Improvements in or relating to Impression Surfaces Beds or Make-.. ready Devices for Printing Presses or the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1899
Improvements in or relating to Impression Surfaces Beds or Make-..
ready Devices for Printing Presses or the like.
I, ARTHUR SAMUEL ALLEN, of No. 98, Ashmont Street, Boston, in the State of
Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Printer, 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:-
In the process of printing it is necessary that the printing surface and its
opposed tympan of impression surface shall be substantially parallel from edge
to edge when the impression is made, in order to insure equal and uniform use of
the type or other printing surface. In my application for Letters Patent
No. 15247 dated July 12th 1898, I have shown an impression surface by means
of which the desired uniformity and equality of usage of the printing surface or
form" is attained at once without the tedious and expensive process of "making
ready," well known to those skilled in the art of printing.
The impression surface forming the subject matter of the application referred to
consisted of yielding wires internally braced by a yielding substance, the wire
being therein shown as arranged in the form of spring coils.
My present invention has for its object the production of another species of
such impression surface or make-ready device.
While my present invention is equally applicable to various forms of presses,
such as bed and platen presses, cylinder presses, etcetera, I have chosen to illustrate
it herein as applied to a cylinder press, but it is to be understood that the use of
my invention is in no wise restricted or confined to such type of press.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sufficient portion of one well known form of
printing press to be understood, with my invention applied thereto, the face of
the impression surface being partially broken out to show the internal construc-
tion thereof, a covering for the impression surface being also shown, and broken
out.
Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged sectional view of the impression surface or make.
ready device shown in Fig. 1.
Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views of modified forms thereof, and
Fig. 5 shows different forms of yielding wires which may be used in the prac-
tical embodiment of my invention.
In Fig. 1 the impression cylinder A, driven in usual manner, the bed not shown,
carrying the printing members, and the feed table B, may be of well known con-
struction, my make-ready device or impression surface being carried by the
cylinder A and secured thereto in any suitable manner.
The impression surface to be described, forms of itself a practical face to be
opposed to the type or other printing surface, but if desired it may be covered
by a sheet or sheets f of india rubber or strong paper.
The impression surface or make ready device forming the subject of this inven-
tion is made by the free ends of a multiplicity of elastic, independently yielding,

page_text: fixed wires or bristles, or their equivalents, arranged in close proximity to each
other, and braced by a yielding substance extended inwards from their outer
ends.
The wires 10 are securely fixed in a backing m, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, of leather or
other suitable material, the form of the wires being varied according to circum-
stances, a number of different forms being shown at 1 to I, inclusive, Fig. 5,
the free ends of the wires being ground off to form an even uniform surface.
A bracing composed of a yielding substance is interposed between the wires,
such as india-rubber, or any other suitable yielding substance which will brace
and maintain in normal position the wires at their outer ends.
The bracing may be applied in various ways, as for instance in Fig. 2, the
wires 10 may be imbedded from the backing to their tips by a layer of rubber
or equivalent material, and if rubber, whether substantially pure or mixed with
cork or other matter, the bracing is cured by vulcanization.
I may also take thinner sheets of rubber and by pressure incorporate them with
the individual wires, as in Fig. 4, superposing one sheet upon another, as 12
or I may by pressure force the free ends of the wires into a sheet of yielding
material to a greater or less distance, as in Fig. 3, leaving an unfilled space
between the bracing and the backing m.
Whatever the form in which the bracing is applied, however, the extremities of
the wires lie substantially flush with the outer surface of the bracing material, so
that the impression surface presents a multiplicity of proximate yielding, elastic
points braced and maintained in normal position by continuous yielding substance.
When an impression. is made on such an impression surface as herein described
having a multiplicity of independently-yielding and properly braced impression
points, the latter will accommodate themselves to the irregularities of the form
or to the variations in the thickness of the material to be printed, and an impres
sion of uniform character will be at once obtained.
The yielding bracing not only serves to strengthen or support the separate wires,
thereby greatly increasing the life of the device, but it tends to soften or tone down
any harshness due to the separated impression points, and blends them in their
action upon the material to receive the impression.
I have found that. the best results, so far as the useful life and continued elas-
ticity of the impression members is concerned, are obtained when the form of the
latter is such that the tip and the point of attachment of the member to the back-
ing will fall substantially in a plane normal to the backing, it being understood
that I refer to impression members having one or more bends as herein shown.
In this application the invention is limited to the feature that the independent
elastic yielding members are mounted at one end in a backing, the broad feature
of a tympan bed presenting areas of independent supports and a yielding or
elastic bracing being covered in my said Application No. 15247 dated July 12th
1898.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. An impression surface or make-ready device for printing presses and the like,
composed of a lacking and a multiplicity of independent, elastic and yielding
impression members, and a yielding bracing in which the outer ends of said
members are embedded...
2. An impression surface or make-ready device for printing presses and the
like, composed of a multiplicity of independent, elastic and vielding metallic
members fixedly supported at their inner ends, and a yielding bracing in which
the outer ends of said members are embedded, their extremities being substantially
Hush with the outer surface of the bracing.
3. An impression surface or make ready device for printing presses and the like,
composed of a multiplicity of independent, elastic and yielding impression mem-

page_text: bers, a backing in which said members are fixed, and a yielding bracing in which
the impression members are embedded from the backing to their outer ends.
4. An impression surface or bed for printing presses and the like, composed
of a number of independently yielding, elastic bent wires, or their equivalents,
a backing in which they are fixed, and a yielding bracing for said wires and in
which the outer ends thereof are embedded, the tips and points of attachment of
the said wires with the backing being substantially located in planes normal to
the backing.
5. An impression surface or make ready device for printing presses and the
like, composed of a multiplicity of independent elastic and yielding wires or their
equivalents fixedly supported at their inner ends and forming impression members,
and a homogeneous, yielding bracing and lateral support for the tips of said
members and in which they are embedded.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55/56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant.