Ar IMPROVED METHOD OF PRINTING UPON GLASS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT. to William George Webb, of Wordsley, in the
County of Stafford, Glass Manufacturer, for the Invention of "Ar
IMPROVED METHOD OF PRINTING UPON GLASS."
Sealed the 24th January 1871, and dated the 19th August 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William George Webb
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th August 1870..
I, WILLIAM GEORGE WEBB, of Wordsley, in the County of Stafford,
Glass Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said. Invention
for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PRINTING UPON GLASS," to be as follows:-
Hitherto all printing or engraving on glass has been done by hand by
picking out and laying on, but by my improved method I arrive at the
same results in a simpler and more expeditious manner, as herein-after
explained.
The impressions which are desired to be reproduced are in the first
place produced upon either steel, copper, or stone, as may be most

page_text: suitable, and are then transferred upon the articles of glass required to
be ornamented by means of suitable inks; afterwards, for the purpose of
fixing them, the impressions are burnt into the glass in the following
manner: A tank of gutta percha or other suitable substance is provided
containing within it a combination of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid
in about equal proportions. The articles of glass required to be burnt
are now placed upon a revolving shaft, which is caused by any con-
venient means to rotate within the tank in such manner that at each
complete revolution of the shaft or spindle the articles required to be
operated upon will have been submerged in the fluid and withdrawn
from it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said William George Webb in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GEORGE WEBB, of Wordsley, in the County of Stafford, Glass Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William George Webb, Her special licence
that I, the said William George Webb, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William George Webb, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF
PRINTING UPON GLASS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William George Webb, my executors or administrators, by an
'instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be, filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six

page_text: Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William George Webb, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement (that is to say):
Hitherto printing or engraving upon glass has been done by hand by
picking out or laying on, but by my improved method I arrive at the
same results in a simpler and more expeditious manner, as herein-after
explained.
The impressions which are desired to be reproduced are in the first
placc produced upon either steel, copper, or any other sufficiently hard.
metal or stone as may be most suitable, and are then transferred upon
the articles of glass required to be ornamented by means of suitable inks ;.
afterwards, for the purpose of fixing them, the impressions are burnt
into the glass in the following manner:-A tank of gutta percha or
other suitable substance is provided, containing within it a combination.
of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid in the proportions, by preference, of
about one part of nitric acid to about fifty parts of hydrofluoric acid.
The articles of glass required to be burnt are now placed upon a
revolving shaft, which is caused by any convenient means to rotate
within the tank in such manner that at each complete revolution of the
shaft or spindle the articles required to be operated upon will have been.
submerged in the fluid, and withdrawn from it.
That my Invention may be fully understood, and that the manner of:
carrying it into effect may be clear, I now particularise the means.
employed.
I will first describe what I call the cold process of printing upon glass.
The ink here employed for printing may be composed of equal parts of:
beeswax, resin, and white wax (say about 1 lb. of each), one-third part of
boiled linseed oil (say about 5 oz.), together with one-third part (say
about 5 oz.) of peroxide of iron, mixed together with one-half part (say
about 8 oz.) of turpentine well boiled together. The varnish for pro-
tecting the glass may be composed of equal parts of bitumen, beeswax
resin, and white wax, and two parts of turpentine well boiled together.
I
As to the printing plates, as before explained, the design may be
engraved or etched upon either steel, copper, or stone. The ink is then

page_text: applied with a knife, and the plate then placed under the printing press.
The design is then transferred to the glass, and is rubbed on with a
flannel. To properly remove the printing paper which has been used
I take a weak solution of ammonia and water. The glass is now
varnished, and is then ready for etching, and is afterwards placed in the
mixture of hydrofluoric and nitric acid, as before explained, until the
proper depth is burnt in.
I will now describe what I call the hot process of printing upon glass.
The ink in this case should, by preference, consist of a proportion
consisting of 1 quart of boiled linseed oil, 2 oz. of resin, and 2 oz. of red
lead, the whole to be boiled together to a thick consistency. Then
I take one part of asphaltum and 1 part of gas tar, which I boil to a
proper consistency. Afterwards I mix an equal part of the oil mixture
with a corresponding quantity of this asphaltum, which produces an ink
ready for use.
As to the printing, this, as before explained, can be done on either
steel, copper, or any other sufficiently hard metal. The plate is then
warmed, and the ink is laid on with a leather boss, and after the plate is
cleaned it is put under the printing press and the design transferred to
the glass by being well rubbed with a flannel rubber. The paper
employed may then be removed from the glass by means of clean water;
and it should be mentioned that this paper used for printing is pottery
tissue, and is damped before printing with a solution of soft soap and
water.
The process of burning in is the same as before explained as applicable
to the cold process.
Sometimes, both in the cold and hot process, after burning the glass
is desired to be deadened. In this case it is placed in a dull acid, which
may be composed of 4 parts of water and 1 part of hydrofluoric acid, the
acid being neutralised by carbonate of soda, which produces fluoride of
sodium. To 5 parts of the fluoride of sodium so formed add 1 part of
acetic acid. The rotary motion before described is also applied to the
articles placed in the dull acid. Another dull acid may be produced by
taking (say) 16 oz. hydrofluoric acid, and 7%, oz. of carbonate of ammonia,
which mix gradually.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, I desire it to

page_text: be understood that without limiting myself to the precise details herein-
before described (as these may be varied or modified without altering the
nature of my said Invention), what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is sub-
stantially the improved mode or method of printing upon glass herein-
before described and set forth; and I claim especially for this purpose
the exclusive use of steel, copper, or any other sufficiently hard metal, or
stone plates, upon which the impressions desired to be reproduced are in
the first place produced, and then transferred upon the articles of glass
desired to be ornamented by means of the suitable inks herein-before set
forth and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William George Webb, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord 1871.
Witness,
G. R. HOLLAND,
Patent Office,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM GEORGE WEBB. (L.S.).