The manner of running a machine is in brief as follows :—The pieces, stitched end to end in lots of 10, are wound on a wooden roller, arranged for the purpose ; and a fow yards of common coarse cloth, kept for the purpose, are attached at the first end, upon which the printer adjusts his pattern. Behind the machine, stands a boy, who guides the cloth evenly, and removes any loose threads. The printer has his stand in front, attending to the colour-boxes, one of which supplies each roller. After every 30-40 pieces have been worked off, the machine is stopped, in order that the "doctors"—blades which press against each cylinder, and remove all superfluous colour—be examined, and their edges sharpened with a file, if needful.
Fig. 589 shows a range of colour-pans, as made by Storey, of Manchester. The set consists of 8 cased copper pans, ranging in contents from 1 to 28 gal. Each can be turned over for emptying, as a brass stuffing-box is fixed to each pan and to the pillars ; A is a copper pipe, by means of which steam can be admitted down the pillars, as far as the stuffing-boxes, and thus into the casing of each pan, and out at the condensing pipe D if needful; C is a copper pipe for the admission of cold water into any pan.
Fig. 590 shows a longitudinal section of a rinsing-machine. It consists of a wooden cistern, 20 30 ft. long, 3 ft. wide, 4 ft. high at one end, and 3 ft. at the other, and divided transversely into compartments, by water-tight partitions, which gradually de crease in height from the higher to the lower end of the cis tern. The pieces of cloth are passed through in the direc tion of the arrows, and, on leaving each compartment, pass between a pair of squeezing-rollers, placed above, before descending into the next compartment.
There are several main styles or classes into which calico-printing is conventionally divided, according to the effects aimed at, and the means taken for their production. This classification was never very accurate, and is now less trustworthy than ever, since multitudes of patterns are produced by a combination of two or more of these styles.