Chapter 572 Steam Rotary Printing Press
Franz's words could not impress the other party at all. After all, the actor's status at this time was far less than that of later generations.
Even the top stars of Dark Moon and Sunlight, the two most popular theaters in Vienna at this time, may not necessarily have a high social status. In the eyes of truly powerful people, they are nothing more than high-end prostitutes.
As Franz's attendant, Adjani had only half a foot in the empire's inner circle, and her status was much higher than that of ordinary counts and duchess.
Franz sometimes even suspected that the Austrian Empire's talent points were chosen randomly. They were really talented in eating, drinking, playing, and having fun.
Franz just proposed the most basic concept of a projector. Experts from the Royal Scientific Society used existing technologies such as film to create a disc projector and broke through the shackles of the Stampfel disc. However, there were A new problem is that film is difficult to recycle.
So Franz once again proposed the concept of film supply cassette and film collection cassette. At this time, the projector had begun to take shape, but the transmission of film was still inconvenient.
Franz remembered that when he used PS to modify old pictures, there were neat holes on both sides of the film, so he proposed that neat holes should be punched on both sides to facilitate transmission.
Although it is only a small change, it solves the big problem of gear transmission and also provides a stable frame rate standard for the projector.
The result was not only a hand-cranked projector, but also the earliest point-and-shoot camera.
Franz then established the first projection company in the Austrian Empire, but this time he did not promote it with great fanfare, but planned to use it as a means of propaganda and education.
Franz plans to save this technology for the World Expo a few years later, when it will be a blockbuster and the effect will be even better. The emergence of projectors will change traditional training models, especially in military and vocational education.
After all, neither the so-called "master" nor the manual is as intuitive and selfless as the projector. Franz felt that the emergence of this equipment would greatly improve the efficiency and cost of training, which would mean more soldiers and craftsmen for the Austrian Empire.
At the same time, it will also affect the model of national propaganda. For example, Franz’s [Minstrel Project] may become a [Screen Team] in the future.
But it doesn't matter. After all, the wheel of history always moves forward. It's just a matter of sooner or later. But with only images and no sound, wouldn’t it become a mime?
Franz had considered the problem of the gramophone, but unfortunately he didn't get what he wanted this time. One was because the front-end technology was too different, and the other was that Franz couldn't give effective suggestions.
After all, he had seen and disassembled old-fashioned projectors, and even bought models and assembled them. But he had only seen phonographs in movies, and the only principle he knew was related to sound vibration. Obviously, this alone could not speed up the pace of scientific and technological progress.
In fact, during the previous propaganda war with France, in addition to a large amount of cheap paper, the printing technology of the Austrian Empire also overwhelmed the former.
The mid-19th century was a very magical era. With the invention of movable type casting machines and typesetting machines, wooden printing presses, iron printing presses, and steam printing presses appeared at the same time, each showing its magical powers.
Wood is the slowest, but has a low threshold for cheap technology. It has a long history and is the most commonly used printing technology in North Germany.
Iron printing presses were faster, more durable, and came in more styles. They could be either press-type or arm-type. The French and Americans were particularly fond of this type of printing press.
Next came the result of the Industrial Revolution, the steam printing press, which also changed the source of power on the basis of the former. It could print two thousand sheets per hour, which was four times the speed of the iron printing press.
Only one such machine was needed and it could be completed in half a day. The Times, the world's largest circulation newspaper at the time, had a daily circulation (23,000 copies).
However, for timeliness, the newspaper has four such machines.
Austria adopted a new printing method - rotary printing, which is still used today.
In fact, this printing method had been tried as early as the French Revolution, but it failed due to the technical conditions at the time.
Afterwards, the Norwegians and Danes also tried. The latter almost succeeded, but had to give up due to lack of funds. Finally, it was invented by the Americans in 1846.
Franz was not short of money, so he simply bought the Norwegian and Danish patents, and with the help of outstanding craftsmen and engineers, he developed it in just a few months. After several years of improvement, this At that time, a steam rotary printing press could print 20,000 sheets per hour.
Therefore, the textbooks and brochures sent to Alsace-Lorraine were printed in only two days.
At this time in history, Austria still used the same traditional woodblock printing technology as the German region. This was not entirely because these people were conservative and backward, but mainly because there was not enough demand.
Putting aside the fact that the Austrian Empire has the second-lowest literacy rate in Europe, the annual circulation of 9 million copies is very depressing. There are only 58 officially registered newspapers in the country.
In fact, due to the censorship system, opening a newspaper in Austria requires a license, and many contents cannot be written.
Then a large number of tabloids, the so-called black workshops, were created.
At this time, the sales volume of Austrian newspapers was very poor. The largest one only had about 2,000 copies per day, and the average newspaper sales volume was only a few hundred copies per day.
In contrast, the French newspaper industry is much stronger, with a circulation of about 25 million copies a year. The daily sales of the French newspaper leader "La Patria" have exceeded 10,000.
But this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the British. In 1844, the circulation of British newspapers was 300 million copies, of which well-known newspapers such as The Times, Morning Post, and The Sun had daily circulations of more than 20,000.
In particular, the daily circulation of "The Times" exceeds 60,000 copies, and the annual circulation exceeds the sum of all newspapers in the Austrian Empire.
As for the Americans, they were even more exaggerated. They published 500 million newspapers in one year in 1844, but their newspapers were not as vital as British and French newspapers. The most famous "Akron Condor" at the time ", "Liberty Magazine", "New York Commercial Advertiser", "Flash" have all disappeared in the long river of history.
Looking at the comparison of newspaper circulation, Franz finally understood why the Anglo-Saxons liked to compete for the hegemony of public opinion so much.
Of course, the Austrian Empire was not without its merits. Its color printing, especially woodblock color printing technology, ranked first in the world. Later, the most widely used slate color printing in the 19th century was also invented by the Austrians.
However, these two technologies had neither patent protection nor strong industrial support, so in the end they did not create much benefit for the Austrian Empire.
But things are different now. With Franz's involvement, Austria's newspaper industry is developing rapidly. Although it is not as fast as Britain and the United States, it has successfully surpassed its old rival France.
The annual circulation of 40 million is more than four times that of the same period in history. In addition, Franz did not intend to waste the original advantages of the Austrian Empire. Since they like to engage in luxury goods, why not engage in magazines?