IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER TISSUES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Etienne Cominal, of Paris (France), Printer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING SHAWLS AND OTHER TISSUES."
Sealed the 8th December 1857, and dated the 13th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Etienne Cominal at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th June 1857.
I, ETIENNE COMINAL, of Paris (France), Printer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING SHAWLS AND
OTHER TISSUES," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to the printing of shawls, large hankerchiefs,
flounces for ladies' dresses, and other similar tissues of great width, by means
of the cylinder printing machine employed for printing calicos.
printing calicos. I hereby.
make use of different methods, viz. :-
1, folding the shawl to be printed in suitable manner, interposing and*
fixing calico or other suitable material between or over the folds, or the
borders, or those parts to be kept reserved in such manner that the ground.
may at once receive the impression.
Or, 2, folding only the borders, and covering them with, and interposing.
calico or other suitable material in such manner that the ground of the shawl.
may be printed by once passing through the machine.
Or, 3, covering the pressure roller with felt or other suitable material,.
cut out at those places that are to form the reserves, either for the ground or
for the borders.

page_text: Or, 4, interposing between the pressure roller and the shawl or other
tissue an endless band of metal or other suitable material, suitably covered
with felt or other suitable material for imparting the required impression to
the shawl or other tissue to be printed. A chequered fag-end fixed to the
shawl or tissue, and pins serves for guiding these latter, and strips of calico,
interposed at the ends of the printing roller, allows of the impression only
over the required length of this latter.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Etienne Cominal in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ETIENNE
COMINAL, of Paris, France, Printer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day. of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
lid, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Etienne Cominal, Her special licence that I, the said Etienne Cominal,
iny executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Etienne Cominal, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRINTING, SHAWLS AND OTHER TISSUES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Etienne Cominal, by an instrument in writing. under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the 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 Etienne Cominal, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what, manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
These improvements relate to certain methods for making the ordinary
cylinder machines hitherto employed for printing calicos and other narrow

page_text: fabrics, subservient to the printing of shawls,, large handkerchiefs, flounces for
ladies dresses, and other fabrics of a width superior to the. length of the
printing rollers or copper cylinders., The methods I hereby make use of are
based on the principle of folding up the shawls. or other. broad, fabrics. in such
manner as to allow of printing parts of the surfaces of such, fabrics at a time,
and to obtain the printing of an entire surface or side. of the same by. two or
more successive impressions,, and not, by printing at once. the entire surface,, as
was done till now when printing by. means of, the said; cylinder machines.
One surface being printed, the opposite surface may then, if required,, receive
the impression, in a similar manner. The following modes. of acting are, based
on the, principle just explained.:-
Firstly, I fold the shawl.or other fabric, to be printed either in. two or more
folds. according to its width, and. I interpose. pieces of calico. or other
suitable materials between the folds,, sewing, pasting, glueing, or otherwise.
fixing them in. the folds, which. they must, fill entirely, and; thus, leave the
upper surface of the fold laying. uppermost, entirely, open, which surface
then receives. the impression in: the. ordinary. mode,, by passing, the fabric,
thus folded up,, between the. printing rollers: of the, machine'; after which
the. fabric: is, opened. and the folds. changed in, such, manner as. to cause.
each fold, at each impression, successively to lay uppermost, and thus. succes-
sively give the impression to the entire surface, or to a required, part of the
surface of the shawl, or, other fabric; thus; for instance, the entire ground. of.
the shawl. or other, fabric may receive the: impression,. and. the borders,may be.
left open, which. latter may then: be. impressed by the same methods, by, covering,
the ground with a piece of calico or other material..
Or, secondly, according to the same method, I may begin, by folding up only
the borders of the shawl or other fabric to be printed, and covering these,borders
with calico or other material, so as to leave the entire ground of the shawl or
other fabric open, and thus printing this ground at once by the machine. By
making use of these methods is to be observed, that the calico or other
material must always be interposed in such manner that the surface of the
fabric or folded parcel be perfectly smooth, and presents over the whole of its
surface the same thickness when passing between the rollers or cylinders in
order to cause the impression to take place regularly.
Thirdly, having folded up the shawl or other fabric according to the above-
mentioned principles, I may cover the pressure roller with cloth, a felted
or other suitable material, on which I cut out the necessary designs at those
places as are required to form the reserves, either for the ground or for
the borders; this method, in combination with the proper folding up gives

page_text: beautiful results, and the same may also be applied by itself, that is to say,
without folding up the fabrics, the width of them allowing of it.
Fourthly, having folded up the shawl or other fabric according to the above-
mentioned methods, I may interpose between the pressure roller and the fabric
to be printed an endless band of thin sheet metal or other suitable material,
suitably covered with cloth, a felted or other suitable material, glued to, or in
any other suitable manner applied to the said metal band, in which felted or
other suitable material the required patterns or designs are cut out. The end-
less metal band in this method serves for impressing the pattern on the shawl
or other fabric to be printed; in case of narrow fabrics to be printed, this
method may also be employed by itself without the method of folding up the
fabrics. The endless metal band is passed over the pressing roller and over
a guide roller, suitably turning in bearings in the frame of the machine;
suitable points fixed to the roller keep the shawls or other fabrics to be printed
duly stretched while passing through the rollers or cylinders, and to prevent
folds or creases to occur. In order to prevent that, the surface of the pressure
roller might be stained by the ends of the printing cylinder extending beyond
the width of the folded-up fabric when this latter is passing between the said
rollers or cylinders, I interpose, if required, at each uncovered end, strips of
calico or other suitable material.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as my Invention the methods described
of making the ordinary cylinder printing machines subservient to the printing
of shawls or other fabrics, the width of which exceeds the length of the
printing cylinder or printing roller of the said machines.
In witness whereof, I, the said Etienne Cominal, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
L. DE Vos.
COMINAL. (L.S.)