A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING CALICOES AND OTHER SURPACES
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DALTON, of Hollingworth, in the County of Chester, Calico Printer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great.
Britain and Ireland, bearing date the First day of May, in the twelfth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Dalton, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial.
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John
Dalton, 'my 'exors, adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said John
Dalton, my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and.
vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,.
my Invention of "A CERTAIN IMPROVEMENT OR CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING
CALICOES AND OTHER SURPACES;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso requiring that I, the said John Dalton, shall particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, by an instrument in writing. under my hand and seal, to be

page_text: enrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Dalton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by this present Instrument in writing as follows, that is
to say:-
The first series of my improvements consists in the adaptation of an
improved covering or lapping to the printing cylinder of machines used for
printing calicoes, muslins, carpets, papers, and other surfaces. The ordinary
lapping is composed of a web of linen and wool, the. linen being the warp, and
the wool the weft, and is lapped in continuous folds round the printing
cylinder of the machine, being used for the purpose of rendering the exterior
of the cylinder soft and yielding to the action of the engraved roller as the
design is impressed on the fabric. Considerable pressure is necessarily
employed in the process, and the ordinary lapping is not capable of resisting
for any length of time the abrasive action of the machinery. The outer fold is
soon acted on, and gives way to the pressure; frequently occasioning con-
siderable damage to the fabric printed before the fracture of the lapping of the
fabric is discovered. The object of my improvement is to remedy this defect
by strengthening the fibres of the web employed. to cover the cylinder in
such a way as to render the web firmer, and better able to resist the abrasive
action of the machine; and for this purpose I substitute for the ordinary lap-
ping a web of woollen, woollen and linen, or woollen and cotton texture,
previously coated over on one or both surfaces with a thin layer of gutta
percha. This coated lapping is folded round the printing cylinder, and
employed in the process of printing in a similar manner to the ordinary
lapping. In applying the gutta percha to the web or lapping I first dissolve a
sufficient quantity of the gutta percha by means of any of the usual solvents,
such as benzole, naptha, spirit of turpentine, camphine, bisulphuret of carbon,
or other proper solvents, in the proportion of five pounds of the gutta percha
to one gallon of the solvent or thereabouts; but I prefer benzole or bisulphuret
of carbon for the solvent, as they, being exceedingly volatile, evaporate more
quickly when the solution is deposited on the textile fabric, and leave the gutta
percha adherent to the fabric, and as firm as before solution. I apply this
solution of gutta percha to the surface of the lapping by means of an ordinary
cylinder calico-printing machine. The solution is elevated to the temperature

page_text: of about 150° Fahrenheit (except when benzole or bisulphuret of carbon are
used as the solvent, and then to about 100° for bengole, and not more than 70°
or 80° for bisulphuret of carbon), and is placed in the colour box of the
machine (made air-tight, so as to prevent evaporation when benzole or
bisulphuret of carbon are the solvents), and carried to the lapping, or as if it
were printed on it by a copper roller revolving between the cylinder and colour
box, in the same manner as the colour is printed on the cloth in the process of
calico printing. In order that the solution may be regularly and equally
applied I engrave the copper roller with a deeply reversed pin ground, the pin in
relief; and by this means I not only obtain a more even coating, but the solu-
tion becomes also more perfectly pressed between the fibres of the cloth. The
lapping being thus coated is kept open after leaving the machine, and is passed
over several rollers, and heated steam chests or steam drums, to effect the
more rapid evaporation of the solvent, and, when dry, the coating of gutta
percha will be found perfectly adherent to the lapping. A second coating of
the solution may be applied with advantage to the former one, where greater
tenacity of the lapping is required, by passing it a second time through the
machine, in similar manner to that herein-before described. This lapping, by
having its fibres firmly bound together with so tenacious a substance as gutta
percha, acquires much greater strength, is rendered more durable and inflexible,
and will prove much more economical than the ordinary lapping, as in practice
it will be found to last about four times as long, and will be equally available in
processes of printing other textile fabrics, paper, or other surfaces where lapping
is used. It will also conduce to bring out a finer impression from the engraved
roller, and will, if used with the ordinary woollen blanket, prevent the tendency
of what is termed flocking.
The second series of my improvements consists in the adaptation of a novel
description of machine blanket or endless wcb to the machines ordinarily used
for printing calicoes and other surfaces. The ordinary blanket in present use
consists of a web of woollen texture formed into an endless web, and placed
upon the machine so as to revolve with the fabric then being printed, and is
used for the purpose of maintaining an even surface of the fabric, and keeping
it fixed in its position whilst it receives the impression of the engraved roller.
From the abrasive action of the machinery, however, the external fibres of the
last-mentioned blanket are gradually ground away and accumulate, or, as it is
termed, flock in sundry parts of the blanket, thereby rendering the surface uneven,
and consequently occasioning a similar inequality in the deposit of colour on
the printed fabric. My Invention tends to remedy this disadvantage by the
adoption of the species of blanket prepared in the manner firstly herein-after

page_text: described, and the object of my improvement generally is, to render the endless
web more serviceable in its application, by making it firmer, more inflexible,
and durable. I prepare this improved blanket or endless web either, firstly, by
covering with gutta percha, in a similar manner to the lapping herein-before
mentioned, the surface or surfaces of the ordinary woollen blanket, or a blanket
or web composed of wool, cotton wool, and linen, or wool and cotton; or,
secondly, by uniting two folds of similar blanket or web with the coating
or layer of gutta percha between the folds, and thus forming a single blanket.
The process of preparing the first-mentioned blanket is similar to that of pre-
paring the lapping herein-before mentioned, the gutta percha being applied in
a state of solution to the surface of the blanket or web by means of the
machine and engraved roller herein-before described; but, in order to press
the solution more firmly between the close thick fibres of the blanket, and
render the coating perfectly adherent, I use a second similarly engraved roller
placed after the other, as in a two-coloured calico-printing machine (but with-
out the colour box), and weighted so as to press the blanket with considerable
force. The solvent is afterwards evaporated by passing the blanket over the
heated steam chests or steam drums, and a second or third coating, if required;
is afterwards applied to the coated surface in similar manner. In the solvent
used with the gutta percha I am also more particular than with the lapping,
preferring the use of benzole or bisulphuret of carbon to any other, with the
same precautions as to temperature and prevention of evaporation. The
blanket, thus prepared, is distinguished by the valuable qualities of great
strength, inflexibility, and durability, and at the same time the peculiar advan-
tages of the soft woollen surface to bring out the impression from the engraved
roller are retained. This improved blanket, however, is not well adapted for
machines working at a temperature above 160° Fahrenheit. For such machines
prepare the second-mentioned blanket or endless web, by uniting two folds of
the blanket or web, previously coated over on the inside surface with gutta
percha, as follows:-I take a web or blanket of woollen, cotton, woollen and
linen, or woollen and cotton texture, of rather thinner material than the ordinary
woollen blanket, and apply to the surface thereof a covering of the gutta
percha solution in the manner herein-before described, without passing the
coated web' over-the heated steam chests. I then take another-web or blanket
of similar materials and proceed to coat it also with the solution. As soon
as it-receives the coating from the first roller I unite to it the web previously
coated, and pass- them both together between the second roller. and the cylin-
der, using considerable. pressure. The united folds are afterwards passed
over the steam chests or steam drums, and on the evaporation of the volatile
I

page_text: solvent will be found firmly adherent. These blankets will be found to com-
bine the capability of resisting a high temperature and the advantages of
strength and durability. Both kinds of blankets are particularly adapted
for machines printing more than one colour, where great difficulty is generally
experienced in making a good fit of the patterns, as, by the firmness and
inflexibility of the improved blanket, less adjustment will be required in the
engraving to produce an accurate fit, a considerable saving in power will also
be effected.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature and particulars of my
said Invention of a certain Improvement or certain Improvements in Printing
Calicoes and other Surfaces, and having shewn methods by which I carry the
same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details of the same herein-before set forth, or any one of
them, so long as the particular object of my Invention, or the advantages
resulting therefrom, are effected; but that in this my Specification of Letters
Patent, granted to me as aforesaid, I claim,-
Firstly, the novel combination of materials; their preparation and applica-
tion as a lapping or covering to the printing cylinder of machines used for the
printing of calicoes, muslins, carpets, papers, and other surfaces, as described
under the first series of my improvements, or any modified combination or
preparation of the same, as applicable to such purposes.
Secondly, the novel combination and preparation of materials, and the
application thereof, as a blanket or endless webb to machines for printing
calicoes and other surfaces, as herein-before described under the second series
of my improvements, or any modified combination or preparation of the same,
as applicable to such purposes.
In witness whereof, the said John Dalton hath hereunto set his hand
and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-nine.
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the
within-named John Dalton, in the
JOHN (L.s.) DALTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of October, in
the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid John Dalton came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirty-first day of October in the year of our Lord One.