of expense is often of importance. Plates made from pen drawings now
cost about ten cents a square inch, while half-tone plates made of metal
for printing on an ordinary printing press with type matter cost about
twenty-five cents a square inch.

By using specially prepared process papers, which, if not sold by a
local dealer in artists' materials, can be had of Messrs. Wadsworth,
Rowland & Co., or Frost & Adams, drawings can be made in pencil or black
crayon which can be reproduced by the cheaper process, and will give
excellent results. Considering the ease with which this work can be done
and the satisfactory results obtained, it is surprising that it has not
been more generally adopted. The only drawback to working upon this
paper is the fact that no erasures or changes can be made without
ruining the surface of the paper.

In connection with what has already been considered in relation to the
reproduction of drawings, it may be well to refer to the making of
plates from photographs. The selection of a good photograph is of the
first importance. It should be brilliant, and with all the contrast of
light and shade and as much detail as possible, for something is always
lost in both these respects in the process of reproduction. A good plate
can be made from a good photograph, but cannot from a bad one. The
process is the same as that referred to above for the reproduction of
wash drawings, etc., and the cost the same, about twenty-five cents a
square inch. The half-tone plates in THE BROCHURE SERIES, made by The
Blanchard & Watts Engraving Company, Boston, are good examples of
first-class work of this description.