The K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei Issues a Technical Report on its Facilities, Lit by Electricity, Powered by Steam

1894
The switchboard controling the flow of electricity to light the various departments.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
The switchboard controling the flow of electricity to light the various departments.
Hi speed presses for book printing, all driven by belt drives.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Hi speed presses for book printing, all driven by belt drives powered by the steam engine through the elaborate rope system.
Two huge web presses built by Koenig und Bauer. One is visible behind the first press.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Two huge web presses built by Koenig und Bauer. One is visible behind the first press. These were probably used to print newspapers.
Steam engine and cable system powering the printing plant lights and machinery
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
It required at least two steam engines to power the elaborate cable system that drove all the machines. Those steam engines are visible in this photograph.
Two steam engines on the right side power the cable system that drives all the belt drives of machinery in the various departments.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Two steam engines on the right side powered the cable system that drove all the belt drives of machinery in the various departments. The schematic shows the elaborate way that the cables were strung. Steam engines on the left powered the electric lighting system. Among the many fascinating features, the lighting system required about twice as much energy as all the heavy machinery.
Detail map of Innere Stadt, Wien, Wien, Austria Overview map of Innere Stadt, Wien, Wien, Austria

A: Innere Stadt, Wien, Wien, Austria

Chart of the very elaborate system of cable drives powered bycentral steam engines, from which belt drives in various departments powered individual machines.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Chart of the very elaborate system of moving cables powered by steam engines, from which belt drives in various departments powered individual machines. It is unclear all the machines could operate simultaneously using this system. The chart indicates the speed of the the individual belt drives and the horsepower used in each department.
In 1894 G. Fritz, Vice-Director of the K. K. Hof-und Staatsdruckerei in Vienna, published a modestly-produced 62-page report on its facilities, with special attention to the methods used to power their production facilities and their new electric lighting system. This report was the first I saw that explained how a large printing plant was powered in the early days of electricity before power grids were built. Steam engines were employed to generate enough energy to light their entire facility with electricity as long as an elaborate switch board system was employed to monitor distribution of electricity throughout the building. At least two steam engines powered all their machines through an unusually elaborate system of cables and belt drives strung over a multi-story building. As a result this publication was as much about managing energy as operating an industrial printing facility. The unusually elaborate system of cables driving machinery on different floors of the building seems from the persective of the 21st century to have a Rube Goldberg quality.

The electrical lighting system must have been very innovative for the time since Fritz reproduced schematic drawings of the new system at the back of the book.

Fritz, Die K. K. Hof-und Staatsdruckerie und deren technischen Einrichtungen (Vienna, 1894).

Timeline Themes

Printing by Machine
Technology / Engineering
The switchboard controling the flow of electricity to light the various departments.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
The switchboard controling the flow of electricity to light the various departments.
Hi speed presses for book printing, all driven by belt drives.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Hi speed presses for book printing, all driven by belt drives powered by the steam engine through the elaborate rope system.
Two huge web presses built by Koenig und Bauer. One is visible behind the first press.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Two huge web presses built by Koenig und Bauer. One is visible behind the first press. These were probably used to print newspapers.
Steam engine and cable system powering the printing plant lights and machinery
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
It required at least two steam engines to power the elaborate cable system that drove all the machines. Those steam engines are visible in this photograph.
Two steam engines on the right side power the cable system that drives all the belt drives of machinery in the various departments.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Two steam engines on the right side powered the cable system that drove all the belt drives of machinery in the various departments. The schematic shows the elaborate way that the cables were strung. Steam engines on the left powered the electric lighting system. Among the many fascinating features, the lighting system required about twice as much energy as all the heavy machinery.