Improvements in Printing Presses.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Dec., 1591-Accepted, 2nd Jan., 18:2
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION. ·
[Cominunicated from abroad by CHARLES LOUIS BURDETT, of 25, Townley
Street, Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America, Civil Engineer.]
Improvements in Printing Presses.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My improvement relates to the class of rotary printing presses combining the
features as in the Hoe Newspaper Perfecting Press, and the object of my invention
is to provide such a press with means whereby the breaking of the web of paper
while it is passing through the machine and being printed upon is prevented.
To this end my improvement consists in the combination of the type cylinder
and a series of impression cylinders the first of which in the series, that is, the one
nearest to the paper roll, shall be larger in diameter than the last one of the rolls,
as more particularly hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings
=:
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a press showing the driving mechanism of
the type cylinder and the several impression cylinders.
Figure 2 is a diagram view illustrating the relative position of the paper feed
roll, the guide rolls, the impression cylinders and the type cylinder.
In a rotary press of the type referred to, and as ordinarily constructed, there is
a great loss due to the breaking of the paper while it is being printed upon, and
owing to this fact the press requires constant watching by an attendant and the
press has to be stopped when the breaking occurs in order to remove the waste
paper from the machine. In the printing of newspapers this breaking of the paper
has been a most serious detriment, on account of time lost, owing to such breakage
of the paper and the stopping of the press to clear away the waste and unite the
severed ends.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes the frame of a printing
press, the paper roll, c the guide rolls and d, e, ƒ and g the several impression
cylinders that are mounted in the frame and are arranged around the type
cylinder in which the type beds are clamped and upon which the impres
sion cylinders force the paper that passes in a web between the impression
cylinders and the type cylinder in printing. After being led around the rolls
and printed upon the web of paper is carried up over guide rolls, is divided by
a cutter and the two sections are guided so as to overlie one another as they
arrive at the folder, the paper being drawn through the press by the rotation
of the several guide rolls, impression cylinders and feed rolls that cause the
paper to be stretched with a greater or less tension about and upon the several
cylinders for a considerable portion of the periphery.
Prior to my invention a serious difficulty has been caused by the breaking of
this web of paper, during its passage through the press, sometimes just as it leaves
the cylinder, or between the cylinder and the guide rolls, immediately after
printing, whenever the strain comes upon the paper at a relatively weak part.
In order to obviate this difficulty I have increased the diameter of the first
impression cylinder d of the series which causes the paper to be fed between said
roll and the printing cylinder slightly faster than it is drawn between and delivered
from the same while being printed upon, and the result is that the web of paper is
held sufficiently taut and firm for receiving a perfect imprint and without wrinkling,
while the draft upon the web of paper beyond the last impression cylinder is not
sufficient to break even a very tender grade of paper. This is of great importance

page_text: as much of the paper used for newspapers and the like is made of wood pulp and
is of short fibre and of slight tensile strength, or what is called tender.
It is to be noticed that in the press described the printing surface is not
continuous, but the printing forms alternate with spaces that do not make contact
with the impression cylinders. The increase in diameter of the impression cylinder
is in practice very slight and is usually accomplished by using a thicker roll cover or
felt on the first impression cylinder than on the others.
In the drawings the impression cylinders d and e are both shown as larger in
diameter than the last impression cylinder, and in this instance the web is
rendered slack enough in passing over the reversing bars shown below the main
Foll of the press to prevent breaking there; and this feature of construction comes
within the scope of my invention although the greater benefit is gained when the
first only of the entire series of impression cylinders is made larger in diameter
than the last one.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is:
1. In combination with the type cylinder of a printing press, a series of
impression cylinders, the first of the series being larger in diameter than the
last one of the series, all substantially as described.
Dated this 1st day of December 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co..
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.