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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 1

Uses of Glycerine. (Pacific Printer.)

page 12

Uses of Glycerine. (Pacific Printer.)

Very few printers realize the importance that glycerine is assuming in the economy of the printing office. Only a few years ago it was unknown; now it enters into nearly every department of the composing and press rooms.

Glycerine is contained in nearly all oily and fatty bodies, and is one of those articles which the genius of modern chemistry extracts from what was formerly a waste substance. When chemically pure, it is a non-crystallizable, oily, viscid, colorless and odorless liquid, having an intensely sweet taste. The chief properties upon which the value of glycerine depends, are its solvent and dissolvent powers, its non-liability to freeze when exposed to low temperatures, its exceedingly slight volatility below 200° Fahr., and its efficiency as a preservative agent. No chemically pure glycerine can be made by means of filtration through charcoal, or by employment of chemicals. The only process to accomplish the desired result is by means of repeated distillation—this is the mode employed, and it gives an article that is always uniform in quality, colorless and odorless, like distilled water, of the highest specific gravity, and chemically pure.

Glycerine is soluble, and mixes readily in all proportions with water, alcohol, and chloroform, and while increasing the density of the mixture, it lowers the freezing point. The great variety of substances which it is capable of dissolving, places glycerine next to water as a medium for solutions—such as potash, soda, oxide of lead, nearly all the metallic salts soluble in water; many of the metalloids, such as sulphur, phosphorus, iodine, and bromine; the vegetable acids, alkaloids, extracts and juices, and also many of the coloring matters, whether vegetable or animal.

It will be readily seen from the above, that the field for employment of glycerine is a very extended one, and although it has already found a large application, yet the many wonderful properties it possesses guarantee it a still wider scope for future uses that are not thought of at present, and in the words of Wilson, « not a tithe of its uses have yet been developed. »

To Separate Sticky Type.—Type which has been kept standing for a long time sometimes sticks badly. It may be easily separated by pouring a little glycerine over it, leaving it to stand over night, and then washing it with warm water.

To Prevent Offsets in Printing.—Rub glycerine on the tympan sheet, instead of oil, to prevent offsetting. It is much superior.

Aniline Inks for Rubber Stamps.—Mix the dry aniline colors with glycerine. Test frequently so as not to make it too thin.

Reviving Old Rollers.—Old rollers, too hard and dry, can often be renovated and made to do good service by giving them a coat of glycerine after washing. Rub well with the hand, let stand a day, or as long as the condition of the roller may require, then sponge off and allow to dry to the right suction. We have frequently treated old cast-off rollers in this way, and made them work as well as new.

Roller Composition.—Instead of molasses, glycerine is substituted in combination with glue to make printing ink rollers.

Reducing Copying Ink.—When copying ink becomes thick or hard, as it will certainly do on exposure to the air, it can be readily reduced to proper consistency by the addition of a few drops of glycerine. Add slowly and test till right.

To Prevent Ink from Skinning over.—Cover the top of the can with a thin layer of glycerine. A bare coating is sufficient. It will do no harm to the ink. [We find it does give some trouble.—Typo.]

Flexible Padding Compound.—By weight use one part sugar, one part linseed oil, four parts glycerine, eight parts glue, and a little aniline dye to give color. Cover the glue and gelatine with water and soak for half-an-hour to soften. Pour off all the water and dissolve by heating in a pail or basin placed in another kettle containing boiling water (a common glue-kettle). After it is melted, put in the sugar and glycerine, remembering to stir well; add the dye, and then stir in the oil thoroughly. Green and carmine are good colors, and when both are used a handsome purple will be the result.

Lubricator.—Plumbago mixed with glycerine is said to make an excellent lubricator for machinery, car axles, &c.

Leather.—Glycerine should be added to oil or fat in greasing harness, to keep the leather from becoming weak and rotten. It is also applied to machinery bands, to preserve the leather from cracking.

To Prevent Curling in Gummed Paper.—The tendency of paper when gummed (in the case of postage stamps, labels, &c.) to curl up may be avoided by adding a little salt, sugar, and glycerine to the gum when made; very little of the latter, however, because otherwise the gum does not dry thoroughly. The gummed paper, also, must not be dried in too great a heat.