CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO- DUCING GLOSSY SURFACES ON PAPER AND SIMILAR MATERIALS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JAMES SINCLAIR, of Helmet Row, in the County of Middlesex, Hotpresser,
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 Twenty-first day of July, in the ninth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
James Sinclair, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said John James Sinclair, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said John James Sinclair, 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, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO-
DUCING GLOSSY SURFACES ON PAPER AND SIMILAR MATERIALS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said John James
Sinclair, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly
to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled

page_text: 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 moro
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John James Sinclair, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which tho same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, referenco
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The ordinary mode of glazing or smoothing the surfaces of paper and similar
materials consists in placing the paper, in single sheets, between thin sheets
of copper of rather larger dimensions, the paper and copper being placed
alternately, and then taking a quantity, say, for instance, one quire, or twenty-
four sheets of paper, so arranged between copper plates, and passing this
quantity at one time between a pair of rollers, which are generally made of
iron. It has been found in practise that, although the middle of the sheets
of paper are properly glazed and made perfectly smooth by this process, the
edges are not finished, and nearly always come out rough, thereby rendering
it necessary to plough them off after the paper has been glazed, thus
incurring great waste and increasing the labour of preparing the sheets
for the market. It is to remedy these defects and inconveniences that I
have introduced various improvements in the mode of operating. From
'the experience I have had in glazing paper and other materials, I am of
opinion that the imperfect manner in which the operation of glazing paper
has hitherto been conducted arises principally, if not solely, from the want
of a proper bed or elastic medium between the rollers and the material to be
glazed, so as to render the pressure uniform over the whole sheet. My object,
therefore, has been to obviate this, and for this purpose I have introduced
what I term a bedding between the rollers, and upon this bedding I place
the sheets to be operated upon, which are, however, previously placed
between sheets of copper or other metal or material as heretofore. Instead
of operating upon a large number of sheets arranged in a pile, as formerly,
I find it advisable to pass the sheets singly, or in small numbers, through the
machine. It will be evident to every intelligent mechanic that the object of
my Invention may be effected in a variety of ways; I have, therefore, shewn,
in the accompanying Drawings, various Plans, which will be found to answer
the purpose; but I do not by any means intend to confiue myself exclusively
to these Plans, as others may be devised.

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of a machine constructed somewhat
upon the principle of the ordinary roller machine, and having my improve-
ments attached thereto; and Fig. 1" is a front elevation of the same. a, a, is
the framing of the machine, made of cast iron or other suitable material.
5b, b, are the two rollers, also made of cast iron, and hollow if required, so as
to admit steam in order to heat them, if thought desirable. c, c, is the elastic
bedding, consisting of loose sheets of copper or other metal, with sheets of
paper, cardboard, felt, or other suitable substance between them, so as to
make them yield slightly when the paper or other material to be operated
upon is passed through the machine. Part of the periphery of the under
roller, as at d, is cut away in order to allow one end of the loose sheets of
metal to be fastened thereto; and in order to prevent the nails, screws, or
other fastenings that may be employed to secure the sheets of metal together
from being injured when passing under the upper roller, the fastening is
countersunk below the surface of the lower cylinder, and its periphery or cir-
cumference is made complete by means of a moveable picce e, which is hinged,
and when in its place covers over the end of the sheets c, c. Tho upper roller
is mounted in moveable bearings, which are commanded by set screws f. f.
whereby the pressure between the rollers may be increased or diminished at
pleasure; or, if thought moro desirable, weighted levers may be employed in
the place of the set screws to regulate the pressure of the rollers. The ends
of the copper sheets c, c, are loose and made to lap round the lower roller.
9 is a guide roller mounted in bearings connected to the framework, and it is
between this roller and the elastic bedding c, c, that the paper, previously placed
between copper or other metal plates or glazed boards, is introduced into the
machine. The sheet or sheets of paper then pass between the rollers, and, if
thought desirable, may be subjected to the like pressure two, three, or more
times, when they will be finished, and must be removed from between the
metal sheets or boards. As the rollers are made hollow they may be heated
with steam, iron heaters, or by other means, if required; or employed without
heat, according to the quality of the paper to be operated upon and the
amount of glaze or finish required. And by means of my improved process
I am enabled to operate upon any description of paper, whether in a dry or
a damp state, according to whether it is intended or not to be used for
printing.
Fig. 2 represents another method of carrying out my Invention, or I should
rather say,
another form of apparatus. In the former machine the rollers hail
a continuous rotary motion; but in that represented in Fig. 2 a reciprocating
motion is employed, as in the ordinary copper-plate printing press. a, a, is

page_text: d
the framework. b, b, the rollers, the upper one of which is furnished with set
screws or weighted levers for the purposo of regulating the pressure, and the
rollers may also be made hollow if required to be heated. c, c, is tho elastic
bedding, which in this instance is not attached to either of the rollers. d, d, is
a plank upon which the bedding c, c, is placed; the plank & may, however, bo
dispensed with, as it is not absolutely necessary, but still it will be found con-
venient under somo circumstances. By communicating rotary motion to the
upper roller first in one direction and then in another, the plank and the
bedding c, c, will be made to reciprocate to and fro between the rollers; and by
placing sheets of paper arranged between sheets of thin copper or other
metal or glazed boards on this bedding, and passing them between the rollers,
the paper will be perfectly glazed, as in the former instance. It will bo
understood that the plank is made of sufficient width and length to take
several sheets of paper at one time; and as it may be necessary to pass the
sheets through the machine two, three, or moro times, a number can be
operated upon at once.
Fig. 3 represents another mode of applying a loose bedding of consi-
derable length, but in this instance the motion of the rollers is continuous,
and they are mounted in bearings in pairs, or in any other suitable manner.
As many pairs of rollers as may be thought desirable may be employed, but I
have only shewn four pairs of rollers, but a larger or smaller number may be
used. The sheets of paper arranged between plates of sheet copper or other
metal or glazed boards are introduced into the machine between the first pair
of rollers, and are carried on in succession from thence between the other pairs
of rollers, and after passing between the whole series the sheets come out
perfectly finished, and with as fine a surface as if they had been, passed
through the first machine four times. The end of the bedding, after having
passed through the machine, is turned under, and carried back to the front of
the machine by the small rollers o, o, and every time that the end comes
back it is placed between the two front pair of rollers by the attendant.
Fig 4 represents another mode of arranging the bedding, which in this case
is composel of a number of cylinders one within the other, and sheets of
paper, pasteboard, or felt aro placed between these cylinders (as in the former
instances) and one of the rollers (in this case the upper roller) is placed within
these sheet-copper cylinders, which all revolvo loosely upon the iron cylinder.
In Fig. 4 the upper roller is of small diameter, and the lower roller of large
diameter, so that the latter is made to revolve much more slowly than the
upper one, and the paper to be operated upon can be without difficulty placed
on the periphery of the large roller to a proper mark, and carried through the

page_text: machine. The upper roller is mounted in moveable bearings, with set screws
or levers to regulate the pressure. At the point of contact between the two
rollers b, b, the metal cylinders are brought into contact, as shewn in the
Drawing, and pinch the sheets of paper that are introduced into the machine
between the two rollers b, b. By the copper cylinders revolving one inside the
other, and having sheets of paper, pasteboard, or felt, or other substance
between them, an elastic or slightly yielding bedding is produced, as in the
other machines.
'
Fig. 5 represents this plan of arranging or constructing the bedding carried
out upon a more extended scale, as in this instance four upper metal rollers
are used, each having its proper number of sheet-copper cylinders to form the
bedding. The paper to be glazed is introduced into the machine between the
first upper roller and the large roller, and n, n, n, are guides placed between
the upper rollers for the purpose of guiding the paper from the first roller to
the one succeeding it.
Fig. 6 is another modification or arrangement, in which three sets or pairs
of rollers are employed, but a greater or lesser number can be used, if desired.
Each set or pair of rollers is mounted in bearings in the framework, and is
furnished with set screws or levers to regulate the pressure, as described in
reference to Fig. 1. The bedding is arranged in the form of an endless band,
and consists of a number of endless sheets of copper, with paper, pasteboard, or
felt between them, so as to give the bedding a slight degree of elasticity, and
to cause it to yield slightly to a heavy pressure, such as when the sheets of
paper between the copper or metal plates or glazed boards is passed between
the rollers. It will be seen, upon inspecting the Drawing, that the bedding is
made of concentric rings or cylinders of copper, placed one within the other,
as in Figures 4 and 5, and being endless, will of course work continuously,
and the machine only requires feeding with the paper or other material to be
operated upon.
Having now described six different methods of carrying out my Invention,
each of which will be found applicable to certain circumstances, I wish it to
be particularly understood that I do not by any means intend to confine myself
to the arrangements and constructions herein shewn and described, as they
may be further varied without departing from the nature and principle of my
Invention; but that which I consider to be new, and therefore wish to secure
under the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the adaptation,
application, or employment of an elastic or slightly yielding medium between
the roller or rollers and the paper or other material to be operated upon, and
which elastic or slightly yielding medium I denominate the "bedding," and

page_text: such bedding may, or may not (as may be considered most desirable) be
attached to one of the rollers, as before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John James Sinclair, have hereunto set
my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.