IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING, LITHOGRAPHING, AND ZINCOGRAPHING, AND IN THE PRODUCTION OF IMITATION PHOTOGRAPHIC AND ALSO COLOURED DESIGNS ON TEXTILE FABRICS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter MacLean, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRINTING, LITHOGRAPHING, AND ZINCOGRAPHING, AND IN THE PRODUCTION OF
IMITATION PHOTOGRAPHIC AND ALSO COLOURED DESIGNS ON TEXTILE FABRICS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter MacLean at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st April 1870.
I, WALTER MACLEAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRINTING, LITHOGRAPHING, AND ZINCOGRAPHING, AND IN THE PRODUCTION
OF IMITATION PHOTOGRAPHIC AND ALSO COLOURED DESIGNS ON TEXTILE FABRICS
AND PAPER, AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as
follows, that is to say :-
This Invention consists as follows:-
First. In the construction of a framework in which the printing
cylinder is carried in hearings. Above the printing cylinder is a pressure

page_text: roller. At the side or other convenient part of the frame the trough or
troughs for containing the printing ink is placed, and a roller on a
vibrating frame is situated near to it so that the ink may be carried
to the ink distributing and inking rollers and thence to the printing
cylinder, and the whole is put in motion by spur or toothed gearing or
by other convenient mechanical appliance. One or more levers and
adjustable weights are situated either beneath the floor or above the
framing of the machine, and these are so arranged as to force the
printing cylinder with the necessary amount of pressure against the
pressure roller. The pressure roller is also made adjustable in the frame
by means of screws or otherwise. The machine now described is for
printing in one colour only, but by arranging more than one printing
cylinder to be acted upon by one or more pressure rollers each cylinder
is then capable of having a separate colour put on it, so that by passing
the sheet, piece, or continuous length of paper or textile fabric through
the pressure roller or rollers and the requisite number of printing
cylinders, the necessary number of colours are printed at one and the
same operation.
Secondly. In the application of the following new or improved single
cylinder printing machine with three, four, or other number of inking
rollers, which are supplied with ink from one or more cylindrical inking
and distributing apparatus for the purpose of printing designs in
continuous lengths.
Thirdly. In the application of the following new or improved form
of double cylinder printing machine with four or other number of inking
rollers for each printing cylinder, which are supplied with ink from two
or more cylindrical inking and distributing apparatus for the purpose of
printing at one operation designs in two or more colours in continuous
lengths on one side of the fabric, or for printing the fabric on both sides
in the same or different colours; this machine may also be made with
three, four, or more printing and pressure cylinders and their respective
inking apparatus.
Fourthly. In the application of a double pressure cylinder, flat or
cylinder printing machine with the addition of a self-delivering apparatus
for the purpose of printing the design on both sides of the fabric; the
design may be twice engraved; viz., obverse and reverse, so that when
printed on both sides the impression will be quite distinct and the ink
may or may not be of the same shade on both sides.

page_text: Fifthly. In the substitution for the existing pressure cylinder of a
printing, lithographing, or zincographing machine, a pressure cylinder
the circumference of which shall be equal or nearly so to the length
of the surface to be printed, lithographed, or zincographed in order to
produce an impression in one colour in continuous lengths.
Sixthly. In the employment of the herein-before mentioned pressure
cylinder and of a printing or zincographing cylinder and their respective
damping and inking apparatus in combination with a flat or cylindrical
printing, lithographing, zincographing, or calico printing machine
having a pressure cylinder of the herein-before mentioned kind in order
to produce an impression in two or more colours at one operation in
single sheets, pieces, or continuous lengths.
Seventhly. In retaining the existing pressure cylinder and dispensing
with or substituting for the grippers placed in front or at the bottom or
other part of the existing pressure cylinder of a printing, lithographing,
or zincographing machine, a set of grippers or points placed in the rim
or end or other part of the pressure cylinder so as to catch and keep
hold of the fabric until it has been printed, lithographed, or zincographed
in onc colour in continuous lengths.
Eighthly. In the employment of either of the herein-before described
kinds (viz., with or without grippers) of pressure cylinders and of
printing or zincographing cylinders and their respective damping and
inking apparatus in combination with a flat or cylindrical printing,
lithographing, zincographing, or calico printing machine, the grippers
on the pressure cylinder of which may be dispensed with, or a set of
grippers or points may be placed on the rim or end or other part of the
pressure cylinder for the purpose of producing an impression in two or
more colours at one operation in single sheets, pieces, or continuous lengths.
When used for printing, lithographing, or zincographing continuous
lengths of paper or textile fabrics the pressure cylinder may be made
with a circumference equal or nearly so, or larger than the length of the
surface to be printed, lithographed, or zincographed, and when used for
printing, lithographing, or zincographing short sheets or pieces of paper
or textile fabrics in more than one colour the pressure and printing
cylinders are placed close together or nearly so. The pressure cylinders
are also provided with grippers, or tapers, or other equivalent appliance,
and the damping and inking apparatus are modified in position accordingly:
The pressure cylinders are covered with vulcanite or other material,

page_text: or with the ordinary kind of tympan, or used with an endless web, and a
portion of their surface, or of the surface of the printing cylinders, may
be made flat to allow the printing, lithographing, or zincographing surface
when required to be "double inked" for each impression, or this result
When a continuous
may be obtained by other mechanical contrivance.
length of paper or textile fabric is to be printed, lithographed, or
zincographed in the manner herein-before described it is wound up on
a carrying roller, from which it is led over stretching bars and between
covered rollers or otherwise to the printing, lithographing, or zinco-
graphing surfaces, and from which it passes upwards or onwards between
other covered rollers on to another receiving roller or equivalent
appliance. The action of the rollers or appliances which control the
fabric in its passage to or from the printing surfaces may either be
continuous or intermittent. The foregoing machines are specially suited
for adapting the electrotype and stereotype process for composing and
multiplying the designs for the printing cylinders or forms, which can
be effected with despatch and at less cost than by the present system of
having the designs engraved on copper or other cylinders for the calico
printing machines. The colours used (and prepared in the same way as) for
the calico printing machine may be employed for the foregoing machines
in addition to the inks used in ordinary printing operations, which with
additional driers, fixers, and stoving may be made more fast on the
fabric. The designs on the printing cylinders or surfaces may be in
relief or intaglio on wood, copper, zinc, electrotype, stereotype, or other
material or materials, while those for the lithographing and zincographing
machines may be drawn, engraved, lithographed, etched, or transferred
to the stone or zinc in the usual way.
:
Ninthly. This Invention also relates to the production of figures,
landscapes, flowers, and other ornamental designs on textile fabrics, so
as to have the appearance of being photographed, and consists, first, in
forming the design in the usual manner of an aquatint or lithograph
upon steel or copper, stone, or other suitable material, excepting that the
design should be bitten into the steel, copper, or other material by the
action of the acid to a greater depth than hitherto when employed for
printing on paper; and when used for producing the design on cloth
the plate, roller, block, stone, or other surface on which the design is formed
is inked with ink of any desired shade of colour, and with the addition
of some drier. The design after being inked is passed through a copper-

page_text: plate or lithographic press or other machine or apparatus, thus giving
the impression on a piece of paper coated with Indian corn flour, or
other material or materials slightly damped before printing. The
impression having been damped in a damping book of blotslicet or
otherwise in order to moisten the coating of corn flour or other material
is then laid in its position on the cloth and impressed thercon by
pulling it through a lithographic or other suitable press, machine, or
apparatus. The cloth containing the impression is next heated in a stove
or by other convenient means for as long as may be necessary in a
temperature of (160°) one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit or
thereabouts, the effect of which combined with the action of the drier
mixed with the ink is to dry up the varnish in the ink and so make the
impression on the cloth more permanent or indelible.
Tenthly. The application of plate lithographing, zincographing, and
blockprinting alone or in combination for the purpose of producing
and transferring high class designs in one or more colours to textile
fabrics. The process is similar to that for producing and transferring
the imitation photograph designs on cloth, except that the design may
consist of one or several coloured impressions printed from a plate, stone,
or block, or other surface alone, or from a combination of either of these;
the colours being printed in proper succession and with the view of
keeping the colours as moist as possible consistent with good impressions,
so that the various colours of the design may more firmly adhere to the
fabric when transferred to it. This result may be promoted by applying
a varnish or other suitable fixer on the design before transferring it to
the cloth, which may be made on either a cold or warm plate or stove
or other surface, or on a warm plate or stove or other surface after tho
transferring.
It is to be understood that when the design is transferred in con-
tinuous lengths of fabric it may or may not be accompanied between
the pressure cylinders by an endless web, and the fabric having the
design transferred on it is wound up on a receiving cylinder or other
equivalent appliance, the action of which may be continuous or
intermittent.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Walter MacLean in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WALTER
MACLEAN, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the 33rd year
of Iler reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Walter MacLean, Her special license that I,
the said Walter MacLean, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Walter MacLean, my executors, ad-
ministrators, or 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,
LITHOGRAPHING, AND ZINCOGRAPHING, AND IN THE PRODUCTION CF INITATION
PHOTOGRAPHIC AND ALSO COLOURED DESIGNS ON TEXTILE FABRICS LID PAPER,
AND IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR,'
upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Walter MacLean, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describo and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner tho
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
33
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Walter MacLean, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:

page_text: The
trough or troughs for containing the printing ink is or are placed, and a
roller on a vibrating frame is situated near to the trough or trouglis, so
that the ink may be carried to the ink-distributing and inking rollers and
thence to the printing cylinder, and the whole is put in motion by spur
or toothed gearing, or by other convenient mechanical appliance.
pressure on the pressure roller and printing cylinder is made adjustable
by means of screws or weighted levers. The machine now described is
for printing in one colour only, but by arranging more than one
printing cylinder to be acted upon by one or more pressure rollers cach
cylinder is then capable of having a separate colour put on it, so that
by passing the piece or continuous length of textile fabric through the
pressure roller or rollers and the requisite number of printing cylinders
the necessary number of colours are printed at one and the same
operation.
Secondly. In the application of the following new or improved single
cylinder printing machine with three, four, or other number of inking
rollers, which are supplied with ink from one or more cylindrical
inking and distributing apparatus for the purpose of printing designs in
continuous lengths.
Thirdly. In the application of the following new or improved form
of double cylinder printing machine with four or other number of
inking rollers for each printing cylinder, which are supplied with ink
from two or more cylindrical inking and distributing apparati for the
purpose of printing at one operation designs in two or more colours in
continuous lengths on one side of the fabric, or for printing the fabric
on both sides in the same or different colours. This machine may also
be made with three, four, or more printing and pressure cylinders and
their respective inking apparati.
Fourthly. In retaining the existing pressure cylinder and dispensing
with the grippers at present employed on a printing, lithographing, or
zincographing machine.
Fifthly. This Invention also relates to the production of figures,
landscapes, flowers, and other ornamental designs on textile fabrics so
as to have the appearance of being photographed, and consists, first,
in forming the design in the usual manner of an aquatint or lithograph
upon steel or copper, stone, or other suitable material, excepting that the
design should be bitten into the steel, copper, or other material by the

page_text: action of the acid to a greater depth than hitherto when employed for
printing on paper, and when used for producing the design on cloth
the plate, roller, block, stone, or other surface on which the design is
formed is inked with ink of any desired shade of colour and with the
addition of some drier. The design after being inked is passed through
a copper-plate or lithographic press or other machine or apparatus, thus
giving the impression on a piece of paper coated with Indian corn flour
or other material or materials slightly damped before printing. The
impression having been damped in a damping book of blotsheet or
otherwise in order to moisten the coating of corn flour or other
material is then laid in its position on the cloth and impressed thercon
by pulling it through a lithographic or other suitable press, machine,
or apparatus. The cloth containing the impression is next heated in a
stove or by other convenient means for as long as may be necessary
in a temperature of (160°) one hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit,
or thereabouts, the effect of which, combined with the action of the
drier mixed with the ink, is to dry up the varnish in the ink and so
make the impression on the cloth more permanent or indelible.,
.
Sixthly. The application of plate, lithographing, zincographing, and
block printing alone or in combination for the purpose of producing
and transferring designs in one or more colours to textile fabrics. The
process is similar to that for producing and transferring the imitation
photograph designs on cloth, except that the design may consist of one
or several coloured impressions printed from a plate, stone, or block,
or other surface alone, or from a combination of either of these, the
colours being printed in proper succession and with the view of keeping
the colours as moist as possible consistent with good impressions, so
that the various colours of the design may more firmly adhere to the
fabric when transferred to it. This result may be promoted by applying
a varnish or other suitable fixer on the design before transferring it to
the cloth, which may be laid on cither a cold or warm plate or stove
or other surface, or on a warm plate or stove or other surface after
the transferring. It is to be understood that when the design is
transferred in continuous lengths of fabric it may or may not be
accompanied between the pressure cylinders by an endless web, and the
fabric having the design transferred on it is wound up on a receiving
cylinder or other equivalent appliance, the action of which may be
continuous or intermittent.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, that is to say :-
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended, Figure 1 is an end
elevation of a printing machine constructed in accordance with the
first and third heads of my Invention as referred to in the Provisional
Specification.
This machine consists of a framing A, in which are carried in suit-
able bearings the various cylinders, rollers, and other mechanism
necessary for the several operations to be performed. This mechanism
consists of two printing cylinders B, B, above each of which a pressure
roller C is placed as shown. The pressure rollers C, C, are equal in
diameter to the rollers B, B, and are covered with an ordinary tympan,
or they may be otherwise covered. The pressure exerted by the
rollers C, C, on the printing cylinders is regulated by means of screws E
and spiral springs E¹. The screws are passed through the top of the
framing A, and are attached to the bearings at each end of the rollers,
as shown on the accompanying Drawing. The ink or colour used in
the printing operations is supplied to the printing cylinders from troughs
or boxes F through the intervention of the rollers G, H, I, and K
respectively. Of such rollers those marked G revolve in the ink or
colour troughs or boxes F, and from them the ink or colour is supplied
to the large rollers I by means of the rollers H, which are carried on a
frame J, and this frame is caused to oscillate by means of cams L fitted
on the axis of the rollers G, so that one of the rollers H of cach set is
always in contact with the respective surfaces of the rollers I. When
the ink or colour has been supplied to the rollers I, as above set forth,
it is distributed over the surfaces of these rollers by means of the
rollers M, which rollers have a reciprocating movement, and aro
actuated by means of worm wheels. The ink or colour so distributed
over the surfaces of the rollers I is delivered therefrom to a number of
rollers K, from whence it is passed on to the surfaces of the printing
rollers B, B. The pressure rollers C, C, are rotated by means of a spur
wheel N, which gears into corresponding wheels O on the ends of the
said pressure rollers; the wheels O also gear into similar wheels P on
the ends of the printing cylinders B, B, by which means motion is
imparted to these cylinders, and the inking rollers I are rotated fromí

page_text: the spur wheels on the ends of the printing cylinders by means of the
spur wheels and R respectively. The fabric to be printed is wound
on a roller S, which roller is provided with a counterweight T in order
to keep the fabric at the required tension. As the fabric is conducted
from the roller S it is passed over and under the stretching bars U,
which bars are grooved diagonally from the centre towards each end
so as to stretch the material in the direction of its width as it passes
over them. Further stretching is given to the material in the same
direction by means of the drum V, to which it is delivered from the
roller W. The fabric is led round the under side of the drum V, and
between the pressure rollers C, C, and the printing cylinders B, B, and is
thereafter conducted to and wound on a receiving roller or drum not
shown in the Drawings. It is obvious that as the spur wheel N is sct
in motion the various cylinders and rollers are rotated by means of the
tooth gearing herein-before described. The teeth of the spur wheels
attached to the pressure rollers C may be formed (so far as that is
practicable) of depth sufficient to meet and gear with the teeth of spur
wheels of different diameters on the ends of printing cylinders of various
diameters. When it is required to print the design on one side of the
fabric only, such fabric is led through the machine, as herein-before set
forth, but when it is desired to print the design on both sides of the
fabric then such fabric is conducted through the machine as shown by
the dotted lines.
This machine may also be made with three, four, or more printing
and pressure cylinders and their respective inking apparati.
In lieu of placing the pressure rollers C above the printing cylinders,
as herein-before set forth, these pressure rollers may be arranged at the
side of and between the printing cylinders B, B, in which case the inking
rollers G, II, I, and K are correspondingly altered in position.
It is to be understood that either the right or left hand portion of
the machine above described may be employed as the single-colour
machine referred to in the Provisional Specification as the second head
of this Invention for printing in continuous lengths.
The design or designs on the printing cylinders may be cheaply
produced by the stereotype or electrotype process, or the designs may
be drawn, etched, or engraved on wood, zinc, steel, copper, or other
material.

page_text: At Figure 2 is shown a perspective view of a self-acting lithographing
machine with the apparatus for giving off and receiving the fabric when
lithographed in continuous lengths, and which is also meant to be
applied to printing machines in accordance with what is referred to
in the Provisional Specification as the first feature of the seventh head
of my Invention, namely, the retaining of the existing pressure cylinder
and dispensing with the grippers on it.
The pressure cylinder is shewn at A, and in lieu of the grippers placed
in front or at the bottom or other part of the pressure cylinder a
quadrant B attached to one end of the axis of the pressure cylinder is
employed, which quadrant is equal in length (circumferentially) to the
surface of the material to be printed, lithographed, or zincographed.
This quadrant is provided with a projecting point C, which coming in
contact with a similar projecting point D attached to the spur pinion E
causes that spur pinion to gear with the quadrant. The pinion E in
its turn causes the cylinders F and G (the circumferences of which
cylinders are equal to the length of the quadrant B) to revolve by
The fabric to be operated upon is
means of the spur wheels H and I.
passed between these rollers or cylinders F and G on to the printing,
lithographing, or zincographing surface, from which it is passed under
the roller J and thereafter wound on the drum or bobbin K, which is
provided with an uptake motion regulated by the driving belt I' passing
over the drum F and the roller K, as shewn in the Drawings. The
rollers F and G may or may not be covered with vulcanite or other
similar material, in order to hold the fabric and prevent too much of it
from passing between the rollers at one printing, lithographing, or
zincographing operation. The fabric to be printed, lithographed, or
zincographed is wound on a roller L, and in its passage to the printing,
lithographing, or zincographing cylinder it is passed over stretching
bars M, as herein-before described in reference to Figure 1.
The apparatus above described may be applied to and used in conjunc-
tion with self-acting or manually operated machines having either flat
or cylindrical surfaces.
The purpose of the quadrant B, pinion E, and rollers and G herein-
before described is to assist in regulating the intermittent action in
supplying and removing the fabric before and after being printed,
lithographed, or zincographed. Either the quadrant B or rollers F' and G,
or both of them, may be dispensed with, and the same result effected

page_text: by causing the pressure cylinder A only to come in contact with the
lithographing surface.
At Figure 3 is shown a side elevation of mechanism for transferring
to or producing on continuous lengths of material figures, landscapes,
flowers, and other ornamental designs in accordance with the ninth and
tenth heads of my Invention.
The material to be operated upon is wound on a roller A at one end
of tlie machine, and on being conducted therefrom it is passed under and
over the stretching bars a, as and for the purpose herein-before described,
from which bars it is delivered on to the endless travelling web a, which
web is passed round, over, and under a series of rollers B, as shown, the
object of which web is to keep clean the fabric being operated upon.
When the fabric has been passed on to the web a the design is placed
thereon by an attendant, which design has previously been printed in
one or more colours on suitable transfer paper; the material being
operated upon is then passed between the pressure rollers C and D, the
pressure on which is regulated by means of the screw G. The pressure
roller C may or may not be used with a tympan of sheet iron or be
covered with a blanket or other tympan. The roller D is provided with
several small rollers E revolving against it, as shown, in order to keep
its surface clean. After the design has been pressed into the fabric the
transfer paper may or may not be damped off, and the fabric travels
with the endless web a over the roller B, one or more of which rollers
may or may not be heated with steam, gas, or otherwise, in order to dry
the fabric and assist in fixing the design thercon, after which operation
the fabric is wound on the roller If.
The action of the machine herein-before described may be either con-
tinuous or intermittent, and in addition to the above-described transfer
machine or platten or cylinder printing or lithographing machine or
press or other appliance may be employed for transferring the design
on short pieces or continuous lengths of fabric.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be used
or practically carried into effect, I wish to observe that those features
mentioned in the Provisional Specification as the fourth, fifth, and sixth
heads, the second feature of the seventh head, and the whole of the
eighth head I find to be of no practical importance, and consequently
I now disclaim them; what, however, I do consider to be novel and

page_text: original, and therefore claim as secured to me by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The arrangement and construction of a cylinder printing
machine with inking apparatus as well as apparatus for giving off and
taking up the fabric to be printed, as shown at Figure 1 of the Drawings,
and the application of the same for printing at one operation on one or
both sides of the cloth and in one or more colours on continuous lengths
of such fabrics, as hercin-before set forth.
Second. The construction or arrangement of lithographing or printing
machines with the apparatus for giving off and receiving the fabric when
lithographed or printed in continuous lengths, as hercin-before described
and shown at Figure 2 of the appended Sheet of Drawings.
Third. The production of imitation photographic or other designs in
one or more colours, as herein-before described under the fifth and sixth
heads of my Invention, but referred to in the Provisional Specification
as the ninth and tenth heads, and the apparatus employed therefor, as
shown in Figure 3.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter MacLean, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of September One
thousand eight hundred and seventy.
TT TATT