IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES, AND OF ENGRAVED METAL PROVISIONAL SPFICATION FOR PURPO
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Banks, of 11, Lavender Road,
Battersea, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES, AND OF ENGRAVED METAL
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Banks
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th July 1873.
I, JOHN HENRY BANKS, of 11, Lavender Road, Battersea, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES, AND OF ENGRAVED
METAL SURFACES APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows :-
-
The object of my Invention is mainly to produce from a drawing upon
paper, or a letter-press, copper plate, or lithographic print or drawing a
raised surface block applicable for typo printing, or a plate similar to an

page_text: engraved copper or steel plate applicable for printing by the ordinary
copper plate or lithographic press. The raised surface plates can be
produced either flat, or they may be cylindrical, for the purpose of
printing upon calico and such like purposes. Metal dies to be used as
seals or for stamping paper and such like uses, or to be used as embossing
plates for bookbinders for stamping or embossing book covers or leather
or other substances in high relief, or for other purposes connected with
the printing, bookbinding, die sinking, or embossing trades where printing
or embossing is used.
To produce the above results either from a drawing, letter-press print,
photograph, or any work of art on paper or painting, I use a photo-
graphic lens made of a rectilinear form, and with the use of a
photographic camera and apparatus I take a photographic negative in the
ordinary way on glass (No. 1). I afterwards prepare a glass (No. 2) by
covering one side with a solution of gelatine or chondrine sufficiently
thin to spread uniformly over the surface of the glass, and form a thin
uniform film upon it. I then let it dry, and after it is dry I immerse it
in a darkened room in a bath of bichromate of potash or of a solution of
peroxide of chromium and hydrate of lime mixed with water, and after
it has been in for 15 or 20 minutes, according to the work I require, I
take it out and dry it. After it is quite dry I place the photographic
negative glass, No. 1, face downwards on to the prepared surface on
glass No. 2. I then press the two glasses together very tight, and by
exposing then to the rays of the sun or other light I obtain a printed
representation of what is on the negative glass (No. 1) on to the prepara-
tion on glass No. 2. I then remove the glass No. 1, and place the glass
No. 2 in a bath of hot water mixed with chloride of sodium, and the
composition on glass No. 2 having been acted on by the light remains
fixed intact, but the parts not acted upon by the light are washed away
when brushed, and the raised surface of the printed drawing is left
standing up, and this gelatine plate I subsequently harden, as afterwards
described, by acetic or other acid, or in place of treating the gelatine
plate as above described I by preference immerse the glass (No. 2) in a
bath of cold water mixed with iodine and iodide of potassium for half an
hour, and then take it out and immerse it in a bath composed of cold water
and ammonia or other alkali for about a quarter of an hour. I then take it
out, and lay it in a bath of cold water and acetic acid for about 10 minutes.
I then have the white portions of the drawing raised up to a very great

page_text: height, quite as high as any wood engraving is cut in depth, and the
drawing is level and sunk. The gelatine surface has also been strength-
ened and toughened, so that a cast can afterwards be readily taken from
it, whereas heretofore the casts taken from gelatine plates have been
very imperfect. I then take a cast in plaster of Paris, cement, gutta
percha, wax, or other plastic material. If I use plaster of Paris I by
preference press the plaster just at the time it is setting. If in the cast
thus obtained any of the white portions require to be made deeper I then
roll over the raised portions of the plaster cast with oil, copal, or other
varnish, and when dry I dip the plaster cast in a bath of soap and water,
and wash away with a soft brush such white portions that are un-
protected, and thereby make it sufficiently deep to prevent blacking.
After I obtain the first plaster I then, for the purpose of making the
plaster very hard and capable of standing heavy pressure, immerse it in
a bath of hot size, with the addition of a small portion of treacle, per-
oxide of chromium, and ammonia, until the air bubbles cease to arise
from the cast. I then take it out, wash it, and dry it, and then expose
it freely to the light. It will then stand almost any amount of pressure
without any of the fine lines being broken (the plaster in this case must
not be acted upon with the soap). The plaster mould so obtained could,
if desired, be printed from in the same manner as from metal plates, if
the printer would wash them with turps instead of water and lye after
printing, but if it be desired to obtain an electrotype copy of this first
plaster cast I press a cake of wax on to the surface of the plaster cast by
hydraulic pressure, and the wax mould thus obtained I afterwards
electrotype in the ordinary manner; or I subject the plate to the vapour
of mercury, and afterwards obtain an electrotype in copper.
For the purpose of taking a stereo cast I brush the surface of the
plaster cast with a solution of soap and water (which has been allowed
to stand, and has been decanted), and immediately after I wash the
surface with cold water, after which I wash the surface with acetic acid
or pyrogallic acid and water; and before drying I take a casting in
plaster of Paris, with some salt and alum mixed with the plaster (if the
plaster is otherwise too soft), and this second casting forms the matrix
for the stereo metal cast to be cast in.

page_text: portion of the process of glass 1 and 2, which relates to the printed
representation on glass No. 2, and raising the surface with acetic acid
only. I then take a plaster mould, and by taking an electroplate I
produce a copper plate as thick as an ordinary engraved copper plate,
with the drawing indented exactly similar to an engraved plate, which
can be printed by the ordinary copper plate press; but for some work I
modify the mode by not taking a negative, but by placing the print in
contact on glass No. 2 it acts as the negative, and after it is reproduced
on glass No. 2, and proceeding as already described, a plate is produced
which can be printed from in the ordinary manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said John Henry Banks in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY BANKS, of 11, Lavender Road, Battersea, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Banks, Her special
license, that I, the said John Henry Banks, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Banks, 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 THE PRODUCTION OF PRINTING SURFACES, AND OF ENGRAVED
METAL SURFACES APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Banks, 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

page_text: 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 Seal Patent.
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Banks, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
The object of my Invention is mainly to produce from a drawing upon
paper or a letter-press, copper plate, or lithographic print or drawing a
raised surface block applicable for typo printing, or a plate similar to an
engraved copper or steel plate applicable for printing by the ordinary
copper plate or lithographic press; the raised surface plates can be
produced either flat or they may be cylindrical for the purpose of
printing upon calico and such like purposes; metal dies to be used as
seals, or for stamping paper and such like uses, or to be used as em-¨
bossing plates for bookbinders for stamping or embossing book covers or
leather, or other substances in high relief, or for other purposes connected
with the printing, bookbinding, die sinking, or embossing trades where
printing or embossing is used.
To produce the above results, either from a drawing, letter-press print,
photograph, or any work of art on paper or painting, I first obtain a
photographic negative in the ordinary way by means of a rectilinear
lens and ordinary camera upon glass (No. 1) except that I lastly develope
it with a solution of bichloride of mercury, wash this off with cold water,
and then put iodide of potassium, wash this off with cold water, and
then put hydrosulphuret of ammonia, say 1 drachm to 2 ounces of water,..
for the purpose of making all the white parts in the print or drawing as
opaque and black as possible on the glass, so that the sun or artificial
light used in printing the design upon the prepared glass No. 2, (which
I hereafter describe, shall not act upon the white parts but only on the
drawing.) I afterwards prepare a glass No. 2, by laying it perfectly flat
and according to the quality of the lines or work on the design, so-I
make the thickness or thinness of the film of gelatine, or chondrine,
which I prepare as follows:-I take 2 ounces of gelatine, chondrine,
best Russian or French glue made from the pates of the buffalo, or from.
parchment cuttings, and cut it into small shreds, and then pour upon it.

page_text: 1 pint and a half of cold water and let it stand until it is dissolved, say
about 10 hours, and then gently make it hot, not to boil nor burn, and
after laying the glass flat I pour on the glass, if 12 inches by 10 inches,
3 ounces, and then leave it to dry; after it is dry I then make up in a
bath a solution composed of 1 ounce of bichromate of potash, or other
bichromate or peroxide of chromium to one quart of cold water, with
about half a drachm of hydrate of lime. I then place the glass con-
taining the dried gelatine film upon it into the bath, taking care that
the mixture covers it entirely, and when it has remained in three or four
minutes I take the glass out and put it on its end to drain and dry,
taking care that no daylight enters the room, only gas or dark yellow
light. When this prepared glass No. 2 is perfectly dry and the film hard
I take an ordinary pressure frame with a plate glass front, and on the
plate glass I lay the photographic negative glass No. 1, with the silvered
side upwards, and upon this side I place the film side of the glass No. 2
upon it, and then I place a piece of black velvet upon the back of glass
No. 2, press the whole tightly together and expose the glass to the sun's
rays, or to a magnesium, electro-magnetic, or other white light for
about 5, 10, or 20 minutes, and then I obtain a printed impression, that
is, the design upon the negative glass being transparent and the white
parts being black. The sun or other light can only go through the
transparent parts, and so converts the printed portion of the gelatine
into an almost insoluble compound, leaving the white portions perfectly
soluble; I then take it into the darkened room, and having prepared a
bath composed of hot water 2 quarts, mixed with chloride of sodium
1 ounce, and by brushing the gelatine with a brush all the white portions
wash away, and the design is left on the glass standing up untouched.
I then immerse it for 5 minutes in a bath composed of acetic acid
1 ounce, and cold water 1 quart, for the purpose of hardening it, and
afterwards take from it a plaster cast, from which a second plaster cast
can be taken, and printing surfaces be prepared from it as herein-after
described.
The mode however which I prefer is instead of using hot water to use
cold water, one quart mixed with 10 grains of iodine, or 16 grains of
iodide of potassium from a quarter to half an hour, then take it out and
put it into a bath of cold water, 2 quarts mixed with 20 drops of
ammonia for about a quarter of an hour, then take it out and place it in
a bath of 2 quarts of cold water mixed with 1 ounce of acetic acid for

page_text: about 5 or 10 minutes to harden the edges of the design that have not
been raised up. By this means I obtain a gelatine surface mounted on
glass, and having the white portions of the drawing raised up to a very
great height, quite as high as any wood engraving is cut in depth, and
the Drawing is level and sunk; the gelatine surface has also been
`strengthened and toughened so that a cast can afterwards be readily.
taken from it, whereas heretofore the casts taken from gelatine plates
have been very imperfect; I then mix some plaster of Paris or cement,
and take a cast which gives the design raised up, and the white portions
indented similar to wood engraving. Should any of the white. portions
not be sufficiently deep I then proceed to deepen them. One method I
have is to roll over the raised portions of the plaster cast a mixture of
printing ink and copal, or some one of the varnishes now in use com-
mercially, and when dry I dip the plaster mould into a bath of very
weak soap, 1 part, and cold water 500 parts, and brush away with a soft
brush the unprotected plaster, and afterwards I harden the plaster with
weak alum and pyrogalic acid and water until the air bubbles cease to
rise from it. Another way I have is to cut away with a gouge all the
whites that are not sufficiently deep enough, but if I require to take a
casting in plaster of Paris for stereotyping purposes I do not use the
soap water but harden it by immersing it in a bath of hot size, a little
treacle, and peroxide of chromium, until the air bubbles cease to rise
from it, and then expose it to light, and while wet I lay a frame upon
it, pour in the plaster of Paris, and just before it sets I put it under
pressure, and the loose water being pressed out gives a much sharper
casting.
If an electrotype is required instead of a stereotype casting I then
take the plaster cast that has been taken from the gelatine film and
soak it in cold water until bubbles cease to rise from it; I then make the
face of the plaster hot by placing it over a gas flame, and put a frame on
the face and pour on it a preparation of hot wax mixed with resin and
lard, which mode I prefer, and thus take an impression in wax from the
plaster mould; I afterwards polish this wax impression in the usual
way with blacklead or coat it with metal by using mercury. By
washing the mould with spirits of wine and when nearly dry allowing
the fumes of mercury to settle on the face I get a metallic covering
which readily receives a surface of copper without being brushed,
whereby the fine lines are kept intact.

page_text: To produce a copper plate similar to a copper plate engraving I take a
negative with the lights and shades reversed, and by adopting the same
portion of the process of glass 1 and 2 which relates to the printed
representation on glass No. 2, and raising the surface with acetic acid
only; I then take a plaster mould and by taking an electro-plate I pro- E
duce a copper plate as thick as an ordinary engraved copper plate with
the Drawing indented exactly similar to an engraved plate which can be
printed by the ordinary copper plate press. For some work I modify.
the mode by not taking a negative but by placing the print in contact on
glass No. 2, it acts as the negative and after it is reproduced on glass 1
No. 2, and proceeding as already described a plate is produced which
can be printed from in the ordinary manner.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim as my
improvements in the production of printing surfaces and of engraved 1
metal surfaces applicable for other purposes,-
1. The combined process substantially as herein described for the
production of raised surfaces applicable for typo printing and other
uses.
2. The combined process substantially as herein described for the 2
production of engraved plates applicable for copper plate printing and
other uses.
3. The use of a bath of bichromate of potash or other bichromate or
peroxide of chromium with hydrate of lime added to it for sensitizing"
the gelatine plates, I also claim taking a cast from the plate, as herein 2
described, without removing the gelatine from the glass..
4. The toughening of the raised gelatine surfaces by the means sub-
stantially as described:
5. The preparation of the plaster casts by the means substantially as
described prior to taking a second cast or wax impression from them.
6. The pressing of the plaster just at the time of setting when taking
plaster casts from gelatine plates or casts taken from them, as herein
described.
7. Imparting a thin film of mercury to the surface of the gelatine
3

page_text: plates, plaster-casts, or wax impressions, by the means herein described
to prepare them for electrotyping.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Banks, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
JOHN HENRY BANKS. (L.S.)