IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES POR PRINTING FROM ENGRAVED INTAGLIO PLATES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Conisbec, of Herbert's Buildings, Waterloo
Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES POR PRINTING FROM ENGRAVED
INTAGLIO PLATES."
Sealed the 3rd October 1871, and dated the 19th April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Conisbee at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th April 1871.
I, WILLIAM CONISBEE, of Herbert's Buildings, Waterloo Road, in
the County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING
FROM ENGRAVED INTAGLIO PLATES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the adaptation to cylindrical printing
machines of apparatus for inking and cleansing the surfaces of engraved
intaglio plates, whereby such machines are made suitable for printing
from such engraved plates.

page_text: In constructing an ordinary cylindrical printing machine with my
improvements applied thereto I first form a cast-iron framework com-
prising two side and a suitable number of cross frames bolted together,
the height of the side frames being greater than that of the cross
frames. On the latter extending the length of the side frames I place
two planed cast-iron ribs on which I place a suitable number of steel
or iron rollers mounted in iron frames to secure the rollers at suitable
distances. On these rollers I place a cast-iron planed table, provided
with ribs to suit the rollers on the under side and planed quite flat on
the upper face for the purpose herein-after described.
On each of the upper parts of the side frames and about midway
between the ends I fix a bearing, and in the two bearings I place a
turned hollow iron cylinder, the length of cylinder being nearly equal
to the width of the framing, the end of the cylinder and one side of
the table being provided with a wheel and rack to enable them to work
in unison. One side of the cylinder extending to within a short distance
of each end is open, and in this opening I place a turned iron bar which
works in holes in each end of the cylinder. On this bar I fix a metal
gripper for the purpose of holding the sheet of paper or other material
intended to be printed.
The cylinder is covered except at the open part and ends with cloth.
At a suitable distance from the cylinder I fix two other frames capable
of carrying two cast-iron turned rollers parallel with the face of the
cylinder. The cylinder furthest from the printing cylinder is provided
with an ordinary doctor knife ground on the edge to work against the
periphery of the roller to regulate the supply of ink, the other roller is
provided with a flexible steel doctor knife for the purpose herein-after
described. Underneath the first roller I place two other rollers clothed
in a suitable manner and having an elevating and depressing motion
to enable them to receive ink from the ink roller and to deposit it on
the surface from which it is intended to print. In the space between
the rollers first described and the face of the cylinder I fix two other
bearings, and in them I place a metal holder or frame fitted with
tightening screws for the purpose of holding one or more flexible steel
plates. The end of the frame is provided with a crank lever and con-
necting rod for the purpose of partially rotating it, for the purpose
hercin-after explained. On the other side of the cylinder and parallel

page_text: with it I place a feeding table for feeding the sheets to be printed into
the gripper. In order to give motion to the printing table and the other
parts I place at the end of the framing a wheel and pinion shaft, the
latter provided with pullics and fly wheel for driving either by hand
or steam power.
The spur wheel on the wheel shaft carries a crank
stud and connecting rod, the one end fitting the stud and the other
fitting into a rocking beam, the top end of the latter being attached to
the under side of the printing table and the lower end to the end frame
by means of two links or connecting rods. On the wheel shaft I place
a cam to which I attach a lever fitted with a steel roller which fits the
recess of the cam, the other end carries a connecting rod to convey the
motion from the cam to a rocking beam, one end of which works on a
stud bolted to one of the side frames at the bottom part and under
the centre of the axis of the cylinder. The upper end of the rocking
beam is made with a gab or open end to receive a tumbler roller fixed
at the end of the printing cylinder for the purpose of holding the
cylinder stationary when out of gear with the table.
Having described the various parts of this machine I now proceed to
describe the process of printing, which is as follows:-On the printing
table I secure an engraved plate of steel or other material; I place ink
in the ink duct. On turning the pinion shaft round the table passes
under the inking rollers and the plate becomes inked over its entire
surface. As the table returns the plate passes under the scraper or
doctor and the surplus ink is removed from the parts of the plate that
are not engraved, leaving the ink in the parts engraved only. The sheet
of paper to be printed upon is then fed into the cylinder and is passed
between the cylinder and the plate under suitable pressure, whereupon
the paper receives an impression from the engraved part of the plate,
and is then taken from the cylinder while the gripper is open for the
purpose. For the purpose of removing the ink from the scraper each
time the plate is cleaned I cause the scraper to turn on its axis in
order to bring the scraper to the face of the roller, which by rotating
takes off nearly all the ink from the scraper, and as it is returned to
its position for cleaning the plate the edge is brought in contact with a
roller covered in suitable cloth and having a to-and-fro motion which
wipes the edge clean. Having delivered the ink on to the first cleaning
roller I remove it from the surface by its contact with the flexible plate,

page_text: previously described, in such manner that as it is scraped off it is taken
off by contact with the ink duct roller and returned to its original place,
and thus no ink is wasted except what is left on the cloth covered
cleaning or wiping roller. The duct roller and the doctor roller are
made to rotate in reverse directions by means of suitable bands driven
by means of suitable pullies fixed on the main shaft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Conisbec in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CONISBEE, of Herbert's Buildings, Waterloo Road, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Conisbee, Her special licence
that I, the said William Couisbec, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Conisbee, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRINTING MACHINES FOR PRINTING FROM ENGRAVED INTAGLIO PLATES," upon the
condition (amongst others), that I, the said William Conisbee, 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
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Conisbee, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheets of Drawings which form parts of this Specification,
and in which the same letters of reference are used to denote like parts
in all the views.
My Invention consists in the adaptation to cylindrical printing
machines of apparatus for inking and cleansing the surfaces of engraved
intaglio plates whereby such machines are made suitable for printing
from such engraved plates.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1) is a side elevation of an ordinary cylindrical typo-
graphic printing machine adapted for printing from engraved intaglio
plates by the combination with it of my improved automatic apparatus
for inking and cleansing the surfaces of such plates according to my
Invention.
Fig. 2 (Sheet 2) is a longitudinal vertical section of the machine
taken through the line A, B, of Figure 3.
Fig. 3 (Sheet 3) is a plan of the upper part of the machine.
Fig. 4 (Sheet 4) is an elevation of the back or driving end of the
machine.
Fig. 5 (Sheet 5) is a full size elevation of the cam for giving the
cylinder stop motion from the main shaft; Fig. 6 is a similar view of the
cam for giving motion to the inking rollers from the main shaft; Fig. 7
is a similar view of the cam for working the scraper from the main shaft,
and Figure S is a similar view of the cam for working the gripper from.
the main shaft.
In constructing an ordinary cylindrical printing machine with my
improvements applied thereto I first form a cast-iron framework com-
prising two side frames a and a suitable number of cross frames a¹
bolted together, the height of the side frames being greater than that
of the cross frames. On the latter extending the length of the side
frames I place two planed cast-iron ribs b on which I place a suitable
number of steel or iron rollers c mounted in iron frames d to keep tho
rollers at suitable distances apart. On these rollers c I place an ordinary
cast-iron planed table e provided with ribs to suit the rollers c on the
under side as usual, and planed quite flat on the upper face for the
purpose herein-after described. On each of the upper parts of the sido

page_text: I
frames a, and about midway between their ends, I fix a bearing ſ, and
in these two bearings I place a turned hollow iron cylinder g, the
length of the cylinder being nearly equal to the width of the framing of
the machine, the end of the cylinder and one side of the table e being
provided with a wheel and a rack i to enable them to work in unison
in the ordinary way. One side of the cylinder y extending to within
a short distance of each end is open at g', and in this opening g' I place
a turned iron bar j which works in holes in cach end of the cylinder.
On this bar I fix a metal gripper for the purpose of holding the
sheet of paper or other material to be printed as in a typographic
printing machine. The bar has on its end outside its bearing in the
cylinder a small crank arm j' and roller ƒ for the purpose of giving
motion to the gripper, the said roller working freely on a stud fixed in
the extremity of the crank. For the purpose of opening and closing
the gripper I place on the inside of the side frame a metal curved
incline having a sliding motion horizontally, and for working this
incline I fix on the main shaft a cam (shewn full size at Figure 8), which
by its rotation gives motion to a rocking shaft fitted with two arms
,, and working in bearings attached to the end cross frame. The
arm is connected to the cam, and the other arm is connected
to a connecting rod, which at its other end is attached to a bell
crank which communicates through another connecting rod with
the incline a. The cylinder g is covered except at the open part g',
and ends with cloth as usual.
My improved automatic apparatus which I combine with the above
well known machine for the purposes of inking and cleansing the
surfaces of engraved intaglio plates is constructed as follows:-At a
suitable distance from the cylinder I fix two other frames capable of
carrying two turned rollers 'm, n, which may be made of cast iron, but
for fine colors are by preference made of gun metal, and these rollers
are placed parallel with the face of the cylinder. The roller (m) furthest
from the printing cylinder is provided with an ordinary doctor knife o
ground on the edge to work against the periphery of the said roller m
to regulate the supply of ink, and the other roller (n) is provided with
a flexible steel scraper or doctor knife n* for the purpose herein-after
described. Underneath the first roller (m) I place two other rollers q, q',
clothed in a suitable manner, and having an elevating and depressing
motion to enable them to receive ink from the ink or doctor roller m,

page_text: and to deposit it on the surface from which it is intended to print. In
the space between the rollers m, n, first described, and the face of the
cylinder g I form two other bearings P, and in them I place a metal
holder or frame p fitted with tightening screws for the purpose of
holding one or more flexible steel plates p'. In the Drawings only
one plate or knife p' is shewn, but when it is required to give greater
rigidity to this knife p¹ I place one or more thin steel plates face to
face with it in the frame p, but so that the lower edges of such plates
do not extend quite to the lower edge of the knife p². The end of the
frame p is provided with a crank lever p², and a connecting rod p³,
which receives motion from a cam p¹ on the wheel shaft & for the
purpose of partially rotating the frame P for the purpose herein-after
explained. The foregoing parts and the cloth covered cleaning roller x
herein-after described in combination constitute my improved automatic
apparatus for inking and cleansing the surfaces of engraved intaglio
plates. On the other side of the cylinder g and parallel with it I
place an ordinary feeding table for feeding the sheets to be printed
into the gripper k. In order to give motion to the printing table e
and the other parts of the machine I place at the end of the framing
a wheels on a shaft s¹ and a pinion shaft t, the latter provided with
a pinion *, fast and loose pulleys t, &, and a fly wheel 3 for driving
either by hand or steam power. The spur wheel 8 on the wheel
shaft carries a crank stud 82 and a connecting rod ³, the one end
fitting the studs, and the other fitting into a rocking beam s*, the top
end of the latter being attached to the under side of the printing table e
and the lower end to the cross frame a¹ underneath the feeding table »
by means of two links or connecting rods. On the wheel shaft s¹ I
place a cam u, to which I attach a lever u¹ fitted with a steel roller u²
which fits the recess of the cam; the other end of this roller u² carrics
a connecting rod u³ to convey the motion from the cam to a rocking
beam ; one end of which works on a stud u bolted to one of the side
frames a at the bottom part and under the centre of the axis of the
cylinder g. The upper end of the rocking beam is made with a
gab or open end to receive a tumbler roller & fixed at the end of the
printing cylinder g for the purpose of holding the cylinder stationary
when out of gear with the table e.
Having described the various parts of this machine I now proceed
to describe the process of printing which is as follows. On the painting

page_text: table e I secure the engraved plate of steel or other material from which
it is intended to print. I place water color ink in the ink duct », which
as will be seen is constituted of the roller m, and the knife o herein-
before described. On turning the pinion shaft round the table e passes
under the inking rollers q, q', and the plate becomes inked over its
entire surface. As the table e returns the engraved plate passes under
the scraper or doctor p, and the surplus ink is removed from the parts
of the plate that are not engraved, leaving the ink in the engraved parts
only. The sheet of paper to be printed upon is then fed to the cylinder g
by being laid on the feeding table and taken hold of by the gripper &
in the ordinary way, and is passed between the cylinder and the engraved
plate under suitable pressure from the cylinder caused by the tightening
screws to as in an ordinary cylindrical typographic printing machine,
whereupon the paper receives an impression from the engraved part of
the plate, and is then taken from the cylinder while the gripper is open
for the purpose. For the purpose of removing the ink from the scraper p
cach time the plate is cleaned, I cause the scraper to turn on its axis
in order to bring the scraper to the face of the roller », which on rotating
takes off nearly all the ink from the scraper, and as it is returned to
its position for cleaning the plate the edge is brought into contact
with a roller ≈ covered in suitable cloth and having a to-and-fro motion
vertically which wipes the edge clean. The cleaning roller receives
its vertical to-and-fro motion by means of inclines, one of which is
formed at each side of the printing table and lifts the roller x as the
table passes under it. Having delivered the ink on to the first cleaning
roller I remove it from the surface thereof by the contact of the
roller with the flexible plate * previously described in such manner
that as it is scraped off it is taken off by contact with the ink duct
roller m and returned to its original place in the ink duct v, and thus no
ink is wasted except what is left on the cloth covered cleaning or wiping
roller x. The duct roller m and the doctor or cleaning roller n are made
to rotate in reverse directions by means of suitable bands y driven by
means of suitable pulleys on the main shaft s' and pinion shaft t.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would have it understood that I make no claim to
any of the mechanical parts separately, and I would further remark
that it will be seen that the machine shewn and described is in many

page_text: respects similar to what has before been used in typographic printing,
and I would further state that I claim as of my Invention, the combined
arrangement of apparatus and mechanism herein described by which
the machine is made suitable for printing from engraved intaglio
plates.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Conisbec, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Ninteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
0
Witness,
W. LLOYD WISE,
Patent, Agent,
London, W.C.
W. CONISBEE. (L.S.)