Page:The practice of typography; correct composition; a treatise on spelling, abbreviations, the compounding and division of words, the proper use of figures and nummerals by De Vinne, Theodore Low, 1828-1914.djvu/371

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Errors due to obscure alterations
357

the proof shall be read again carefully by the office reader. Some provoking errors are unintentionally made by workmen who think that the formal re-reading of the lines in which the battered letters have been changed is a waste of time.

The renewal of the solid lines of linotype composition calls for great vigilance from the reviser. When the fifth faulty line of a paragraph has been reset by the operator, the corrected line may not be put in its proper place. Some meddler may have pushed other lines up or down. It may be inserted in the gap so made and appear in print as the fourth or the seventh line. To prevent this error the paragraph should be formally re-read. When haste does not warrant a re-reading by copy, the proof that has the fault marked should be carefully folded through the centre and one half of it lapped over the new proof, so that their proper connection will be visible at a glance.

Authors who correct the final proof with a lead-pencil provoke the making of new errors. They note an error in phrasing and write down the correction. After re-reading this correction they see that it does not fully convey the meaning intended. The first pencil markings are rubbed out and other words take their place. Sometimes two or three alterations have to be made, and all are written over markings previously made. Repeated rubbing out makes the writing illegible and liable to perversion. Sometimes an addition is made to a singular