Paper-ruling machine
A paper-ruling machine is a device developed by William Orville Hickok in the second half of the 19th century for ruling paper.[1] As the device is designed for drawing lines on paper, it can produce tables and ruled paper.
![](../I/m/Specimens_of_type%2C_borders%2C_ornaments%2C_brass_rules_and_cuts%2C_etc._-_catalogue_of_printing_machinery_and_materials%2C_wood_goods%2C_etc_(1897)_(14785726033).jpg)
![](../I/m/Hickok_ruling_pens.jpg)
The functionality of the machine is based on pens manufactured especially for the device. The pens have multiple tips side by side, and water-based ink is led into them along threads. It is possible to program stop-lines on the equipment by mounting pens on shafts equipped with cams that lower and raise them at predetermined points.[2]
The spread of computerized accounting between the 1960s and 1980s significantly decreased the demand for accounting tables and ruled paper. Nowadays, their demand is primarily filled by using offset printing.[2]
References
- "Company history". The W.O. Hickok Manufacturing Company. 2016-09-24.
- "The Pen Ruler". American Bookbinders Museum. 2016-09-24.