PRINTING THE ROLLS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6491, 10 April 1908, Page 8

PRINTING THE ROLLS.

A BIG UNDERTAKING. THIRTY-FIVE TONS OF TYPE. One of the biggest printing jobs ever undertaken in the Dominion is being carried out by the Government Printing Office. The mammoth task allotted to it, in addition to in© usual ample supply of oincial printing, is tho production of ail the Parliamentary electoral rolls of the Dominion. There are quite half a million electors, and seventy-six European constituencies. Each constituency will require a thousand copies of its 1011, 60 that 7G.G00 will nave to be printed. As they average a hundred A , a gus each, tons of paper will require to uc used for their preparation.

The big undertaking is to place m typo the names, electoral quaiincatione, and occupations, of the hail-million yoLers. Tue metal used for this purpose weighs thirty-live tons, and, although tho work commenced on November lath, and lias been carried on by means of the rapid linotype machine, it is still not quue completed. THE bl STEAL " Copy ” comes in to the compositor in tiio form of liUio bandies of cards. Eacu elector has a card to himself, and tno local registrar arranges :nese alphabetically, tying up the batches in such a way that they form little booklets of cardboard. Tho names never gee out of place by this method, though some acres of cardboaid have to be used to carry out a system under which each person has about twenty square inches of cardboard as a sort of electoral passport. Every elector has a number, but. for convenience of correcting and extending theroii, this is not added until the final correction. Then Jittie blocks of consecutive numbers will be placed alongside tho columns of type, and by this simple process tho numbering is done.

Un the loth of this month tho main electoral rolls aro supposed to be complete. Any additional names of electors received from the various districts by the Chief Registrar of Electors (Mr F. W. Ai’ansficld) up to that date will bo forwarded to the Government Printer, and when these have been added the making-up of the pages will proceed. SAVING MONEY. When printing is done, the type is not to be thrown away, for it is a fair assumption that at least 75 per cent, of the electors will still he on the rolls when they have again to be printed. iSo the thirty-five tons of metal will bo Eacked on shallow trays in the office asemeut, and the next rolls will. cast very much less to produce in consequence of tho saving in type-setting.