The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-11
PRINTING WITHOUT INK.
Advances Made in the EIectrO-che en-
icnI PrOcess.L-

tiOISu Il system VI piIhtlllS NAtHOul iAlht
which originated in England and which
was the invention of man named Green.
The pa per used in the process is chemi
cally prepared that when electricity
flows through it from the face OF the
type the chemicals contained are turned
dark. A syndicate has been formed in
the British capital TO develop the inven-
tion and for about four months elaborate
experiments with it have been in pro
gress. Public exhibitions Of the system
have been given, and the attention of pub
fishers and scientific folk, not merely in
England, but also on the continent of Eu-
rope has been drawn to it, A. Sanderson,
The managing director of the company be
! hind the scheme, now supplies a number
of additional particulars in the February
number of Chambers journal.
That which Mr. Sandersou regards as
| the chief improvement made in the process
| within the last few weeks is doing away
! with the necessity for wettng the paper,
| folmerly reSorted 20 in order to facilitate
! the passage of the current through it.
| Years ago ii was customary to mOisten
| the sheets several hours before printing,
| as it was believed that better results We're
! thus obtained. That practice has now
! DteH dDdnuOneQ, ana II NcllNS were
| neces sary in the new electrical process
the labor involved would constitute a
! drawback to the plan. 1t has been found
to be practicable TO dispense with it, how
ever.
| One of the first questions that arise in
| regard to the Green process relates to the
speed with which ii can be worked. OF
| course, the electricity must act upon the
| chemicals for a sensible period of time
| in order to accomplish the desired object
| And if the time required should prove
| to be mucn greater than that needed with
| INK this limitation would prove a serious
| one. What Mr.. Sanderson says on this
| point is not altogether clear He speaks
| of "a small rotary press" which gave him
six thousand impressions an hour If
| he employed only a single set of plates
or forms, then the speed attained was
about half that of the best modern news
paper presses. The latter make about
| 1900 revolutions an hour. Their capacity
| can be doubled by putting on two full sets
of stereotype plates, but the same thing
can be done with the Green process, too.
The vital question is the number of revo-
lutions an hour THAI can be made with
out sacrificing the quality of the work;
and apparently, at the present time, this
is only one-half as great as with the best
web perfecting press; perhaps only a
quarter.
Cheapness of Materials.
The chemicals required to render the
paper sensitive are said to be very cheap
They ate essentially different from those
used in photography. For the present the
inventor and those who control his pro-
cess are not willing to mention the nature
of the materials. 1t is announced, how
ever, that they are incorpora ted into the
paper during the operation of manufa ctur-
! ing the latter, and are not applied after
ward, as are the senstizing elements of
DhOtOUTa nbiC priD ting ay-
tent these chemicals take the place of
others now used in paper making; and
Mr.. Sanderson declares that no additional
cost results. The paper can be had just
as cheaply, he says, as if it had not been
treated with a view to electrical printin
A comparison between the old and new
methods is offered to show the economy
that is said to be one of the special ad-
Vantages of the Green plan. 1t is assumed
that form of eight quarto pages for an
illustrated catalogue is being used, three
of the pages being in light-faced type and
five devoted to process" or half-tone
blocks. Every thousand impressions with
ink involve the consumption of pound
of that material and a consequent outlay
| of shillings sterling. In weeks work
covering 5000 impressions, this item
would amount to 10 12s., or in a year of
ffty-one weeks, f1S3 12s. Mr.. Sandersou
declares that the current required to do
the same work by the electrical method
would cost a penny and one-half an hour
6 shillings and pence a week of ifty-four
hours. or Ell As. Sd. year, To this mus
be added f20 for the license to use the pro-
cess According to this estimate, there
would be a saving of f146 U.s. Cd. a year.
Among the other claims put forward in |
behalf of the electrical process is that
it leaves a permanent impression. mas
much as the system is a new one little
chance has been afforded for thorough
This b11 of 1rlx
are in existence that are six months old |
and some of these have been constantly |
exposed to the light Mr.. Sanderson says |
that they retain their original strength |
and solidity, which is more than can be |
said of some printing inks Fhe regula- |
ton of intensity of shade IS effected by |
Introducing resist into the press This
device is not described in detail, but the |
principle is easily understood. The degree |
of the influence exerted on the ink by the |
current is proportional TO the amount of
electricity passing through it. BY. intro |
ducing in its path something which offers
resistance to the flow the amount of the |
current that is effective is lessened. and
the darkness of the impression is abated
accordingly
No Color Effects Yet.
As yet, so far as practical results are
concerned. the process has been confined
to printing in black The possibility of pro-
consideration. No light is shed on the pos
sbe outcome of the pending experiments,
but the public is given 10 understand that
the present status of the art is not to be
regarded as final.
The amount Of current required is said
to be so small that no accident can occur
from the use Of electricity and the con-
troll of the operation is simplicity itself.
The current is turned on and off by an
ordinary push button.
The ease with which the Green process
can be adapted to presses now In use will
doubtless facilitate its Introduction If in
other respects II shall be found satsfac-
tory No change appears TO be necessary
beyond the removal of the old ink rollers
and receptables and the attachment of
few electric wires. But supply of the
right kind OF paper is requisite. Although
the company of which Mr. Sanderson is
the managing director has its own presses
for test purposes. It has under considera-
lion offers from two London daily paDers