We will start our journey with the scribes and monks hand copying the precious Holy Scriptures in their monasteries and towers. Then progress to the invention of movable type and its impact on both the scribes work, as well as the whole world. Next we get into more mechanized and bigger production with machinery. Then, the next huge development in printing was the incredible type-setting machines of the 19th century. Like the scribes being replaced by the printing press, the compositors (typesetters) were afraid what these new machines would do to their line of work. As it ended up, these marvelous machines made even more compositors necessary. But, instead of standing in front of a typecase laboriously all day, their labor became much easier as their workload expanded.
Then came the invention of lithography which transformed into photo offset lithography or more commonly called, offset printing. This process tremendously increased the production of printed materials. Along with this change in the printing trade came even newer ways of setting type and with complete page production too. Later, when these machines became digital, it became possible to store the information for later. That feature seems strange today with our computers having that ability from day one. But this was very revolutionary at the time.
Finally we look at todays modern technology as well as what is coming in the near future. Even though our offices go more paperless everyday, the printed word will always be with us somehow. There is nothing like holding physical paper in your hands and having a hard copy of an important document.
The History of Printing
The Kelsey Company
William Kelsey started producing printing presses and other equipment in 1872 in Meriden, CT. His table-top presses engaged many young individuals in the printing craft, leading numerous ones to pursue the trade as they grew older. His small advertisements, measuring half an inch and one inch high, appeared in all the magazines of that era. Interestingly, in the 70s and early 80s, Wendy's hamburgers featured old-fashioned catalog sheets on their tables, reminiscent of a Sears & Roebuck reproduction of their "Big Book" catalog. It was fitting that many tables displayed an ad for Kelsey table-top printing presses. Their entry-level press was priced at just $5.00 and could print a one or two-line business card. This compact machine was not self-inking; users had to apply ink to the type form with a brayer before each impression. Later models, as illustrated here, were fully self-inking and functioned similarly to the larger hand-fed platen presses, like the Chandler & Price Gordon style machines that were once common in every printing establishment.
My first press was a 5x8 Kelsey, which was their most popular size and went through various models. But, each featuring only minor style changes in appearance. All models operated in the same manner a the picture at left. Paper was manually fed onto the tympan like any platen press, and pressing the handle would create the impression. With each impression, the rollers would roll over the ink disc for a fresh supply of ink before passing over the form being printed in the press bed. Depending on what was being printed, speeds could range from 300 to 1000 impressions per hour. Heavy forms with extensive coverage required significant effort on the handle to achieve the impression, while forms with just a line or two of text were nearly effortless to print.
The 5x8 Kelsey, along with all their table-top sizes (3x5, 5x8, 6x10, and 9x13), was designed for general job printing. The C&P Pilot and similar small presses could handle much heavier coverage and provide more "squeeze" when necessary, but Kelsey's presses could easily manage about 85% of the jobs assigned to them. The Kelsey Company served as a comprehensive provider for everything a printer might need, offering type, paper, and all the essential tools and supplies for inking paper. The company has an intriguing history that I will share as time permits. I have a great appreciation for Kelsey presses and have owned four of them throughout the years.
I have much more information on Kelsey to grace these pages soon. The sample ad below was in the November 1910 edition of McClures Magazine.
