Our Washington Hoe Hand Press, though refined, has changed very little since Gutenberg's time in the fifteenth century.

Prior to the Linotype all type for books and magazines was set by tradesmen in newspaper and print shops. With their copy before them, and standing before a California and Cap case these skilled workmen produced the forms for letterpress printing. Some of them were so fast at setting that the exceptional ones were dubbed "swifts" and contests were held to determine the king "swift".

Holding a composing stick, the setter plucked the type from cases into the stick, an en quad dividing the words. The line was justified - tight in the stick. Spacing material was inserted and another line set. When the stick was full, the type was transferred to a galley. And so on, until the the copy was finished.

The complete form was then proof-read, corrected and given to the lock-up man.

After printing the type was cleaned and distributed back into the cases.

The Platen Press: Operating on the same principal of squeezing a sheet of paper against an inked form as the Washington Press, the Platen Press offers a vertical method whereby the platen is operated by a flywheel and gears to carry the paper against the form. The platen press employs rollers to ink the form on each revolution of the press.The difference in copies per hour between the two presses is monumental: from about three a minute on the Washington Press to as many as fifty on the platen.

Steam power turned the first of these presses by use of a line shaft and belt.

When Mason Bishop worked at the Commercial in 1946, a line shaft powered by a Babcock single revolution newspaper press and Universal platen.

He removed to Baltimore and in the 1880's invented and patented the Linotype. Previous to 1884, all type for printing had been set by the hand typesetter as described above. Mergenthaler's invention caused a worldwide revolution in typesetting and effectively spelled the doom of foundry type.

It took half a century before this machine, too, was rendered obsolete by the computer.

After the form has been put together and proof read, the compositor must adapt the form to the size of the paper on which the printing is to be done.
By the use of spacing material - leads and slugs - the compositor shortens or lengthens the form to the size he wants. To make sure the form does not come apart he ties twine about the form thus preventing pi-ing ( the form coming to pieces ). He then places the form on a galley until needed.

Before print can take place, the form must be securely locked before it can be placed in the press. And he does this by the use of wood furniture and quoins. All secured, he places the chase in the press.

Pulling a proof he will continue examine the sheet to see that everything in the form is printing properly, not too much pressure, all elements of the form printing properly. By the use of underlays or overlays he can produce a properly printed sheet.

Everything being ready, the pressman piles paper on the feed table, adjusts the speed of the press and runs the specified number on the order.

Printing History: The Vicksburg Commercial, one of Michigan's oldest weekly newspapers, was established January 20, 1879. Two families, Penfield and Clark, were primarily responsible for achieving this long history. The restored building is a tribute to the role the newspaper has played in recording area history and to the publishers who made it all possible.

The Vicksburg Commercial, established by Thornton & Cross in 1879, was the town's third newspaper following the Vicksburg Union (1873 - 1877) and the Vicksburg Monitor (1875 - 1877). The Commercial began publication in rooms located over a store on Main Street. Soon after its establishment, Mr. Thornton sold out to Mr. Cross, who also published the Wakeshma Sentinel.

John B. Penfield served as the Commercial's second and fourth publishers. He was listed as publisher in 1881, but after a few years he decided to devote himself to job printing in Three Rivers, Sturgis, and Centreville. Charles Baldwin purchased the newspaper in 1884 and moved it first to the old wool house on the north side of West Prairie Street, and later to rooms upstairs at 103 East Prairie Street.

John B. Penfield repurchased the newspaper in 1892. After his death, in 1917, his daughter, Elise, ran the office for a short time until her death in 1919. The publisher's mantle then fell to John's son, John L. Penfield, who stayed at the helm until his own death in 1931. John L.'s wife, Vera, brought the paper through the Great Depression and the difficult days of World War II, then sold it to Meredith and Bernice Clark in 1947.

In 1972 the paper purchased the Schoolcraft Express and, eventually, the newspaper's name was changed to the Commercial Express. The Clarks sold out to West Michigan Publishers in 1977, which was succeeded by Vicksburg Publications in 1979, Michigan Women's Times in 1994 and Patriot Publications Inc., in 1996.

The Vicksburg Commercial is the oldest business concern in continuous existence at Vicksburg. It began publication Jan. 20, 1879, and went on to succeed where others had failed.

The establishment of a newspaper ranks with the arrival of railroads, in terms of giving permanence to a community. The newspaper provides the only comprehensive record of local affairs and as guardians of our heritage, editors deserve special study.

The first newspaper in Vicksburg, the Union, was founded by a Civil War veteran, Louis E. Jacobs, in 1873. Jacobs died in 1883 and the Union was taken over by Charles P. Sweet. Little is known about either men and no copies of the Union survive. The Union shut down in 1877.

Another newspaper, the Vicksburg Monitor, was established in 1875 by C. W. Bailey & Brother. The 1880 History of Kalamazoo County indicates the weekly paper had a circulation 300 and was printed on a hand press. The Monitor continued publication until 1885.

1884 proved to be an important year in the history of the Commercial. Charles A. Baldwin purchased the Commercial and moved its office to what was known as the "wool house" located west of the post office. Accord to Chapman's Biographical record, "Charles A. Baldwin, the efficient Postmaster of Vicksburg, is well known throughout this section of country as the editor and proprietor of The Commercial, a bright and spicy paper which is independent in politics and devoted to the social and business interests of the community.

Baldwin moved The Commercial office to the 'new' Kimble block in 1885, and installed a new press. This was a Fairhaven cylinder press, which the retrospective account said, ' was the object of great curiosity on the part of many of our citizens, who came in on 'press day' to witness it in operation.