The contrivance for pressing most generally used nowadays is still the bookbinder's little wooden hand press, with wooden, or perhaps Iron, screws; the former are lighter and handier, the latte heavier but more durable and there fore of advantage where heavy pres sure is demanded Each lot is place, between pressing boards; these are about 1 1/2 cm thick and vary in length and width according to the sheets or books to be pressed. According to the grain of the wood we speak of long and cross boards. On top of the upper and underneath the lower batch we place a cross board; it does not matter which way the grain runs in the other boards used. This precaution is taken to obviate the probable breakage when the cheeks of the press run parallel with the grain of the two outer pressing boards.

The pile of sheets between the pressing boards is so placed that the nuts of the press are at first raised as high as the pile about to be pressed requires, then the press is put on the table to the right in front of the worker so that the head of one screw at the front touches the table edge. The pile is drawn on to the front edge of the table, the left hand slips underneath, and the chin presses on top. Whilst raising the upper cheek of the press with the right hand, the pile is inserted between the opened cheeks, is adjusted, and the press screwed up, first by the hand screws and then by the screw key used for this purpose. To do this the press with its high cheeks is held firmly between the legs and the nuts screwed up with the screw key as tightly as ever possible.

At this stage we might mention a work which is very frequently done in the printer, but seldom in the bindery: this is the so called gathering before folding. This work, as we have already mentioned, is done so that printed matter for publication can be properly stored or prepared for sending away.

The sheets are taken just as they left the press and piled up side by side in a row in order of number on a long table, each pile of sheets in exactly the same position as the others and just as they would be placed for folding; that is to say, for 8"os the first signature at the bottom left-hand side underneath, the second signature being at the bottom right hand side on the top.

Generally the work is gathered in batches of 5-6 sheets. The sheets in question are then laid out (see Fig. 5).
The worker takes a board the required size, upon which he places the sheets when gathered; he begins at No.1 pile, takes off the top sheet, being very careful not to take two, lays it upon the board, and so he goes the length of the table, taking the top sheet from each pile. He lays the pile of gathered sheets on the end of the table or another table standing behind. They are there received by another worker, knocked up, and folded in the middle. If only one worker can be spared for the job, the gathered sections are placed to one side, but each is laid crosswise over the other so that they are easily picked up afterwards for knocking up and folding. If the work has more than five or six sections, the separately gathered sections must be afterwards again gathered in the same manner. Perhaps there may be placed in the last section parts of a sheet the title, addenda, corrigenda, frontispiece, diagrams, &c. The treatment of these will be dealt 'with presently (pp. 22-24).

Forwarding Part 3