Improved Process of Treating Plates and the like for Facilitating the Removal of Galvano Plastic Deposits Contained thereon.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Sept., 1889-Accepted, 5th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process of Treating Plates and the like for Facilitating
the Removal of Galvano Plastic Deposits Contained thereon.
A communication from ALEXANDER KARL REINFELD, of Maria-hilfer Strasse 81,
Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Gentleman.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
The lifting off or removal of galvano-plastic deposits is always difficult if the
deposit is very thin and no intermediate layer or coating of fat, wax, resin or the
like is used which substances always act in a derogatory manner to the finer details
of the design.
This difficulty is avoided by using as intermediate layer a coating of nickel, or
the plates may be alloyed with nickel. While every metal can be coated electro-
lytically with a fast adhering layer of nickel this latter metal possesses only in a
slight degree the property of retaining or adhering to galvano-plastic deposits. If
this coating of nickel is moreover treated with any oxidising material or soap like
mixtures for the purpose of making it perfectly smooth, this property of adhering
to the galvano-plastic deposits disappears altogether and it is possible to easily remove
from this surface deposits of a thickness of say only the 1 or 2 thousandth part of a
millimetre.
The oxidising can be effected by substances giving off oxygen such as chromate or
manganate or by a suitable heating. Soap-like mixtures are considered as all mixtures
containing fatty- or resinous-acids in combination with alkaline substances for
instance substances containing oleic acid in combination with lime, or the like.
From a nickel surface treated in this manner all electrolytical deposits can be lifted
off or removed easily.
The plates after having received the nickel coating are oxidised by being immersed
in a solution of preferably chromate or manganate (solution 1. 2) for about a quarter
of an hour and are then well rubbed, or the plate is well rubbed until it is perfectly
smooth with one of the above mentioned soap-like mixtures. The plate is then ready
for use and very thin glossy metal foils can be obtained from this polished nickel
surface. It is preferable to have only the first deposit of gold, silver, nickel, tin or
other suitable metal and then to immerse the plate in a copper or other metal bath
and strengthen the first deposit with this metal.
These thin foils may be if preferred fixed to paper or other suitable material before
their removal from the plate. For this purpose the deposit while still on the plate
is coated with glue or equivalent and the paper or other material is placed on it and
lightly pressed down. When the cement is dry the paper or other material is lifted
off with the foil or deposit together.
This process can be employed for the production of printing plates for graphic and
plastic purposes for the production of plastic highly polished metal foils and of metal
papers for technical or commercial purposes.
Dated this 22nd dow of February 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improved Process of Treating Plates and the like for Facilitating
the Removal of Galvano-plastic Deposits Contained thereon.
A communication from ALEXANDER KARL REINFELD, of Maria-hilfer Strasse 81,
Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Gentleman.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M:I.M.E., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The lifting off or removal of galvano-plastic deposits is always difficult if the deposit
is very thin and no intermediate layer or coating of fat, wax, resin or the like is used
which substances always act in a derogatory manner to the finer details of the
design.
This difficulty is avoided by using as intermediate layer a coating of nickel, or the
plates may be alloyed with nickel. While every metal can be coated electrolytically
with a fast adhering layer of nickel this latter metal possesses only in a slight degree
the property of retaining or adhering to galvano-plastic deposits. If this coating of
nickel is moreover treated with any oxidising materials or soap-like mixtures for the
purpose of making it perfectly smooth, this property of adhering to the galvano-plastic
deposits disappears altogether and it is possible to easily remove from this surface
deposits of a thickness of say only the 1 or 2 thousandth part of a millimetre.
The oxidising can be effected by substances giving off oxygen such as a chromate or
manganate or by a suitable heating. By soap-like mixtures is meant all mixtures
containing fatty or resinous acids in combination with alkaline substances, for instance
substances containing oleic acid in combination with lime or the like.
From a nickel surface treated in this manner all electrolytic deposits can be lifted
off or removed easily.
The plates after having received the nickel coating are oxidised by being immersed
in a solution of preferably chromate or manganate (solution 1. 2) for about a quarter
of an hour and are then well rubbed, or the plate is well rubbed until it is perfectly
smooth with one of the above mentioned soap-like mixtures. The plate is then ready
for use and very thin glossy metal foils can be obtained from this polished nickel
surface. It is preferable to have only the first deposit of gold, silver, nickel, tin or
other suitable metal and then to immerse the plate in a copper or other metal bath and
strengthen the first deposit with this metal.
These thin foils may be if preferred fixed to paper or other suitable material before
their removal from the plate. For this purpose the deposit while still on the plate
is coated with glue or equivalent and the paper or other material is placed on it and
lightly pressed down. When the cement is dry the paper or other material is lifted
off together with the foil or deposit.
This process can be employed for the production of printing plates for graphic and
plastic purposes for the production of plastic highly polished metal foils and metal
papers for technical or commercial purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The process for the production of easily removable galvano-plastic metal deposits
and polished metal foils, consisting in coating the plate or other matrix with nickel
or employing plates alloyed with nickel, on which the foil is deposited, after having
treated the nickel surface or the plate alloyed with nickel with an oxidising agent
such as chromate or manganate or with a soap-like mixture for the purpose of
polishing the surface, by which means the metal deposit can be easily removed and a
subsequent polishing thereof is rendered unnecessary substantially as specified.

page_text: 2. The method of strengthening the foils produced by the process described in the
foregoing claim by a further deposit of copper or other suitable metal or fixing them
to paper or other suitable material while still on the plate and then removing them
together with this material substantially as specified.
Dated this 2nd day of September 1889.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.