Make-up is the term describing the various operations of dividing composed matter into pages of uniform length, adding the headings, page numbers (folios), inserting small engravings, and otherwise preparing the pages for locking up in a chase for the press or the electrotype foundry.

Newspaper pages and other large page forms of two or more columns are customarily made up on the stone or a similar flat surface in a special chase, with side-sticks and lock-up fitted for the form.

Pages for books, catalogs, and other small and medium sizes are made up on a broad galley placed on the inclined top of the compositor’s stand or cabinet. The compositor who does this work regularly has the working top of his stand fitted with material and conveniences which should help him to do the work without waste of time. There are several styles of make-up cabinets furnished by dealers in printers’ goods. These are designed with the object of keeping near the workman a supply of leads, rules, furniture, and other articles frequently used, so that he may save steps and minutes in doing his work.

It is important that the make-up galley should set firmly and that the bottom should not sag. If it is liable to move at a slight touch, or the bottom is uneven, the type lines will fall down easily, thereby adding to the care and time needed for the work.

The galley is laid with its closed end or head at the right hand. A strip should be nailed on the shelf at the right to act as a stop to hold the galley in place while working on it, especially to prevent it from moving when the lines are pushed up to test the length of the page.

The make-up compositor works with his right side inclined toward the stand, as when making corrections on the galley. The galley should not be so high as to be uncomfortable for the right arm, which must be held over it while working on the pages.

The common practice in making up is to handle the pages sideways, with the top toward the right hand, so that the sequence of lines follows to the left down the galley. In this way the beginning of each line rests against the lower galley rim, and by the use of leads or rules one or any number of lines can be taken out or moved back and forth on the galley with safety. Some job compositors handle small forms with the top line along the lower rim of the galley. This method may suffice with a few lines of large type, but it is not recommended. It is not practicable for pages of many lines or for lines without leads.

The galley matter should be corrected and revised before making up begins. This is important in a work of a number of pages, as any considerable changes after the pages are tied up usually require extra labor. If the revise proofs show only a few corrections, these may be made in advance, a galley or more at a time, by the make-up hand.

The justification of the lines requires particular attention, and all faulty lines should be re-justified. If there are many lines requiring extra time for rectifying the fact should be reported to the foreman or the compositor at fault. Badly justified lines should not be passed over and allowed to go to the imposing stone, in the expectation that they may be rectified when the locking up is done. All justifying should be done and all corrections made as far as possible while the matter is on the galley.

When there is enough composition for a number of pages a gage should be made to measure the exact length of the pages. For a few pages, like a circular or a program, an ordinary pica measure may be used, the length being defined as a given number of picas or lines. If there are to be a number of pages, a page gage should be made from a strip of reglet or brass rule. The gage should include the length of a full page, over all, from the top of the running head down to the foot slug. It may be marked on its upper edge to show the depth of the running head and any other uniform division to be repeated on several pages.

For book pages set in one size of type the length should be determined by even lines of the type used and the running head. No extra leads should be put here and there between the lines or paragraphs of a regular text page; these are used only in broken pages, above and below headings, engravings, or in separating extracts, foot notes, etc. If the pages contain several sizes of type the gage should indicate the exact length of the printed face, as different sizes of type have different amounts of shoulder below the face. For example, a page set in 12-point type would have a pica slug below the last line; if the next page contained a foot note set in 8-point, with the pica slug below, and both pages were exactly the same length, the face of the 8-point note would be a point below the face of the 12-point line on the first page. In this case a 1-point lead should be taken from above the 8-point note and put between the note and the foot slug.

For a book, periodical, or other work that is to be made up frequently from time to time there should be a durable steel or brass page gage, carefully marked for depth of running head, chapter sinkage, drop folio, or any other feature to be kept in uniform position.

Galley matter to be made up into pages of a uniform number of lines should be first marked off with slips of card or slugs at the places where the matter breaks into pages. This is done with the page gage, making allowance for running heads and other features not yet in the matter. If the division comes badly at some places a change of a line more or less at some preceding page and a shifting of the dividing place will eliminate the awkward break. It may happen in the first casting off that a sub-head comes at the bottom of a page, or the last short line of a paragraph comes at the top of a page, or the pages divide in the middle of a short table. These objectionable divisions may usually be overcome by a change in the starting at the first page, taking a line or two from the second page, and so on to the third and succeeding pages; or, on the other hand, adding a line or two to the succeeding page. Sometimes an extra line may be made by over-running two or three lines at the end of a paragraph; or, if a line less is desirable, a short line at the end of a paragraph may be saved by a little thinner spacing of a few preceding lines.

A few moments spent in casting off the matter on two or three galleys ahead of the actual making up will save a great deal of time later in case a bad division makes necessary a little change in pages already completed.

Rules regarding the make-up of book pages must be general for the most part, as many things depend upon the character of the work and the conditions under which it is done. In certain kinds of fine work there are some careful details which can be overlooked in ordinary work that must be done hurriedly and economically. Yet many desirable details of good workmanship may be followed without extra expenditure of time or material if the compositor and make-up hand understand how to do them properly in the first place. A great part of the time and expense devoted to preparing composed type for printing is due to the necessity for going over the pages to correct important matters which could as well have been done right in the first place if it were not for carelessness or lack of knowledge.

The desirable division in a chapter or other composition of plain matter is in the middle of a paragraph of four or preferably more than four lines. There should be at least two lines of a paragraph together on a page. There will thus be a full line at the bottom of one page and another full line at the top of the next.

There are many cases, of course, where the natural division of pages will come between paragraphs. An old-time rule tried to avoid this because of the liability of losing the connection in reading from page to page; but with pages plainly numbered and with consistent running heads this rule has little value. The objection to ending a page with the end of a paragraph may often be caused by the presence of a very short line which gives a broken outline to an otherwise symmetrical page.

The last line of a paragraph should not be put at the top of a page or a column. This rule may be modified in ordinary work if the last line is full length and its presence at the top of the page will avoid some other objectionable feature.

The first line of a paragraph should not be left at the bottom of a page, especially if there is a short line ending the paragraph immediately above.

If there is no other way of following the two preceding rules, make two facing pages a line shorter than the regular length by carrying the lines backward or forward.

A short word divided by a hyphen at the end of a line should not be divided between two pages. A little respacing of the bottom line of one page and the top line of the next will usually overcome a division of this sort.

In book work, the first page of the preface, introduction, table of contents, and of each chapter should be sunk uniformly about one-sixth of the distance down from the top of a full-length page. This space may be varied in different books according to choice, but the sinkage should be the same throughout any one book. These pages are always on the first side of a leaf. If they make only one page each, the back of the leaf is left blank.

The style of the running head is usually specified in instructions for the work. The wording may be either (a) the title of the book on all full pages, (b) the title of the book on the left-hand pages and the chapter subject on the right-hand pages, (c) the title of a new subject which begins, with or without a sub-head, in the text below. The latter style is desirable in a book of many pages because the running heads, carefully phrased, serve as a running index of the contents of a book. First pages of chapters with sunken heads do not have running heads.

The page number or folio is in the end of the running head line, the odd numbers at the right and the even numbers at the left. The folio of the first page of a chapter (which has no running head) is put at the bottom of the page in the center, where it is termed a drop folio. This drop folio should not be included in the regular length of the page, but put in the lower margin a lead or two below the text, and set in figures of a type smaller than the text of the page.

The space between the running head and the text matter should be equal to a full line of quads. This is an average for plain book pages which may be varied according to the leading of the page. The running head should not appear disconnected from the page itself, nor on the other hand should it be crowded on the top line of the text, especially if there are likely to be wide gaps between paragraphs or around sub-heads.

A headline or sub-head and one line of text should not be left at the bottom of a page. If it is not possible to get three lines of the paragraph at the bottom of the page, let the page go short and call attention to the irregularity.

A sub-head immediately under the running head is a combination to be avoided if possible, especially if the same kind of type is used for both, as is often the case.

Two or three lone lines should not be left for the last page of a chapter. Try to allow enough for a quarter of a page or more.