COLLECTION AND CIRCULATION OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION .sx THE complexity of the printing trade , especially with regard to machinery and plant , was emphasised at the official inauguration of the Printing Industry Research Association at the Stationers' Hall this month .sx In fact , the functions of the organisation are precisely focussed in the words of the President , Lord Riddell , who justly points out that although the printing trade is one of the largest in the country , both as to capital and workers employed , it is a strange anomaly that hitherto this vast trade has had no centre for collecting , collating and distributing technical information , and directing research .sx This gap , however , has now been filled and it is the duty of the trade as a whole to support the organisation .sx The great desire of Lord Riddell is that the objects of the Association should be thoroughly understood .sx He explains that the information collected and collated on behalf of all branches of the trade will be issued in practical shape so as to be readily available for use in printing offices , carefully avoiding long , dull , heavy memoranda , whose spiritual home is the wastepaper basket .sx In short , the Association will endeavour to be of practical use to the practical man .sx There is a vast amount of technical information in various languages which requires to be collected and sifted .sx This will be done with the utmost despatch .sx The Association are fortunate in having secured Dr. G. L. Riddell as Director of the Institute .sx He is a most able young man with a unique training and experience which specially fits him for this position .sx Furthermore he has the gift of enthusiasm and is thoroughly alive to the bearing of science upon the practical art of printing .sx With regard to the scope of the work to be undertaken by the Association , Lord Riddell states that memoranda will be issued concerning mechanical operations , .sx machinery , printing inks , paper and the like .sx New inventions will also be tabulated and described .sx It will also be the duty of the director to answer questions put to him by the members , or at any rate to do his best to answer them .sx So far as original research is concerned it is not intended that the Association shall directly undertake work of that sort .sx When the Council are of opinion that a research can usefully be made regarding some important problem , it will be for the Director to ascertain where the task can best be per-formed .sx There are numerous institutions throughout the country equipped for research purposes of different kinds ; the endeavour will be to make the best use of those .sx Experience shows that by this method researches can be carried out both economically and efficiently .sx Obviously , the funds would not justify setting up a laboratory and even if this were possible it would not be a practical proposition considering the extent and variety of the subjects involved .sx He hopes that the Association will render real service to all branches of the printing trade the general printer , the newspaper printer , and magazine and periodical printers , and that the work will lead to co-operation and joint action regarding vital matters affecting all branches of the trade .sx They have a strong and ardent Council representing all sections of the trade , both masters and men , and the Association starts under the best auspices .sx It will work in close conjunction with the London School of Printing , whose able Principal , Mr. J. R. Riddell , has been largely instrumental in the formation of the Association .sx Obviously , the efficiency of the industry is a matter that concerns everyone engaged in it .sx There-fore the Council are anxious that every section should take an interest in the work of the Association .sx PRACTICAL MACHINERY TUITION .sx PRINTING machine manufacturers will appreciate the organised attempt that is being made to arrange for the tuition of operators who are anxious to obtain further practical experience of the newer types of machines placed upon the market from time to time .sx Without overlooking the excellent work that is being carried out so efficiently by the technical training schools in London and the Provinces , it must be admitted that for the most part the education relates to the working of standard machines , whereas those in close touch with the modern printing world realise that developments in machinery are so rapid and numerous that unaided it is difficult for the machine minder to keep abreast of the mechanical world .sx Theoretical knowledge of the principles of a patent or improvement , without application , is of little use to the printer , who , to be able to use to the best advantage any developments in apparatus , requires that his workpeople should have a practical grasp of the essential difference and respective advantages of mechanical appliances .sx In an unofficial way not a few of the manufacturers have put this idea of machine tuition into actual practice , as illustrated by the installation of machines and apparatus in technical institutes , and the publication of helpful hints , such as " The Care and Adjustment of the Miehle , " circulated by Linotype & Machinery , Ltd. , and the showing of cinema films , which include one upon the Auto-Elka Vertical Cylinder Press , but the need for a more organised effort in this direction is proved by the great interest shown when the subject has been ventilated at gatherings of those concerned .sx In a word it is a department of technical advancement in which the manufacturers could take a lead , assured that their efforts would be appreciated by the keen operators anxious to ensure efficiency in their work which in return results in the best possible production .sx The point was illustrated at a public meeting of the principals of the trade this month , when it was stated that it had often been left to machine minders to prove the efficacy of certain inventions , and now that the subject has been ventilated it would be useful to hear the opinions of the trade .sx A PLEA FOR CLOSER CO-OPERATION .sx By B. Winstone & Sons Limited .sx IF the nineteenth century was described as the age of the individual development of industry , the present is certainly the age of co-operation .sx The tendency is shown in many directions in the large combines and amalgamations , in the cartels and " community of interest " formations , and in the rather vague operations under the term " rationalisation .sx " These movements have their good points and their bad ones , and the balance is not always on the good side .sx In the group of crafts associated with the printing industry there is another form of co-operation which does not involve the participating firms in any risk , and from which nothing but good can come .sx This consists of the frank and free discussion by each craft of the difficulties and troubles they experience , not necessarily with their fellow craftsmen , but with the members of the associated crafts .sx Experience has shown that time and money might often have been saved , and the valuable possibilities of a process been more fully and advantageously developed , had the originator been more fully aware of the help he could have obtained from associated crafts and of the pitfalls which would beset his scheme when it had to meet conditions with which he was unfamiliar .sx It is far from being suggested that such co-operation does not exist .sx It does but this is a plea for a much closer and wider co-operation .sx Is it not too often the case that , say , a new type of machine is installed , costly experimenting carried out , and finally alterations made which might have been involved in the original design had printer , paper expert and ink maker all had an opportunity of criticism while the machine was still developing ?sx Or again , a printer attempts to print on a hitherto untried surface .sx He cannot expect to have that knowledge of the ingredients of inks and their properties that the ink maker has , and a little systematic experimenting by the ink maker may save much disappointment later .sx The essence of such a state of things is confidence mutual confidence in the skill and integrity of the partners .sx There may be a risk , but it seems small as against the advantages to all parties .sx Present-day operations in many branches of the craft have been speeded up to a high extent .sx Materials of construction are more highly stressed , paper is run at a speed and tension just short of breaking point , type and blocks are of an accuracy to standard undreamt of and unnecessary a generation ago , and ink must have working properties,colour strength and permanence to light , all in extreme degree .sx All this involves accurate and wide knowledge both craft and scientific , and no one organisation can hope to contain within itself all that is available or necessary in this direction .sx Nothing but good can come of such co-operation .sx When the printer appreciates the care and skill of the engineer working to fine limits , and the knowledge and patience of the chemist developing new colours and finer inks , he is encouraged himself to put forward still more effort for the benefit of himself and his craft .sx The ever-increasing skill and care devoted to poster advertising has its counterpart in the work of the colour producer in providing colours and inks of the requisite brilliance , fastness to light and billposters' paste , and of good printing quality .sx Though it is possible now to reproduce practically any shade , still there are exceptions .sx Several prominent poster artists and advertising specialists make a point of consulting their ink maker as to the possibility or otherwise of certain effects desired , to their own advantage and to the saving of much time and dispute later .sx The House of Winstone is not alone in its desire to do its part in co-operation for the good of the craft , and Service has long been the watchword of its every action .sx To this end the whole Winstone organisation is adapted both on the factory and on the sales side , and it would be matter of surprise to many a printer if he could see how the detail of catering for his wants is carried out .sx Every comment made , favourable or critical , is tabulated and indexed , and given effect to at the appropriate time .sx Constant research and experiment keep the firm up to date in the many new developments of the craft .sx The number of active formulae in the firm's books runs to over 30,000 and 15,000 check samples of former deliveries are instantly available for reference or verification of new supplies .sx The members of the staff are all experts in their various spheres of work , and advice and help is offered freely .sx It is surprising to find how difficulties and troubles not solved by the tedious process of correspondence or telephone are much more tractable when made the subject of a personal discussion .sx Much work is done in connection with matters which are highly confidential , and anyone having a novel matter to discuss may rely on absolute secrecy .sx CRABTREES .sx ( Continued ) .sx Crabtrees have many special features in their newsprinting presses , which will , we hope , be described more fully at some later date , but amongst many others are their specially designed frames of great rigidity , ring oiler and roller bearings for the cylinders , quick plate lock-up , quick blanket lock-up , special type of inking distribution , film inking , special roller sockets to enable the rollers to be adjusted without the use of tools , automatic web tension device , and their Non-Stop Late News .sx These two latter items when seen in operation are almost uncanny .sx Generally on all other rotary presses the web is controlled either by a hand-brake , which is very unsatisfactory when you remember that a brakehand must control several webs , or on the unit-type of press with roll stands , by a band which also cannot be claimed to be entirely satisfactory .sx With the automatic brake the brake is applied according to the strength of the pull created by the running of the press :sx thus as the speed increases or decreases the brake is automatically adjusted , and when a press running with 5 or 6 reels is suddenly stopped all reels pull up with taut webs , saving numerous breaks and reducing the percentage of waste very considerably .sx