[82] in APO Printshop
Re: Reg Day Card run challenges - block inspection
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.)
Mon Mar 7 21:49:55 2005
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 21:49:45 -0500 (EST)
From: tower@alum.MIT.EDU (Leonard H. Tower Jr.)
To: jtu@MIT.EDU, gjordan@MIT.EDU, sasen@MIT.EDU
CC: apo-printshop-mtg@charon.LOCAL
Reply-To: tower@alum.MIT.EDU
Hi jtu, Grant, and sasen:
On the Saturday evening before Reg Day, when I left the Reg Day Card
block locked up in the chase, it was tight. It passed the drop test
several times.
When I relocked it several weeks ago, only the "Lobster Bowl Project"
line was loose. I made it tight.
I then inspected it line by line, and almost looked at each piece of
type. I was looking for anything stuck between the leads and set
lines of type. I also looked for ink buildup on the top "rim" of the
type. If type isn't cleaned well, a ridge can form at the top of one
or more of the four sides of a piece of type. It can lead to lockup
problems. I didn't notice any such buildup.
When I was done, the lockup again passed the drop test several times.
I then fixed a number of things. I replaced sets of thinner spaces,
with thicker ones. It's best to have the fewest possible spaces at
each end of the line. I changed the Cloister Italic "or"s in the
bottom line to News Gothic Condensed. I did that to give some visual
separation to the three different kinds of contact informations. I
also put "Mezz. Lounge" in "()"s to be consistent with the style of
the "(PDR 3)". I may have done a few other things. The lockup again
passed the drop test several times.
I be happy to watch each of you try to lock up this block again. We
can set up a time to do this.
Some thoughts:
I gradually lock the quoins, alternating the set at the bottom of the
block and the set at the side of the block. I think I give the block
slightly more pressure sooner from the bottom.
Grant and sasen both said, in effect, that the set lines were not
equal in length. Possible.
Setting and locking up type assumes that everything is square. That
is all angles are 90 degree angles. This is why I looked for a
misplaced thin between a lead and a set line of type. It can also be
caused if a composing stick's sides are not parallel - that is - the
adjustable "slide" and the end of the stick. If one suspects this,
and can't cure the problem on the stone, one thing to try is to put
the type back in the stick upside down. If you can not get the slider
to lock in the holes, the stick is out of true. You can put the block
in another stick and get it tight.
Something a piece of type is worn so it isn't square, but that is very
rare. I already mentioned ink buildup, on the top of a piece of
type. I keep my eye out for this as I set type. Relatively rare in
our shop.
Setting and locking up type also assumes that the stone is level,
all the type is the same height, and the platen is level/parallel with
respect to the type in the chase, and the bedding on the platen is
uniformly thick.
The furniture may not be square. You can turn it 180 degrees along
the three possible axises, or use a different piece. Alan put the
best furniture we had out near the stone.
When I reset parts of this job, I tried to have at least an Em Quad at
the end of each line to make lockup easier.
I also set the ruled blocks, with the side rules in the sticks.
Things to maybe do next time this job's block is used:
Put the two 24pt and bottom 10pt contact info line in a stick and get
them the same length. Then get each of the two ruled blocks to the
same length.
Perhaps change the ruled boxes, by getting rid of the vertical rules.
Lockup would be easier.
Try using two or three rollers and the ink spreader (ask - it's a
nifty gadget that makes sense to use on long runs). Doing this trades
off having to refresh the ink every few hundred impressions versus
more cleanup at the end of the job.
It always makes lockup easier, if the leds are just a hair shorter
then the set line of type. Leds that are this long could be cut for
this job. We have long lengths of leds around.
It always makes lockup easier, if 2-EM or 3-EM Quads are use at each
end of a set line of type. When one selects a line length to set to,
include enough space to use long quads.
yiLFS -len
