The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 57 A steady business

After Wang Wenlong reminded Wang Jingui, he discovered that the marks on the wooden movable type were really sharp.

The engraver also needs to go through some polishing processes after carving the template, so that the template can be printed without scratches.

However, the edge of the wooden movable type in his hand was as sharp as a knife, and it would not be qualified if it was really used for printing.

Seeing Wang Jingui's confused look, Wang Wenlong took the movable type in his hand and pressed it hard on a piece of wax paper next to him.

The two of them came closer and saw that the place where the wax paper had been pressed had been carved with sharp movable type to make a straight and straight mark. The mark was exactly like the movable type, and the effect was the same as that carved by hand. Even The fonts are more standardized and neat.

Wang Wenlong smiled and introduced to the two of them: "In order to solve the problem of slow lettering speed with stylus pens, we developed this method of wooden movable type. First, assemble the wooden movable type into a template, then cover the movable type plate on wax paper and hammer it with This method of engraving wax paper has a more balanced effect than hand engraving, the wax paper will hardly be damaged, and a set of templates can be assembled to carve many wax papers, which greatly saves time.”

Although the wax paper mimeograph technology is very primitive, this technology also has a stage of development. When the wax paper mimeograph became popular, printing wax plate technology appeared, which did not require hand-engraving each word.

Although the printing effect of wax cardboard is still not as good as letterpress printing, it is much better than hand-engraved wax cardboard. Some underground newspapers and periodicals in Wang Wenlong’s previous revolutionary era were printed using this method. The quality of prints produced by skilled workers can be Better than inferior publishing mimeographs.

Wang Wenlong: "These wooden movable types are already ready-made. As long as their corners are trimmed and sharpened, they can be used for engraving wax paper. Moreover, the wear and tear caused by engraving on the movable type is no more severe than printing."

"Each movable type can be carved on wax paper at least two thousand times, and each wax paper can be printed fifty times, which is equivalent to one wooden movable type being able to print one hundred thousand words."

Although they knew that Wang Wenlong's invention could greatly improve efficiency and the service life of fonts, Wang Jingui and Deng Zhimo were still shocked when they heard this number.

One hundred thousand copies of books can be printed by engraving movable type once, which means that Wang Wenlong's technology used in engraving is only one-fiftieth of that of block printing, and the printing speed is faster.

They simply couldn't imagine how much cheaper such a cost increase would make books.

Wang Wenlong said to Wang Jingui: "I came up with this technology in order to rush to complete this printing. But I didn't have a suitable type mold on hand, so I had to find a ready-made wooden movable type mold and process it separately. This is why I asked my uncle to come. thing."

Wang Jingui understood instantly. On the one hand, he lamented Wang Wenlong's cleverness, but on the other hand, he was glad: it turns out that wax printing still has the work of their engravers.

He nodded repeatedly and said: "This is easy. The character templates are all ready-made. You only need to use a few knives on each stroke to meet the requirements."

Wang Wenlong said: "The carvers in the workshop have also tried it, but it is not easy to carve it well."

Wang Jingui picked up the typeface, took a look at it, and said confidently: "That's because their craftsmanship is unfamiliar and they don't know the depth of the knife. Using ready-made movable type to trace the strokes is just a matter of pushing a few knifes, and there is no need to use a chisel. You just Don't worry, leave it to me, I'll process the fonts for you no slower than you, the scholars, who write."

Deng Zhimo looked at the typeface in a daze, and after thinking for a long time, he said to Wang Wenlong: "I didn't expect that you have studied this printing method so thoroughly. The books printed by this method are already better than the ones printed with masha. Although it cannot make high-quality books, it can be done well." Some popular books are more than enough, so why not take the opportunity to cooperate with a bookseller."

Wang Wenlong smiled and said: "We both thought of the same place."

Although wax paper printing is just an entry-level technology for mimeographing in Wang Wenlong's opinion, it is still quite shocking.Wang Wenlong naturally claimed that this printing method was his own invention with a shy face, and no one else could say anything wrong.

At this time, the European printing industry had not yet developed wax printing technology.

As for Xu Xueju, he was greatly impressed after seeing Wang Wenlong demonstrate this invention and urged him to quickly use mimeograph to print out the required information.

Wang Wenlong told Xu Xueju that he wanted to cooperate with a bookseller. Xu Xueju knew that Wang Wenlong definitely wanted to make some profits from it without having to point it out.

He had no objections to this. After all, he had reached such a high position and knew how to share profits with his subordinates. What's more, this printing technology was completely invented by Wang Wenlong himself. Wang Wenlong should have received the benefits. As for Xu Xueju He has all the ways to get money, and there is no need to compete with Wang Wenlong for this money.

Xu Xueju said that even if Wang Wenlong seeks cooperation with a bookseller, he can help if he needs to be contacted, but he must seize the time.

Wang Wenlong admired this attitude. This is how a normal leader encourages his subordinates to do things.Unlike Gao Yin, who only throws blame at himself every time and never offers any help to himself.

Xu Xueju's workshop originally had a set of wooden movable type, but it was not very complete, with only thousands of commonly used characters. Wang Jingui started working on this set of movable type, and Wang Wenlong took Deng Zhimo with him to Xiong Qingbo's bookstore in Quanzhou.

When I asked about it in the bookstore, the shopkeeper said that Xiong Qingbo had already gone to Zhejiang. However, after Wang Wenlong took out the printed works and gave a brief explanation, the shopkeeper immediately expressed his desire to cooperate.

Xiong Qingbo's bookstore is different from Yu Xiangdou's store. Xiong Qingbo's bookstore has a lot of publishing and printing work, and what is important is timeliness. The advantage of wax printing method is that it can be printed quickly, which is enough to make Xiong Qingbo's Chengde Tang heart-beat.

This is also the reason why Wang Wenlong came to them in the first place.

In this era, books are more like expensive works of art. Because the price is too high, buyers attach great importance to printing quality.

Even though wax printing has the advantage of speed, the printing quality is so poor that most wealthy customers will not catch the cold. It can only be used to print some works with high sales, such as the Four Books and Five Classics, etc., such as Wang Wenlong's "Confucianism" If "Lin Wai Shi" wants to be sold at a high price, it is absolutely impossible to use wax printing.

Most of this technology can only enter the sinking market. The only chance to make big money is to sell it to bookstores like Chengdetang that have a large amount of essay business in the early stages of technology development.

The shopkeepers of large bookstores like Chengdetang in various places are responsible for considerable independent business, and even have the ability to edit and publish books by themselves. Xiong Qingbo's shopkeeper in Quanzhou is a relative of the Xiong family, and he can make decisions even if Xiong Qingbo is not around.

He directly said: "We can bid 200 taels for this printing method."

The speed of wax printing is so fast. Using this technology, Chengdetang can double the number of books published every year. For Shiwen publishers, fast publishing speed means that the market competitiveness is greatly strengthened. 200 Liang In other words, the price can be earned by selling hundreds of books, which is definitely not a loss.

Wang Wenlong smiled and said: "I will give the printing method to Chengde Tang for free. There are only two requirements. One is that Chengde Tang helps the Government and History Department print these texts, and the other is that I will be responsible for the supply of wax paper and ink in the future. "

(End of this chapter)