Rules And Regulations

Proper to be observed in a Printing Office.

Compositors.

1. Compositors to receive their cases from the Overseer, or other person appointed by him, free from all pie, or other heterogeneous matter, with clean quadrat and space boxes to both roman and italic, which they are to return to him in the same clean state.
2. When a Compositor receives letter, furniture, &c. from the Overseer, he is to return what he does not use, in a satisfactory state.
3. Compositors to impose their matter when desired by the Employer or Overseer; and the same for proofs that are desired to be corrected; unless in either case it shall appear that all the stones are engaged.
4. When the Compositor imposes from a form, he is directly to tie up the pages of loose matter.
5. Forms, immediately after they are imposed, to be carried to the proof press; and the proofs, when pulled, to be given to the Reader, or carried into the reading closet, with, if a first proof, the copy, and, if a second, the foul proof.
6. No Compositor shall leave a foul stone, of letter, furniture, &c.
7. No Compositor to detain an imposing stone longer than the nature of the business may require.
8. When any cases are taken out of the racks, the Compositor is to return them into their proper place immediately after he has done with the same.
9. No cases to be placed over others, or under the frames.
10. Galleys with head lines, or other useful materials used during the course of a piece of work, to be cleared at furthest the day after the work is all completely at press.
11. When a work is finishing, the Compositor or Compositors concerned shall, as the forms are finally worked, clear them away; taking from them the head lines, white lines, and direction lines, as also the leads and reglets, which, with the furniture of each sheet, the matter being properly tied up for papering, are to be given, to the Overseer, or any person he may appoint.
12. Sweepings of frames to be cleared away before one o'clock every day. Matter broken by accident to be cleared away on the same day.
13. No Compositor to mix two separate founts, without an express order from the Overseer.
14. When a Compositor carries his form down for press, he is not to put two forms together without a partition between them.
15. The saw, saw block, bowl, sponge, letter brush, shears, bellows, &c., to be returned to their respective places as soon as done with.
16. No person to take a candlestick, bodkin, snuffers, composing stick, &c., not his own, without permission of the owner.
17. No person to misplace cases in the rack, or take an upper without the lower case, or vice versa.
18. Pie of any sort, on boards, windows, frames, &c., to be cleared after five minutes notice.
19. No person to take sorts from the frames or cases of another without leave; nor to hoard useful sorts, not immediately wanting them.
20. No person (except the Master or Overseer) to call off the errand boy while he is sweeping his rooms.
21. No candle to be left by any one, except in charge of some proper person; and the boundaries of the office to be considered, in all cases, the open air.
22. Jobs to be cleared away immediately after notice having been given by the Overseer.
23. These regulations, in cases of extreme hurry of business, by leave from the Master or Overseer, may be suspended; but, when that has ceased, to be immediately resumed.
24. No Compositor to throw for money or liquor.
25. Not to throw letters, quadrats, quoins, or furniture at each other.

Pressmen.

1. All proofs to be pulled within five minutes after notice, by the Pressmen who are in proofs.
2. Immediately after pulling a proof, the Pressmen to rub over the forms and chases with a lye brush, and place them against the Compositor's frame to whom they belong, where they are to leave the proof.
3. Not to work without a figure unless particularly ordered.
4. As soon as a form is wrought off, the pressman to carry it to the lye trough, and there completely rub it over with lye, rinse it, and then carry it to the wrought-off place, or to the end of the Compositor's frame it belongs to.
5. Not to leave the lye jar uncovered.

These rules may be varied to suit the business of the office in which they may be adopted, or the size of the establishment; in practice it will be found essentially necessary to have established rules and regulations, that the business may be carried on with method and good order. Rules. See Brass Rule. Metal Rules.