A FORWARD MOVE.

THE " HERALD'S " NEW MACHINERY.

The steady progress of the district has induced the proprietor of this journal to go to considerable expense to keep the paper well up to' date and fully worthy of 1 the large and prosperous field in which it chiefly circulates. A further step in advance was contemplated and promised twelve months ago, and has only been delayed on account of ,the time occupied in the manufacture of tho machinery. That delay^ however', has been of some advantage in enabling us to obtain the v<ery latest of printing, machinery, one that may* fairly be claimed to be thc belt of the kind, in the Australasian colonies, and which "will adequately serve the needs of the present and for many years to come. To-day's issue in the new dress marks a ,distinct step in advance, and one whichj while leaving ii to the public to judge, we feel confident will be appreciated, for it enables thc district from a newspaper point of view to retain a high rank as compared with other towns ■ and citiea v * of the Dominion. The new machine indicated in the foregoing picture, and oh which the Herald has been printed to-day, is a Cossar flat-bed web, built by Messrs Payne and Sons, the well-known manufacturers of printing presses, of the Atlas Works, Otley, Yorkshire. The technicalities of printing machinery would not greatly interest the ordinary reader, but some idea of the mechanism may be conveyed by the fact that the machine installed at thf Herald works contains over 2000 parts. from very heavy castings to the finei pieces. The title "flat-bed web" indi cates the special feature of the machine the paper printed being unwound from & big reel, and there being no need for the loss of time "and labor involved by stereotyping as with- tho rotary well machines.' The class vof machinery (Wharf dale) that has done; such good service in the past, Limply printed one Bide of the paper, every single sheet' hac! to be "fed in" ijs-hand, .and then fo: the other side formes had to be changed i and the whole process had to be goi.. through ' again, thus entailing double -working and causing considerable loss 0.---tinie — an important factor, in the rush tc get into the paper the very laic i news — and when the paper was printed com plete there was still the iolding am conn ting to do. With the Cossar flat-bed web a continu oub roll of paper over three miles ii length. is automatically worked through the whole paper of eight pages printed al the rate of about 3600 an hour,- th' papers cut, folded, pasted together *ii pages, and counted in two-dozen lot ready for delivery. It is only in recent years that th* problem of combining the flat-bed pres* and the web system (enabling a con tinuous roll of paper to be used) ha.been solved, and the story of how th; idea was evolved and practical result} ensured is one of indomitable pen-ever ance, ultimately achieving a great triumph. In a that with a reporter, Mi W. H. Hargreaveo, who came out fron England specially to supervise tho erec tion of the machine, gave some interest ing information as to the invention, o rather series of inventions, and the in ventor, Thomas Cossar. The latter': father was the owner of a small print ing office in Govan, a suburb of Glas gow, the firm being John Cossar an< Sons. Young Cossar worked in th' printing office until ho was old enougl to go to work in the shipyard, learninthe shipbuilding trade. He served hit apprenticeship at that, and had worked r year or so over. His father/died, ant the young man had to throw up his woii in the shipyard, and re-enter the print ing office to help his mother and brothei to carry on the business. He settled down

steadily to the trade, and having the whole of the machinery to look after, he began to conceivo ideas of improvements. Those ideas grew on him, and the more he thought tho matter out the more he felt convinced that the flat-bed machines could be used in conjunction with paperon the reel, which, if it could be perfected— as it has been — would moan an enormous saving of labor and time. He employed ail! his spare hours and much that rightly should have been devoted >to rest to working out the idea. Every week, after the paper had been issued, he would pull a portion of their own machine down and experiment as to how best to achieve tho object in view. After many trials of patience and disappointments-; he gradually^ concentrated Ilia mind on the principle eventually adopted: . He devised improvements to his own machine, and jn five* years he had the principle so far advanced that he felt confident he had a machine which could be successfully placed on the market. He then went to Messrs Payne and Sons ia, the year 1903, and after looking into th.. matter, that firm took the invention w hand, and the first machine was built, under the instructions of Mr Cossar. Unf like the latest machine at the Herald ofiice it was a single cylinder machine, and wiih the of practical tests, Mr Cossar was able to go on making substantial improvements. He'i.t'.ll gave. some of his time to the other business, and thus was unabjo to give a personal oversight the whole period. Therefore,; Mr Hargreaves was chosen by his employers (Messrs Payne and Sons) 1 o assist, and take charge of the work during Mr Cossar' s absence. Before turn' ing out the first machine a few difticul, tics were found; but were successfully overcome by Mr Cossar. "This," said Mr Hargreaves, referring to the machine in Gisborne, "is the i.i'jf^est. -latest, and best Cossar flat-D-d .nachine turned out. When it was completed. Mr Cos *ar said to me, 'My ideas f-»v improvement have at last 'run: o'riv md I think this is as. perfect as it •ould be mae'e.' " "There is a big run of orders, I unlerstand?" "Yes," replied Mr Hargcavos, "working by day and far into thc night the firm cannot make the machines fast ■nough. There are a largo number of orders in hand, both from Home and ibroad. The reason for the delay v in manufacturing the machine, ordered in .'one hut year was that Mr Cossar was inxious to have in tho very latest improvements, which lie considered^ as has oeen proved, would be a very great advantage!" To show the interest taken in the nachine by newspaper proprietors in nther parts of the colony it may be mentioned that Mr Pirani, proprietor of the Feilding Star, has sent an expeit representative (Mr D. Fisher) to Gisborne tc be present during the erection of the nachine and report upon it, with the jbject of obtaining one of thc same •nake, and other newspaper proprietors ire having close enquiries -made on the subject. The big reel of paper from which each *opy is finally detached can, by the picLure, be seen at tho front of the machine. The reel of paper is 6ft wide and Jft 6in in circumference, weighing over half 'a ton when first threaded on the nachine ; the paper is taken by one cylinder and printed on one side. and by in arrangement of cams and rollers is .arried through over the top of the machine, high up, right to the back; it is then brought down to the second cylinder, the other side being printed. It is jonveyed by another series of cams and rollers to tho top of the machine again, .ut down through thc centre, turned at right angles into the first folder, being

■V-shaped; it then passes around the cylinder of thc folder, is cut to size, and by a tumbler motion in one of the cylinders it is given a second fold; it then passes along tapes and gets its last fold by a knifo arrangement; it drops down into the fliers and passes out into bundles of two defzen each, ready for the run-ners-boys to deliver to customers. The folder, being on tlie side opposite to which the photograph was taken, cannot be seen in the picture. The mechanic who has not grasped the idea of Mr Cossar'e clever device will be puzzled to. know, how tha second cylinder — while the bed on which the formes of typ'e arc placed, run to and fro — can print the opposite side of the web of paper from that printed first. This is accomplished by passing tho paper high overhead from the first to the second cylinder, the paper entering the machine at both ends from the outside, and the passing overhead inverts the theets. These cylinders arc of tho tumbler type; printing a sheet backwards and forwards, the web after each impression be. ing slipped the length of a page over a smooth portion of the cylinder. The mechanism By which this' is brought [about is . very ingenious. For, each .cyflinder there are two pairs of (rollers, one in each case being fixed and Ihe other rising and falling alternately, taking up tho slack for the "slip" after each j impression. The loopers are actuated by massive cams that secure movements absolutely in kecipinjg with tho action of the cylinders. pThe tension of the paper is regulated by. another ingenious contrivance. The inking apparatus is a great improvement on former methods; thirty st?cl and composition rollers are used for receiving the ink frqm three separate ducts regulated by a series of screws, the superior appliances ensuring even diitrioulion of the ink over the type. . ©--try one working is required for the eightpage paper as published to-day. Every paper printed is automatically counted -..iVy the machine. Tho starting, stopping, and controlling gear has been well thought out, and the machinist has complete control without having to run around tho machine, there being lever handles and foot brakes at handy points, and in case of emergency tlie machine could be brought to a standstill immediately. The machine, has tliat strength and fine finish characteristic, of British work. The framework alone is five tons weight. Tho two cylinders weigh !£' tons'. '■-.*.'• i ' The whole machine is most substantially built and accurately fitted. It was transhipped at Wellington on July* 18, •landed at Gisborne oii the 20th, promptly delivered by JVlersrs Burke and Co.'s staff, and the work of erection commenced on the Monday morning -by Mr Hargreaves, assisted by Mr W. Simpson, our chief machinist,' and a staff of men. A 4ft pit and the concrete foundations had already been prepared, enabling the work of erection to be proceeded with immediately the machinery ' came '• to hand. The pit is for the convenience of cleaning. One of the latest Crossley gas engines, 17 h.p., had already been in : stalled, and shafting completed, and everything wa*3' in readiness directly ihe final touches were given to the machine. Everything had arrived in splendid order^ the work proceeded without a hitch, and notwithstanding the massiveness of the machine and the work it has to do, it runs smoothly and without perceptible vibration.' The work 'of 'hiding: up was done within a fortnight, which is exceptionally good time. A trial run proved successful, and with the printing of the paper to-day the Cossar flat-oed web, with Mr Simpson in charge, is in full working order, and will henceforth print the daily paper; -r-HrarMraß-jMrManaarararara