the hand compositor’s occupation is fast disappearing and does not offer much inducement for an ambitious young man to follow seriously. ”

“ A short word divided by a hyphen at the end of a line should not be divided between two pages. A little respacing of the bottom line of one page and the top line of the next will usually overcome a division of this sort.
In book work, the first page of the preface, introduction, table of contents, and of each chapter should be sunk uniformly about one-sixth of the distance down from the top of a full-length page. This space may be varied in different books according to choice, but the sinkage should be the same throughout any one book. These pages are always on the first side of a leaf. ”

“ Special care should be taken to keep the feet of the type free from dirt or lumps of any kind. A good practice of many compositors, after tying up pages that are not too large to allow it, is to lift the page perpendicularly and hold it in the left hand while the bottom is brushed off with the right hand, and then to wipe off the surface of the press or imposing table before laying the page down.
In composing rooms where a great deal of job composition is done the time spent in tying up pages is considerable, and the work is often done carelessly. ”

“ With a supply of the regular spaces at hand it will be seen that for average work there is ample opportunity for careful spacing and proper justification. The trouble often comes, however, because of an insufficient supply of the thinner spaces. Unfortunately in many places these are not supplied in right quantities and the usual boxes for holding them are inadequate for a proper supply. Improper distribution of the thin spaces is also responsible for the lack of a proper supply, as well as for great loss of time in sorting and hunting during composition. ”

“ A line in which there is a change of the spaces or of the justification should be lifted into a composing stick of the right measure for correction. Any important change in a line of type should always be made in a stick, where accurate justification is most readily secured. First place the composing stick conveniently at hand, with its back toward the compositor. Insert the composing rule down at the top of the line in the galley, press both ends of the line together, and raise it up gently; when it is clear of the other lines turn it so that the rule is under, and then transfer to the stick. ”

“ The unit of measurement for types, leads, rules, and other small items used in composing a page is the point, approximately 1⁄72 of an inch, shown by the thickness of this mark:| The most used type bodies are those of 6-point and others graduated by one point up to 12-point.
The amount of type in a page is measured in ems of the size of type used. An em is a square of the body , and varies in size with each size of type. Thus, an 8-point em is 8 points deep and 8 points wide; a 12-point em is 12 points deep and 12 points wide. ”

“ Clean printing can not be done from dirty type. For this reason, as well as for greater ease and cleanliness in handling, it is important that type (which has to be used over and over again) should be washed as clean as possible after use. Ink should not be allowed [Page 68] to dry hard on a form, as it will if left over night or over an idle day. The type face should be cleaned after taking proofs. It should show a clean face while corrections are being made, and also when it goes to press or to the moulding room. ”

“ Leads and brass rules should not be so long that they bind tightly when they are placed in the measure. When this happens the type lines near them will rarely lock up tight without very great pressure in the chase.
The beginner at composition is not at first apt to realize the importance of careful justification. It is not till later when he must lock up the types for printing that he learns why they must be exactly upright to give the proper impression and carefully fitted together to hold solidly in the form. ”

“ Gothic— Type founders and printers in America use this word to name a type face of the simplest style, without serifs and with strokes of one thickness throughout Bibliographers and scholars name certain old style forms of black letter Gothic, as representing the true Gothic character. Our so-called gothics are made in many variations and are chiefly used for newspaper and job work, but are not acceptable for book work. Hair Line— Said of a very delicate face, as of a brass rule or the fine connecting strokes of a letter. Hair Space— A type space thinner than the 5-space. ”

“ An apparently equal spacing between all words in a line means that in some cases there must be a slight variation in the width of the actual spaces used. The size and shape of the letters at the ends of words will often affect the amount of white space, especially in the larger faces of type. ”

“ The drawing of plans of the different styles of cases in the room is not only a good way to learn the cases accurately but is also a good exercise in the use of pencil and type-measure; it is a simple problem in mechanical drawing which the young compositor should practice, in preparation for more advanced “layout” work which he may do later. ”

“ A proof planer is a block of wood about 8 inches long by 31⁄2 inches wide and 21⁄2 inches high, having its face covered with a piece of thick cloth or felt. A planer proof must be made while the type is on the imposing stone or some other solid surface. When ink has been rolled on the type a sheet of thin paper, slightly damp, is laid on the type and the planer is used for taking the impression. ”

“ Many careless compositors persist in correcting lines on the galley in a puttering, botchy manner which results in badly justified lines. The beginner is usually inclined to do the same thing because he has not yet learned to perform with ease and safety the trick of transferring lines back and forth from the galley to the stick. Instead of shirking this operation because it looks difficult, he should practice it until he can do it safely and quickly. A compositor who does not justify his lines properly is rated as a careless workman. ”

“ Study to avoid as much as possible all superfluous motions. Do not mistake nervous, fussy, trust-to-luck motions for speed; they are usually [Page 27] the reverse. Be deliberate and accurate, even if slow at the start. Learn first to do it right, then strive to do it quickly. Speed is important, but correctness is much more so.
Justifying the Lines
Each line of type must end with a completed word or a syllable. When the line is first set, however, it rarely happens that the types fill the line snugly without more or less changing of the spaces. ”

“ For such purposes hair spaces, copper-thins, and brass-thins are provided. The thickness of hair spaces varies according to the size of the type; the name is given generally to any cast space thinner than the 5-to-em. Copper spaces are 1⁄2-point in thickness and brass spaces are 1-point thick, the difference in the metal used being for easy distinction of the thicknesses. Copper and brass spaces, because of greater durability, are superior to cast metal hair spaces for hand composition.
When metal thin spaces are not at hand it may be necessary to resort to pieces of paper or thin card. ”

“ For very short measures, as in tabular column heads, 6-point quads should be used. A gage that will be more uniformly accurate is a line of 12-point letters (for short measures) or 24-point letters (for longer measures) from a font of foundry-cast [Page 23] type. These should be set in the stick with the nicks sideways, not in front as for composition. The body-size of cast type is the most accurate of any point-size material, and as 12-point and 24-point fonts are at hand in every composing room they furnish a convenient and reliable standard at all times. ”

“ The kind of type forms adapted for proving by this method are those with paragraphs of plain matter and strong faces which will not be easily battered. Those with large open spaces and small lines, and those with delicate lines like scripts and kerned italic letters, should not be proved with a planer if another method is available. Small groups of type standing alone, like page numbers and small imprints, require very careful treatment in proving, to avoid unnecessary impression which may batter the face or break off the kerns. ”

“ In good composition quotation marks should not be [Page 47] crowded close against the words which they enclose, unless the lines are close-spaced. Commas and apostrophes cast on very thin types usually need a little space between the quote-marks they form and the words they enclose, especially if they are next to tall letters. A large capital A or a sloping italic capital at the beginning may not need the separating space after the inverted commas, and a period or a comma between the last word and the final quote-mark will furnish the needed separation. ”

“ Sets of these rules can be purchased from supply houses or they may be made from a discarded strip of brass rule (2-point or 3-point) , by trimming one end so as to leave a nib 10 points long.
Composing rules are not used now as much as formerly, owing to the fact that hand composition is largely in the nature of job work. A compositor in a day sets a great variety of line-lengths, many of them in large types, and he dispenses with the composing rule as a needless tool, using instead the ready-at-hand leads and slugs needed for the page. ”

“ The manner of setting a stick may depend upon the kind of work to be done. For job work of a few lines only, where the lines are to be locked by themselves in a chase, the stick may be set by a bunch of leads of the required length. These are placed in the stick and the movable knee set up to them loosely, so that the leads do not bind at the ends. If the job is to be enclosed in a border or rule panel the stick should be adjusted accurately to ems of 12-point or 6-point.
Fig. 5
For ordinary measures a line of perfect 12-point quads will be a good gage. ”

“ When first placed on the galley the type is liable to be a little off its feet. Have a piece of good metal furniture 8 × 20 picas to place beside the lines, first at the bottom and then at the ends of the lines, and use this to square up the types on their feet.
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An untrained compositor is prone to use more thin spaces than are necessary, and he quickly finds that there are not enough in the case to meet his wants. He puts in extra thin spaces to fill out the line instead of changing the spaces already in for thicker ones. ”

“ Keep Up Style— To follow the prescribed rules of the shop or publication regarding spelling, abbreviations, headings, capitals, punctuation, etc. See Style. Kerned Letter— A type on which part of the face overhangs the body. Labor-saving— Said of leads, rules, furniture, and other material made in sizes based on a common multiple, usually the pica. They save labor because two or more may be combined to make larger sizes, instead of cutting new material for each particular work. Lay of the Case— The plan of the boxes for holding the different characters of a font. ”

“ Not all cases are laid exactly alike, even if they appear to be the same at first glance. Many fonts have peculiar characters, or there may be in the case types not ordinarily belonging to the [Page 14] font, which are kept in some spare boxes, or for some reason changes may be desirable in the positions of the regular characters. In this, as in other matters, a safe rule for the apprentice will be: When in doubt, ask somebody who knows. It will always be wiser to proceed carefully at first and know that one is right than to work along in an uncertain, helter-skelter fashion. ”

“ Behind the great volume of machine work, and absolutely essential for any effective use of machine product, there is greater need than ever before of the hand-work and head-work of trained compositors. ”

“ Select one that can be carried to the stick right side up with the fewest motions. While it is going to its place look for the next type and have the left thumb in the stick do its share of the team work. Fumbling for a type, picking it up and turning it over several times to find the nick before it can be put in the line is a habit that should be guarded against as a positive handicap. ”

“ Usually the knee should be set lightly against the gage when the thumbscrew is tightened. A good plan is to put a slip of paper at one end of the line of quads or letters (See A, Fig. 5) , and to push up the knee firmly. A line of many separate types will not fit together as solidly as a line of a few quads; to allow for a little compression in the line when it is locked up later the slight fullness is given in setting the stick. ”

“ For a book, periodical, or other work that is to be made up frequently from time to time there should be a durable steel or brass page gage, carefully marked for depth of running head, chapter sinkage, drop folio, or any other feature to be kept in uniform position. ”

“ In the point system there are five spaces within these limits, namely: 2, 21⁄2, 3, 4, and 5 points thick. The extra space and two intermediate widths between the 4-space and the en quad give many advantages in spacing for good composition; though as yet the use of these point-width spaces is not general in hand composition. The lack of proper boxes to keep them in the ordinary type cases is a serious drawback to their economical use.
The following table shows the widths of point spaces in six common sizes of type:
When type composition is to be used regularly for making moulds for electrotypes ”

“ In certain kinds of fine work there are some careful details which can be overlooked in ordinary work that must be done hurriedly and economically. Yet many desirable details of good workmanship may be followed without extra expenditure of time or material if the compositor and make-up hand understand how to do them properly in the first place. ”