News Archive - 1998

New Products

We are delighted to announce the launch of further products in our range of wooden bookbinding equipment. We now have in stock our newly designed laying press (and tub), plough and a choice of finishing presses in two styles.

August 1998

Positive Steps Award

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. have recently come second in the small business category of the Positive Steps Award. East of Scotland Water and Zeneca Grangemouth initiated this award to encourage long-term improvements to the environment by industry within the East of Scotland. The award recognises the contribution made by industry towards reducing pollution, minimising waste and encouraging sustainable use of resources. The award was open to 700 companies in the East of Scotland, all of whom work with the Industrial Pollution Control division of East of Scotland Water. Members of the East of Scotland Water, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, visited the Company, interviewed the management and inspected the premises. At the prize giving, J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. was commended as a company with operated in a very environmentally aware manner. In particular we were singled out as an excellent example of a firm using a substitution policy. This involves substituting safer alternatives in the place of hazardous materials and thus reducing risks not only within the factory but also on the environment. Mention was also made of our record in the recycling of materials and of our consistent use of sustainable products. Mr. Marsden of SEPA mentioned that our tannery gave him a totally different view of how environmentally friendly tanneries could be! Regrettably we were beaten for first place, and the prize of two thousand pounds, by Masslam Systems Ltd., a printed circuit board manufacturer.

July 1998

Curragh Goatskin - Bagpipe Leather

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd are pleased to present their new "CURRAGH" goatskin for the production of bagpipe bags.J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. have been the sole tanners in Scotland of sheepskin for the production of bagpipes for nearly twenty years. During the last few years, there has been a steady decline in availability of suitable sheepskin pelts. As a result we have decided to use our expertise in the tanning of both sheepskin bagpipe leathers and vegetable tanned goatskins to develop what we believe to be a superior leather for making bagpipe bags. Our new leather is a vegetable tanned goatskin that has been re-tanned using the best parts of the bagpipe sheepskin process. Potassium alum is added and the skins are then oiled with our special bagpipe recipe. Finally the skins are dried flat and softened prior to dispatch. The advantages of the "CURRAGH" leather are:

• Vegetable tan/aluminium combination tannages have been proven to have enhanced ageing properties when compared to either vegetable tanned leathers or aluminium tanned leathers.
• Goatskin is a considerably more durable leather than sheepskin. It has a tighter fibre structure and will not delaminate during use, a problem that is quite common with sheepskin. When taken in conjunction with the improved tannage we would therefore expect a goatskin bag to have an increased lifespan.
• We believe that our "CURRAGH" goatskin should not suffer from the problems of drying-out that occur with the sheepskin bags in dry climates.
• This leather will be available direct from the tannery at very competitive rates. Since we already deal directly with the public, we will gladly accept orders for this leather down to one skin. We accept payment by credit card, and are delighted to send skins to any destination in the world.

If you require further information, prices or samples with regard to our "CURRAGH" goatskin please do not hesitate to contact the Edinburgh Tannery.

June 1998

A New Range of Wooden Bindery Equipment

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new range of wooden bookbinding equipment. We now have in stock our newly designed nipping press and a choice of three sizes of sewing frame. Our new Laying Press, Plough and finishing Presses will be available very soon.

March 1998

Embossed Pigskins

For those of you who are regular large users of embossed goatskin, have you ever thought about the possibilities of using embossed pigskin as an alternative. This leather tends to have a very bad name in the bookbinding field, however we believe that this is most unfair. While it is true to say that historically most pigskins were very firm, with the use of the right mixture of vegetable tans, a strong leather with good wearing characteristics and a nice round feel can be obtained. Pigskin is widely used on the continent in Austria, Germany, Scandinavia and Switzerland as an alternative to goatskin in bookbinding, since the raw material was readily available. The main advantage of pigskin is its economy of scale. The skins run in the region of 1.0-1.2 sq.m per skin (10-12.5 sq.ft.) with a main cutting area of around 75x100cms. This regular square shape makes it a very economical leather for cutting on our clicker press. On top of this, the price per square metre is around 10% less than for goatskin. Embossed pigskin is not stocked as a finished leather. There are however readily available supplies of this raw material, and skins can be produced to order in approximately 3-4 weeks from receipt of order. If you wish to see a larger sample, please do not hesitate to contact our Edinburgh warehouse.

January 1998

The End for Basils?

As you may already know, there has been a major shortage of sheepskins over the last two years. Recently the situation has deteriorated again, and this has resulted in us being unable to purchase the better grades that we normally use. The shortage of sheepskins has now been ongoing for several years and has recently resulted in the closure of Britain's largest clothing tannery. With this situation showing no signs of easing we have regrettably decided to withdraw sheepskins (not sheep skivers) from our range of products. Over the last year, we have been substituting smooth and glazed goatskins for their basil equivalent. This will continue, and over the next few months, the stocks of basil will be replaced with goatskins. Problems may occur in the replacement of Aniline and Fair Basils, although we will of course do our best to help out in these cases. If you have any queries about how this will affect your bindery, please do not hesitate to contact us.