IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR LETTER-PRESS PRINTING
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Fourth day of May, in the tenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Newton, Herespecial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said William Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said William Newton, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales, and
the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR LETTER-PRESS
PRINTING," being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad; in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her
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
арреят

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):-
This Invention of improvements in machinery for letter-press printing relates
to that class of printing machines in which the form of types is arranged on the
surface of a cylinder, with a series of impression cylinders, inking rollers, and
other appropriate apparatus arranged around it, so that by its rotation the
types are successively inked, and give their impression to the sheets of paper
as they are fed to the impression cylinders, and by them carried into the
machines; the number of sheets to be printed by one revolution of the curved
or segmental bed depending on the number of impression cylinders arranged
around it; the number and dimensions of the impression cylinders depending
upon the diameter of the large cylinder that carries the types, and other cir-
cumstances.
The first part of the Invention relates to the mode or modes of arranging
the form or forms of types on a portion of the surface of a cylinder, while the
other portion of the surface is employed to distribute the ink, and therefore
answers the purpose of a distributing table.
The second part of the Invention consists in giving to the inking rollers
that are arranged in sets around the large cylinder, which, as before stated,
is composed of the segmental or curved form of type, and distributing
table, and also to the transferring roller of the inking apparatus, a vibratory
motion, or motion in and out, or towards and from the axis of the cylinder
around which they are arranged, so that they may press ou the cylindrical
distributing table as it passes under them to distribute the ink, and be
thrown out sufficiently far from the centre to transfer the ink to the form of
types when it comes round, as the face of the types project outwards beyond
that part of the cylinder which forms the distributing table; or if preferred,
separate inking apparatus may be placed in each space between the impression
cylinders, in which case the surface described as the distributing surface would
be dispensed with. In the Drawings I have shewn only one "formn" of type
as adapted to the large cylinder, all the remaining portion of the surface being s
employed as a distributing table; but, if required, an additional form of type
may be added opposite the former, and then the paper must be fed in twice as
quicky
The third of the Invention relates to the inking apparatus, and consists
in giving to the ductar fountain roller that takes the ink from the fountain

page_text: a slow continuous rotary instead of an intermitting motion as heretofore, so
that the ink shall be regularly transmitted to the taking-up roller, and thence
to the distributing roller and table; and also in connecting the arbor of this
ductor or fountain roller with the mechanism that gives to it the slow rotary
motion by means of a ratchet, so that it (the ductor roller) may be turned for-
ward when desired to alter the supply of ink,
And the fourth part of the Invention relates to the method of securing and
retaining the types on the cylindrical bed, which is effected by means of column
rules that are thicker at the outer than at the inner part, so that the sides of
any two of them shall be parallel with each other, or so nearly so as to hold
the the column of types as tight at the top as at the base, the said rules being
made with projections from the lower edge, so that they may be held down
from below in such a manner that the columns of types, with the rules sepa-
rating them, may be afterwards pressed together laterally by screws, or by
wedges or quoins, at the side of the bed in the usual manner, without the risk
of breaking or binding the rules.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine
complete; Figure 2, an end elevation; Figure 3, a longitudinal vertical section.
Figures 2x represent detached sectional views of one mode of attaching the
portable segmental bed to the cylinder of the machine. Figure 3* is also a
detached sectional view of the mode of mounting the impression cylinders.
Figure 4 is a plan of the curved or segmental bed that receives the types,
shewing one method of securing the type thereon. Figure 5 is a longitudinal
section, and Figure 6 a cross section thereof; and Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 are views of various modifications of
the means of securing the types in their segmental bed. In Figures 1, 2, 2*,
3, and 3*, similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts. A, A,
represents a frame properly adapted to the various parts of the press or
machine; and B is a cylinder of large size, composed of two rings, one at each
side of the machine, or a greater number may be used if required. These
rings are mounted on a shaft C, running in appropriate bearings attached to
the framing. About one fourth of the circumference of this cylinder constitutes
the place occupied by the portable bed or beds a, a, a, of the press (seen best
in Figure 3). These beds of course form the segment of a cylinder, and are
adapted to receive the form of types either in the manner to be presently
described, or in any other manner which may be desired. The mode of
attaching the bed or beds (which contain the type) to the rings composing the
cylinder B will be seen in Figure 3. Steel pins 9, 9, are tapped or rivitted
into the rings of the cylinder B at each side of the machine, and are made to

page_text: take into the holes or sockets made in the flanges or other convenient part of
the underside of the bed, for the purpose of steadying the same, and holding it
in its proper place on the rings while it is being secured thereon by bolts or
otherwise. As it has been found inconvenient to have pins or screws pro-
jecting from the under side of the bed, the latter when deposited in its proper
place is secured to the rings B by means of screw bolts 8, 8, which are slipped
laterally into slots made for that purpose in the flange of the bed, and
also in the side of the rings B, B, and are tightened up from the underside of
the rings by nuts, as shewn in the Drawing. Another mode of securing the
bed or beds on the rings B, B, consists in passing a screw bolt through a hole
in the rings B, and causing it to enter a screwed hole tapped in the flanges or
under side of the bed, as shewn in the detached view, Figure 2*. In this
instance the steadying pins 9 are dispensed with, and in lieu thereof, projecting
feathers or ribs are made on the under side of the flanges of the bed, which
cause it to enter corresponding grooves made in the rings. The flanges ou the
under side of the bed are also furnished with ears, which, when the bed is
placed on the rings, pass under the edges of the same, as seen in the Figure, and
are secured there by means of screw bolts, pins, and cotters, or in any other
convenient manner. On each side of the bed or beds there is a small open
space b, b, to give free access to the ends of the bed or beds for putting in and
removing the portable bed or beds which contain the type, and then the rem-
nant of the periphery of the cylinder from 1 to 2 constitutes the cylindrical
distributing table, its surface being properly adapted to the distribution
of ink, as distributing tables for this purpose are generally made, except
that it is cylindrical instead of flat. The radius of this part of the
cylinder should be less than that of the "form" of types, in order that
it may pass by the impression cylinders without touching them. The ink
is taken from the fountain or reservoir D by the ductor roller e, and
transferred from this to the taking roller f, from thence to the vibrating
distributing roller g, and transferring roller h, to the distributing table 1, 2, of
the cylinder B, one or more small distributing rollers i being applied to the
surface of the vibrating distributor, and between the taking and transferring
roller, for the purpose of more equally distributing the ink. The small distri-
buting or taking rollerf may be composed of rings of cloth slipped on to an
iron cylinder or shaft. The vibrating distributing roller g is made to revolve
with an equal velocity to the surface of the distributing table 1, 2, by means of
a cog wheel F on the main shaft E, which engages another cog wheel G, of
less diameter on the arbor of the roller i; and these wheels are of sufficient
width to allow of the lateral motion of the roller with its arbor in the direction

page_text: of its axis without disengaging the cogs, which lateral motion is obtained by
means of the double worm j, on the end of the arbor, as seen in Figure 2, the
two grooves crossing each other, so that by running on a small swivel feather
K, one of the grooves or worms will travel on the feather to the end, and then,
as it shifts to run into the reverse groove, the feather is turned and thereby
carries the arbor back, and so on backward and forward. The taking-up
roller f, the transferring roller h, and the small distributing roller i are carried
round by the rotary motion of the vibrating distributing roller g by contact of
their surfaces, and the ductor or fountain roller receives a slow and continuous
rotary motion by a worm d, motion being communicated to the arbor of the
worm by a belt m from a pulley (not seen in the Drawings). The worm wheel
on the arbor of the ductor turns freely thereon, and is connected by a ratchet
wheel and pall n, so that the mechanism can carry the ductor in one direction,
while the ratchet admits of turning it forward independently of the worm and
its connections, when it becomes necessary to quickly supply the distributor
with ink. The main cylinder B receives motion from the main shaft E, by
means of the pinion H, which engages with a cog wheel 1, on the shaft C of
the cylinder. And as the cylinder B rotates in the direction of the arrow, the
form of types J thereon is in succession carried round under four impression
cylinders K, K', K, K, arranged at proper distances around the cylinder to
give the impression to four sheets of paper introduced between the form of
types and the impression cylinders, one sheet being introduced to each impres-
sion cylinder by sets of fingers or grippers, in a somewhat similar manner to
that used in the well-known cylinder machine, or, if preferred, the paper inay
be carried into the machine by means of tapes, as is well understood. The
impression cylinders are constructed in the same manner as those employed
in the class of presses just referred to, and they are either provided as above
mentioned with fingers for taking and liberating the sheets, ora system of tapes
may be used for this purpose, and as these make no part of the Invention, it is
deemed unnecessary to describe them. The shaft of each of the impression
cylinders has a cogwheel L, Figure 2, on one end, which engages with the large
cog wheel I on the shaft C of the cylinder, by which means the impression
cylinders receive their appropriate motion, and care must be taken to have the
pitch line of the teeth of these cog wheels so regulated that the surface of the
form of types and that of the impression cylinders shall move with the same
velocity, to prevent the slipping ofone surface on the other, which would destroy
the impressions or render them imperfect. Between every two of the impres-
sion cylinders there is a set of inking rollers O, (), making one set to each
impression cylinder, as seen in Figure 3; the journals of these inking rollers

page_text: run in rings o¹, o¹, at the end of the adjustable screwed pins, q, 7, which, pass
through the collar and cross bearing r, r, and are adjustable by the thumb
screw nuts q¹, q', at the outer ends, so that as the inking rollers shrink in size
or wear away, the surfaces may be brought up to the surface of the distributing
table and type by merely turning the thumb screws q¹, q¹. There are two
sliding bars r, r, one on each side of the press, in which each set of inking
rollers are mounted, and by causing these bars to move in and out in appro-
priate slides in the sides of the frame, the inking rollers will be moved in and
out with them. The adjusting of the inking rollers may also be effected by
connecting the cross piece r1, 71, to the bars r, r, by means of a bolt passing
through a slot, made either in the cross piece or the bars r. These bars
converge to the axis of the cylinder B, and are each provided at the inner end
with a friction roller s, represented by dots in Figure 3, which friction roller
runson the periphery of a cam S, also represented by dotted lines, and this cam
is so formed as to force out these bars with the inking rollers just as the form
of types approaches them, so that they may press lightly on the types, and
thereby impart the requisite supply of ink; and as the "form" leaves them,
these bars and inking rollers are, by the tension of the springs t, t, t, t, which
act against adjustable pins ", u, u, u, on the bars, moved back again, so that
the inking rollers may be allowed to run on the distributing table to receive a
further supply of ink from the latter. The journals of the impression cylinders
run in boxes V, that slide in standards W, W, as seen in Figure 1, and the
detached sectional view, Figure 8*; and from the inner end of each of
these boxes there is a screw stem with a nut y above, and below is a
cross bar x, through which the stem passes, by means of which the im-
pression cylinders can be regulated relatively to the "form" of types, and
below this cross bar x, and passing through the frame, there is a set
screw (one for each sliding box), which determines the depth to which the
screw stem of the sliding box shall move towards the axis of the form of
types. This adjusts the impression cylinders for the degree of pressure to
be given in taking the impression, while, by means of the action of the
screw nuts y on the stem of the sliding boxes, the impression cylinders can
be raised at pleasure and thrown out of play. By this arrangement or con-
struction of the axle boxes of the impression cylinders, any of these latter
may be drawn back when not required, and can at any time be brought again
into their proper place without the necessity of readjustment, by merely
screwing down the screws y, y, so as to bring the end of the screw stem
of the box V against the end of the stationary adjusting screw z. Each
impressing cylinder is, as seen in Figure 1, provided with one feeding table
Z

page_text: M, and one delivery table N to receive the printed sheets. The paper to be
printed is fed into the machine from the tables M, and on the right-hand
end of the machine shewn in the Drawing, passes in over the impression
cylinders in the usual manner, but on the opposite side of the machine the
paper is obliged to be fed in from the under side of the impression cylinders;
and in order to facilitate this operation a slight vibrating lifting motion is
communicated to the frout or inner end of the feeding table M, which is
mounted on a hinge or joint at 1; to effect the required motion a cam 2
is made to act upon a pin 3 on the upper end of a slotted rod 4, the lower
end of which is jointed to a lever 5 upon the shaft 6, on which two arms are
fixed beneath the feeding table, but not seen in the Drawing, and by the
vibrating motion of these arms the table is moved up and down, and the inner
or front edges of the sheets of paper having been fed down to the stop guides
7, it is raised by the motion of the board to the impression cylinder, so that
the fingers or grippers may catch hold of it and carry it into the machine.
It will be obvious from the foregoing that the form of types can occupy more
or less of the surface of the cylinder at the pleasure of the constructor, aud
that the number of impression cylinders can be increased or decreased as it
may be desired to make the press of greater or less capacity; but it must be
observed that there should be one set of inking rollers for each impression
cylinder; although one inking apparatus is sufficient for the supply of several
impression cylinders, yet it is deemed advisable not to have more than four
cylinders for one inking apparatus. Power is applied to drive this press by
a belt from some first mover running on to a belt wheel P on the main shaft
E, or in any other manner which may be preferred. If desired, stereotype
plates may be secured to the cylinder instead of the form of types, a portion
of the surface of the said cylinder being made and employed as a distributing
table for the distribution of the ink as before described.
As the columns of matter of course form portions of a cylindrical sur-
face, it is obvious that the transverse or cross rules must have corre-
sponding curves, and the curve of the bottom plate of the galleys should
also correspond to the curve of the cylinder B of the machine. The face
of the type being thus curved, the ordinary proving press cannot be con-
veniently employed to work off proofs, and Figure 4* represents a sectional
view of an improved proving press adapted to the curved form of the
column of type as well as to the ordinary flat surface. A pressing roller
K is made concave on part of its surface to correspond to the convex form
of the type, and is cylindrical the other portion of its surface in order to suit a
flat form.
This roller K is employed to give pressure and transfer the

page_text: impression from the type to the paper, which is effected by merely passing the
roller K by hand over the type which has been previously inked, and the paper
placed thereon. The roller K is, like the impression cylinders K, K, in the
machine, covered with cloth and is furnished with a flange on each end, which
by acting against flanges attached to the bed on each side prevent the roller from
moving laterally, and the flanges of the bed also serve as bearers to support
the roller and have stops placed at each end of the press to prevent the
roller from passing over the end.
Having thus described the various improvements in the press or print-
ing machines, and the manner of constructing and using the same, I will
proceed to describe various improved methods of securing the form of
types on a curved or segmental surface, as shewn in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. In Figures 4,
5, and 6, the moveable bed a is a segment of a cylinder with flanches a¹, a¹,
61, 61, rebated at the ends. In the direction of the periphery there are rebated
parallel grooves c¹, cut to receive correspondingly-formed tongues, projecting
from the lower edge of the column rules e¹, the ends of which are made to fit
in rebates cut in the inside face of the flanches a¹, a¹, of the bed as seen best in
Figure 5. The column rules are made thicker at the outer than at the inner
edge, or in other words, they are each so formed as to present the figure of u
wedge in their cross section, or may be hollowed in their sides so as to bind the
types equally at the shoulder and foot. As the types are set on a segmental or
part of a cylindrical surface, and their sides are parallel instead of radiating
from the centre of the circle, it will be obvious that if the rules were made of
equal thickness, that is, with parallel sides, the types, however tight they might
be bound together at the base, would be loose at the top; but by making the
rules thicker at the outer than the inner edge, the types of each columnare bound
together just as tight at the top as at the base, and by this means are as firmly
held on a curved as they would be on a flat surface, as the rules are held down
by the tongues or projections fitting in the rebated grooves, and the ends in
the rebates of the head and foot flanches of the bed, and so long as all parts of
the rules are held in place, so long will the types be held down in contact with
the surface of the bed, and be prevented from moving therefrom. The grooves
in the bed are filled up with moveable segmental blocks f, f. In making up
the form of types, the segmental blocks f, and the column rules e¹, are first
placed in their proper situations; but if the bed has been already used, then they
are left there after the removal of the type which composed the form that had
previously occupied the bed,and from which the requisite number of impressions
had been printed. As the column rules and segmental blocks admit of being

page_text: slidden laterally in order to loosen the form of type, by merely unscrew-
ing the side and end screws, the type of the previous form may be
easily removed without disturbing the column rules and blocks, which, for
the convenience of "imposing," or making up fresh matter, are, as before stated,
left in the bed, and need not be interfered with until the "imposition" of fresh
matter is completed, when the whole "form" may be locked up by tightening
the side and end screws h¹,h¹, andi, i, as will be readily understoood by inspecting
the Drawings. It will be obvious that this plan of securing the types on a curved
or segmental bed may be variously modified without changing the character of
the Invention; for instance, in Figures 7, 8, and 9, instead of making tongues
to project from the lower edge of the rules, they (the rules) are attached to the
plates K, K1, K1, each plate (being the width of a column of matter, and a
segment of a cylinder corresponding with the curved or segmental bed,) is con-
nected with it by tongues fitting in grooves (c¹) in the same manner as
the tongues of the rules in the former instance. By this modification,
the rules, which, of necessity, are made very thin, are sustained along
their whole length by their attachment to the segmental plates K', K¹,
instead of being sustained at intervals only by the tongues, as in the former
instance. Another modification is shewn in Figures 10, 11, and 12, and is as
follows: The column rules (e¹) are segments of a circle, parallel in their height
and thickness, and are attached to plates K in the same manner as thelast-men-
tioned, but are curved lengthwise, and the length of the columns is in the
direction of the circumference of the large cylinder Bof the machine shewn in
Figures 1, 2, and 3. The segmental pieces K have screwed pins projecting
through slotted holes in the bed, in order to hold them down by means of nuts.
On one side of the column rules a projection is made, and on the opposite side
a corresponding cavity or "nick," and the types which are conical one way,
will be cast with a "nick" or cavity on one side to correspond exactly with the
projection on the side of the rules, and with a projection on the opposite
side to fill the cavity in the side of the other rule, and the types when in use
form a segment of the cylinder, of which the face of the types is a portion of
the periphery. Figures 13, 14, and 15 represent another modification of the
manner of securing types in a cylindrical or curved surface. In this plan the
column rules have pieces fixed to their tongues, and projecting outwards as seen
at & in Figure 15, and they are held down by the overhanging edges of the
segmental blocks f,f, which slide in the rebated grooves of the bed, the type
being "locked up "in the manner before described. Figures 16, 17, and 18
represent another modification, in which the tongues of the column rules are
made to project through slots or holes in the bed, as seen at c¹, in Figure 10,

page_text: and are held by screw nuts, pins, and collars, as shewn in the sectional views,
Figures 17 and 18. The column rules being wedge-shaped or conical, will
firmly hold the types laterally, being drawn down by means of the screw
nuts, ¹, and the columns of matter are locked up from the foot by means of
the screws,, as in the other Figures. Figures 19, 20, and 21 represent a
modification of the plan just described, in which the screw nuts and collars ¹,,
which hold the column rules, are dispensed with, and these latter are held by
hooks attached to a bar 7, which take into holes made in the tongue of the
column rules. These column rules are drawn to their places by means of
adjusting screws m, m, passing through the ends of the bed which bear against
the ends of the bar 1, thereby forcing down this bar and the column rule to its
place.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent as aforesaid, and the best means with which I am
acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I would observe, in conclusion,
that although in the foregoing description I have, for the purpose of more
perfectly explaining the nature and object of the present Invention, found it
necessary or desirable to describe or represent certain matters which have been
before known or in use for similar purposes, yet I do not mean or intend to
claim any such known parts as constituting any portion of the present im-
provements; nor do I intend to confine myself rigidly to the precise arrange-
ment or construction of parts herein shewn and described, as they may
doubtless be varied without departing from the nature and object of the
present improvements; but that which I consider to be new, and therefore
intend to claim as the Invention or improvements secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is expressed under the following
heads:-
Firstly, the arrangement or construction herein shewn and described, or any
modification thereof, in which type of the ordinary form is secured in or on a
moveable or portable bed or beds composed in part of sliding sections or
blocks, which may be attached in any convenient manner to a rotating cylinder
or cylinders, or rings, or by means of arms to a horizontal shaft, whereby the
said portable bed or beds containing ordinary type may be made to revolve or
be carried round, having the types constantly presented to the surface in
manner herein shewn and described.
Secondly, the mode herein shewn and described of mounting and working
the inking rollers and inking apparatus, so that they may be adjusted with
facility.
Thirdly, the mode herein shewn and described of mounting and adjusting

page_text: the impression cylinders, so that they may with facility be thrown in and out
of work when required without the necessity of re-adjustment.
Fourthly, feeding the paper into the machine under or behind the impression
cylinders, by imparting a short up and down or vibrating motion to the table
upon which the paper is placed to be fed into the machine.
Fifthly, the use of a portable segmental bed, in which slots, grooves, or
openings are made for the purpose of receiving tongues or projecting pieces,
which are attached to the lower edges of the column rules, and made to project
below the surface of the bed, the face or surface of which bed is completed
so as to render it suitable to receive the type or matter by filling the said
slots, grooves, or openings with moveable or sliding segmental blocks which
are capable of being slidden laterally, as above described.
Sixthly, the several methods above shewn and described of attaching the
moveable or portable segmental bed or beds containing the type to the
cylinder, or the rings or arms employed in lieu thereof.
Seventhly, securing the types firmly in the segmental "form" or bell by
means of moveable or detached column rules held down from beneath the
surface of the bed in any convenient manner.
Eighthly, the construction of proving press shewn in Figure 4*, or any modi-
fication thereof, when used for printing from curved surfaces, from which the
impression is obtained by means of a roller moved over the surface of the type.
And lastly, I also claim the construction and employment of a proof galley
with a curved surface, as shewn in connection therewith.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Newtou, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
WILLIAM (L.S.) NEWTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Fourth day of November,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid William Newton came before our
0 Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the form of the
Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Fourth day of November, in the year above written.