Sheets so gathered must be afterwards opened out for folding in the bindery. The section is opened, the crease well pressed out, and the whole smoothed down quite flat, care being taken that all sheets lay the same way, the opened sections lying side by side according to the signatures.

Before the folded sheets are arranged or gathered, there is frequently still some pasting to be done. The title, for instance, is seldom printed with the first sheet, but is usually made up with the preface, contents, &c., after printing the last page, often as part of the last sheet.

On this account the last sheet must be examined before folding to see how it is composed. If it happens that the sheet is to be exactly halved, it is best to cut the sheet in the middle and fold each half separately. It is even worth while cutting the sheet into quarters if the sheets can be pinned on, because it is then possible to fold the cut sheets in lots of five or six and to draw out each one singly, as it is commonly called" pulling out."

This pulling out is very easy work; each folded batch is separately opened in the middle, fanned out with a paper folder so that each sheet stands back about ½ - 1 cm. behind the other, and the batch folded together again; it would then appear as in Fig. 6.

Take the batch lightly between the finger and the thumb of the left hand, and with the right draw off the sheets from the top one by one, knock them up, and firmly press down the back fold.

Every part of a sheet which after folding makes less than four pages (equal to two leaves) must be pasted on. To do this the parts to be pasted are fanned out from the back with the pasting side uppermost, that is to say, the sheets are fanned out with the folder in the same way as described for "pulling out," until they lie like steps or stairs, each sheet displaying an edge of about 3 mm. In this manner all sheets so lie upon each other that each is about 3 mm. behind the one under it.

The narrow margin is pasted; to avoid pasting more than the proper margin of the top sheet, a piece of waste paper should be laid on top at the right distance from the edge. Each leaf has thus a narrow pasted edge by which it is secured to the main sheet. So that the pasted edges do not stick together whilst each sheet is being fixed in its place, which of course, takes time, the batch is taken between the fingers immediately after pasting, and by a few light movements the sheets are worked a little further apart.

Take the batch at A between the finger and thumb of the right hand, at B in the same way with the left; the upper leaves slip gently backwards if the right hand bends the batch lightly upwards so that the sheets are pushed to B, the left first allows the sheets to slip back and then holds them firmly so that the right may repeat this movement several times.

The batch is then so placed across the table that it lies to the right of the worker with the pasted edge away from him, whilst the pile of sheets to which the parts are to be pasted lies to the left, also with the back edge away from him. Leaf after leaf is taken up, carefully adjusted to back and upper fold, and pasted on to the main section and lightly rubbed down to right and left with the finger tips, putting aside to the left each sheet as finished.

Forwarding Part 4