Making Books (Short Documentary on Book Manufacture in 1947) by Encyclopedia Britannica Films
A fantastic short documentary film about the making of books in the 1940’s. Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films.
Areas covered
- Typesetting (preparing the story to be printed.)
- Melting metal into moulds set by typesetter
- Arrangement of lines by ‘composer’
- Setting the melted word blocks into a metal frame
- Evening the lines of the text blocks so that none of them stick out
- Pressing wax onto the text blocks to get an imprint of the plate
- Dipping wax plate into melted copper so that a harder plate is formed ready for printing
- Cutting through the copper plates with a circular saw
- Arranging the plates on the printing press/press bed and secures. The guy who does this is called the ‘ready man’
- 64 pages fit on one bed
- The press machine then starts with paper travelling around the drums and rollers spread ink over plates. The plates are then presses against the paper
- A workman then examines the sheets
- The sheets are then passed to a folding machine in the binding department where the sheets are folded down to the size of one sheet
- The pages are checked to make sure all the ‘folders’ are in the correct order and that the page numbers follow each other correctly
- The folders are then passed to the ‘gathering room’ where the folders are gathered into piles and put into the correct bin.
- The folders are then gathered in order by a machine from the front to the last section of the book
- The assembled folders are then sewn together with strong thread by a machine
- After the books are sewn they are passed onto the trimming shop where the pages are trimmed to the correct size by sharp knives
- Strong book covers are next made from paper board.
- Paper board is cut to the correct size, then fabric is glued to the paper board to strengthen it and increase its aesthetic appeal
- The name of the book is next stamped on the book
- The covers are then glued to the pages of the book
- The book is now complete and ready to be shipped out.
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