The University of British Columbia

Printing Technology

Bishop Demers' already well-worn iron hand press was small at 11 by 18 inches, relatively lightweight at "a few hundred pounds," and came with French type. The first printing of the British Colonist actually included French accents, but a more modern English type was quickly substituted. What became of the French type? A tramp printer cut off the accents [34]. When it was sold to George Wallace, the founder of the Cariboo Sentinel, the letter "Y" was lost. All subsequent newspapers that used Bishop Demers' press were unable to print "Y" [35]. With two experienced pressmen, the hand press could turn out 250 impressions each hour [36].

The Victoria Gazette, the first newspaper printed in British Columbia, most likely used an Adams power platen press [37]. With an Adams power platen press, popular in North America between 1830 and 1880, approximately 500 to 1,000 impressions could be made each hour [38].

In 1862, the British Colonist, under Amor De Cosmos, upgraded to a cylinder press, the first of its kind in "the colonies" (i.e. Western Canada),[39] or the North Pacific Coast,[40] representing a "major advance" in printing technology [41]. A cylinder press could produce 1,500 to 2,000 impressions per hour [42]. In 1876, the British Colonist, now under D. W. Higgins, became the first newspaper to use steam power to run the cylinder press [43]. With a cylinder press running on steam, a pressman could produce upwards of 5,000 impressions each hour [44]. Thus, the British Colonist was able to outperform its competition because it constantly incorporated new technology.