provements in Printing Processes, and Apparatus connected therewith
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May 1895
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar 1896-Accepted, 7th July, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Printing Processes, and Apparatus connected
therewith
JOHN HENRY NOAD, 14 Stafford Road, East Ham, in the County of Essex,
Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
This invention has for its object improved means of forming plates or cylinders
from which printing is done
According to my invention I form the surface of the printing cylinders or plates
of two different metals One of these metals is iron, or other metal which is
Incapable of amalgamation by mercury The surface of the plate or roller which
s formed of iron is that which takes the ink, and therefore leaves the impression
on the paper or other medium on which it is desired to print The other part of
the surface of the plate which is not desired to take the ink in printing the
impression, is formed of copper or other metal which is capable of amalgamation
with mercury
The surface of the plate or printing roller is therefore formed of a metal to
which printing ink will adhere and which will produce the impression, and of a
non-printing surface consisting of mercury or mercury amalgam which will neither
take the ink nor make an impression
A plate or roller prepared in this manner only requires to be inked by rollers or
other means in any of the well known methods now in use and printed from by
means of applying the paper under direct pressure on a plate or by roller pressure
in a rotary printing press in any of the well known ways
I may carry out the process of forming the plates with the above object in view
in a number of different ways but I prefer to proceed according to one or other of
the following methods
-
I take a plate o1 roller of copper and upon this I deposit according to any of the
well known methods a thin coating of iron or other metal incapable of amalgamation
with mercury
I next lay upon this iron surface a positive picture or printed
matter in the form of resisting ink I next dissolve away all the iron which is not
protected by the resisting ink This leaves a surface of iron which represents the
picture and a surface of copper which represents the pait not to be printed from
I next amalgamate the cylinder or plate by means of mercury
This may be
effected by rubbing over the plate or cylinder with a piece of rag or wool which
carries mercury, a small amount of acid may be used to facilitate the amalgamation
process Or I may deposit the mercury upon the copper in any other convenient
manner
1 next ink the plate or cylinder in any of the well known methods and take a
printed impression This may be repeated as many times as desired according to
any of the well known printing processes
According to another method I may commence with an iron plate or cylinder,
and deposit a thin layer of copper thereon This plate or cylinder may be
sensitised by bitumen, by bichromated albumen, or any of the well known photo-
graphic methods and then expose the plate or cylinder to actinic light under a
positive picture of the subject to be reproduced, or under type written matter on
The time of the exposure is
paper, if it is desired to print letter press therefrom
of course regulated according to the printing method used

page_text: The plate is then developed in the ordinary way and leaves a negative picture
upon the copper surface
The plate or cylinder is then etched in a bath of dilute nitric acid or a bath of
ferricchloride or other suitable mordant The result of this process is that the
copper is dissolved away upon the part from which it is desired to print, the result
being that a copper and iron surface is left The copper surface is then amal-
gamated as above explained and printing may then be commenced
According to another method where it is desired to easily remove an impression
from a cylinder or plate after it has beer printed from, and to have the same ready
to start afresh for further work, I prefer to commence with an iron cylinder or
plate, upon this I deposit a thin coating of copper of sufficient thickness to
amalgamate satisfactorily with mercury and to have sufficient mechanical strength
to stand the printing process
Upon this copper I deposit a thin layer of iron I then proceed according to
the first method, covering the iron from which it is desired to print with a resisting
ink, dissolving away the remainder of the iron and thus exposing copper surface,
which copper surface is afterwards amalgamated, leaving a combined surface of
iron and malgamated copper, to be printed from All that is necessary to be
done when the printing process is finished and it is desired to make a fresh
impression upon the plate, is to dissolve off the outer thin copper and the mercury
and thus leave a clean iron surface upon which fresh copper and iron can be deposited
and the plate or cylinder thus used over again as many times as is found desirable
According to another method I may commence with an iron cylinder or plate
Upon this I may print a positive from a reversed negative and deposit copper upon
the unprotected surfaces of the plate or cylinder Ihe surface thus formed may
then be amalgamated as above explained and printing may be proceeded with
According to this method I may also print with resisting or insulating ink in a
type-writer on to the cylinder or plate, which it is desired to form The insulating
varnish or ink covering that part of the iron from which it is desired to print, and
the other part of the iron which is left expo ed I cover with a copper deposit
which is afterwards amalgamated, as explained
The ink in these processes takes in the most satisfactory way to the iron surfaces
and the most perfect repulsion for the irk occurs where the amalgamated surfaces
are, these keeping perfectly clean under the inking rollers
In an ordinary machine from which an impression is produced from a flat plate
I may from time to time replenish the amalgamated sui faces by re-amalgamation,
as explained in the first instance Or I may run on to the amalgamated surface an
amalgam formed of tin or other suitable metal and mercury with which to replenish
the amalgamated surface Or I may use a roller which could be charged with
mercury or mercury amalgam and replenish the amalgamated surfaces in this
manner
Where a rotary printing machine is used I may continually replenish the
amalgamated surface by means of rotating rollers much the same as those used
for the inking process, which are fed with mercury or mercury amalgam and which
maintain the amalgamated surfaces in perfectly good and fresh condition to repel
the ink
Or I may have separately or combined with the above amalgamating rollers a
rubber formed of wool, cloth or other suitable material, which cleans the amal-
gamated surface during the rotation of the press This rubber may be charged
with mercury or mercury amalgam
It will be observed from the above descriptions that where an iron surface
coated with copper and which has the copper dissolved away and the iron exposed
where it is desired to print, will have the iron which has to take the ink slightly
sunk below the general surface On the other hand in the case where a copper
surface is covered with iron and the iron dissolved away where it is desired to leave
the copper non printing surface the iron will slightly protrude above the surface
The difference in level is of course exceedingly slight Where it is desired to

page_text: produce any specific difference in level of the printing surface either shove or
below the general surface of the plate or roller this may be accomplished by
varying the thickness of the metals deposited
Plates and cylinders may be prepared from transfers taken fiom blocks, plates
stones &c, and laid upon the plates or cylinders which it is desired to form,
proceeding according to any of the above methods
Where I desire to produce letterpress matter I may do this upon plates or
cylinders which are written upon by a type-writer constructed of the necessary
size and with the proper bearings and turning arrangement to receive the cylinders
or thin plates which it is desired to work upon These processes may be carried
out by writing or drawing with a resisting ink or insulating varnish, or the like,
which covers over an iron surface This iron surface, if formed of a thin deposit
may then be dissolved away where not protected and the copper left underneath
may be amalgamated or if iron surface forms the basis of the plate or cylinder
it may have copper deposited upon it in its unprotected part which may be
amalgamated, printing may then be proceeded with as above explained
Or in some cases it may be found desirable to type write matter much in the
ordinary way as a letter i now typed The matter thus typed being used as a
positive plate and being placed face downwards upon a sensitised plate or cylinder
and acted upon by light as above explained
In some cases where cylinder printing presses are used, I may as already
explained work direct upon the circular surface In other cases I may work upon
thin plates of iron, steel or copper treated in the necessary manner and wrapped
and fixed round the rotating oylinders of the machines
Where it is desired to print from plates and where it may be necessary to score
same away and produce further additious from time to time I make these as thin as
possible, thus the plates from which a book may be printed would be but little thicker
than the leaves of the book which it is desired to print and would therefore occupy
the smallest possible space for storage
Moreover the capital invested in the e al plates would be but a small matter.
Where a cylinder or plate has beer ritten upon in a typewriter should any
mistake have occurred in so doing o any alteration be desired to be made this
may be ea ily done by rubbing on the incorrect part, cleaning the surface and
re-writing it before the final act of depositing the copper or dissolving the iron
1s carried out
Where any defect occurs in the copper surface and which would make a spot or
blemish upon the printing this can be rectified by cleaning off the surface of the
copper and amalgamating it afresh
According to this invention it is easy to print both pictures and type writing
matter from the same plates and surfaces in the one machine
Where I desire to print in several colours various plates may be used in the
same machines which are at present used for lithographic work, each plate being used
in place of the present lithographic stones to carry the colour or tint which it is
desired to put on
I however prefer to do this class of work in a rotary machine
which consists of a large drum or cylinder round which the paper is carried
Upon the outer surface of this drum and in spring contact therewith is carried the
various cylinders, one being arranged over each of the various colours which it is
de-ired to print
These cylinders may be prepared according to any of the above explained
processes and may be fed with colour as required The paper in passing between
the surface of these printing cylinders and of the large rotating cylinder round
which the other cylinders are placed has the various impressions printed upon its
surface all of which can be made to register perfectly thus producing a good and
satisfactory picture in colours
Letter press printing may also be put upon one or more of the rollers thus
producing a combination of type written matter and coloured or tinted pictures
According to my invention it will be evident that it is easy to have pictures and

page_text: type written matter on both sides of a sheet of paper as the type not standing out
in the ordinary way the picture on one side is not injured by the type on the
other
In the above descriptions I have mentioned the use of copper as the metal which
is amalgamated and iron for the metal which takes the printing ink
In place of
copper I may use tin or other metal which can be dealt with to produce the same
result as copper and which is capable of amalgamation
In place of the iron I may use nickel or other metal which is incapable of
amalgam and which produces substantially the same results as iron
Where it is required to use a mordant to eat away either the copper or the iron
and where either metals are used to fulfil the respective functions of the copper
and the ion in this process I use suitable mordants for attacking each particular
metal, such mordants are already well known
Dated this 6th day of Mo 1905
Improvements in Printing Processes, and Apparatus connected
therewith
JOHN HENRY NOAD, 14 Stafford Road, East Ham, in the County of Essex,
Chemist, 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
-
This invention has for its object improved means of forming plates or cylinders
from which printing is done
According to my invention I form the surface of the painting cylinders or plates
of two different metals One of these metals is iron, or other metal which is
incapable of amalgamation by mercury The surface of the plate or rollei which
is formed of iron is that which takes the ink, and therefore leaves the impression
on the paper or other medium on which it is desired to pint The other put of
the surface of the plate which is not desired to take the ink in printing the
impression, is formed of copper or other metal which is capable of amalgamation
with mercury
The surface of the plate or printing roller is therefore formed of a metal to
which printing ink will adhere and which will produce the impression, and of a
non-printing surface consisting of mercury or mercut v amalgam which will neither
take the ink nor make an impression
A plate or roller prepared in this manner only requires to be inked by rollers or
other means in any of the we'l known methods now in use and printed from by
means of applying the paper under direct pressure on a plate or by roller pressure
in a rotary printing press in any of the well known ways
I may carry out the process of forming the plates with the above object in view
in a number of different ways but I prefer to proceed according to one or other of
the following methods
I take a plate on roller of copper and upon this I deposit according to any of
the well known methods a thin coating of iron or other metal incapable of
ainalgamation with mercury I next lay upon this iron surface a positive picture
or printed matter in the form of resisting ink I next dissolve away all the iron
which is not protected by the resisting in This leaves a surface of iron which
represents the picture and a surface of copper which represents the part not to be
printed from
I next amalgamate the cylinder or plate by means of mercury This may be
effected by rubbing over the plate or cylinder with a piece of rag or wool which

page_text: carries the mercury, a small amount of acid may be used to facilitate the
amalgamation process
Or I may deposit the mercury upon the copper in any
other convenient manuer
I next ink the plate or cylinder in any of the well known methods and take a
printed impression This may be repeated as many times as desired according to
any of the well known printing processes
According to another method I may commence with an iron plate or cylinder,
and deposit a thin layer of copper thereon This plate or cylinder may be
sensitised by bitumen, by bichromated albumen, or any of the well known
photographic methods and then expose the plate or cylinder to actinic light under
a positive picture of the subject to be reproduced, or under type written matter on
The time of the exposure
paper, if it is desired to print letter press therefrom
is of course regulated according to the printing method used
The plate is then developed in the ordinary way and leaves a negative picture
upon the copper surface
then
The plate or cylinder is then etched in a bath of dilute nitric acid or a bath of
ferricchloride or other suitable mordant The result of this process is that the
copper is dissolved away upon the part from which it is desired to print, the result
being that a copper and iron surface is left The copper surface is
amalgamated as above explained and printing may then be commenced
According to another method where it is desired to easily remove an impression
from a cylinder or plate after it has been printed from and to have same ready to
start afresh for further work, I prefer to commence with an iron cylinder or plate,
upon this I deposit a thin coating of copper of sufficient thickness to amalgamate
satisfactorily with mercury and to have sufficient mechanical strength to stand the
printing process
Upon this copper I deposit a thin layer of iron I then proceed according to
the first method covering the iron from which it is desired to print with a resisting
ink, dissolving away the remainder of the iron and thus exposing a copper surface,
which copper surface is afterwards amalgamated leasing a combined surface of non
and amalgamated copper to be painted from All that is necessary to be done
when the printing process is finished and it is desired to make a fresh impression
upon the plate, is to dissolve off the outer thin copper and the mercury and thus
leave clean iron surface upon which fiesh copper and iron can be deposited and
the plate or cylinder thus used over again as many times as is found desuable
According to another method may commence with an iron cylinder or plate
Upon this may print a positive from reversed negative and deposit copper upon
the unprotected surfaces of the plate or cylinder The surface thus formed may
be then amalgamated as above explained and printing may be proceeded with
According to this method I may also print with resisting or insulating ink in a
type writer on to the cylinder or plate, which it is desired to form The insulating
varnish or ink covering that part of the iron from which it is desired to print, and
the other part of the iron which is left exposed I cover with a copper deposit
which is afterwards amalgamated, as explained
'
The ink in these processes takes in the most satisfactory way to the iron surfaces
and the most perfect repulsion for the uk occurs where the amalgamated surfaces
are, these keeping perfectly clean under the inking rollers
In an ordinary machine from which an impression is produced from a flat plate
I may from time to time replenish the amalgamated surfaces by re-amalgamation,
as explained in the first instance Or I may rub on to the amalgamated surface
an amalgam formed of tin or other suitable metal and mercury with which to
replenish the amalgamated surface Or I may use a roller which could be charged
with mercury or mercury amalgam and replenish the amalgamated surfaces in this
manner
When a rotary printing machine is used I may continually replenish the
amalgamated surface by means of rotating rollers much the same as those used

page_text: for the inking process, which are fed with mercury or mercury amalgam and which
maintain the amalgamated surfaces in perfectly good and fresh condition to repel
the ink
Or I may have separately or combined with the above amalgamating rollers a
lubber formed of wool, cloth or other suitable material which cleans the
amalgamating surface during the rotation of the press This rubber may be
charged with mercury or mercury amalgam
It will be observed from the above descriptions that where an iron surface coated
with copper and which has the copper dissolved away and the iron exposed where
it is desired to print, will have the iron which has to take the ink slightly sunk
below the general surface On the other hand in the case where a copper surface
is covered with iron and the iron dissolved away where it is desired to leave the
copper non-printing surface the iron will slightly protrude above the surface
difference in level is of course exceedingly slight Where it is desired to produce
any specific difference in level of the printing sui face either above or below the
general surface of the plate or roller this may be accomplished by varying the
thickness of the metals deposited
The
Plates and cylinders may be prepared from transfers taken from blocks, plates,
stones &c, and lud upon the plates or cylinders which it is desired to form
proceeding according to any of the above method>
Where I desire to produce letter press matter I may do this by plates or
cylinders which are written upon by a type writer constructed of the necessary
size and with proper bearings and turning arrangement to receive the cylinders or
thin plates which it is desired to work upon These processes may be carried out
by writing or diawing with a resisting ink or insulating varnish or the like, which
covers over an iron surface This iron surface, if formed of a thin deposit may
then be dissolved away where not protected and the copper left underneath may
be amalgamated or if on surface forms the basis of the plate or cylinder it
may have copper deposited upon it in its unprotected part which may be
amalgamated Printing may then be proceeded with as above explained
Or in some cases it may be found desirable to type write matter much in the
ordinary way as a letter is now typed The matter thus typed being used as a
positive plate and being placed face downwards upon a sensitised plate or cylinder
and acted upon by light as above explained
In some cases where cylinder painting presses are used, I may as already
explained work direct upon the circular surface In other cases I may work upon
thin plates of iron, steel or copper treated in the necessary manner and wrapped
and fixed round the rotating cylinders of the machines
Where it is desired to print from plates and where it may be necessary to score
some away and produce further additions from time to time I make these as thin
as possible, thus the plates from which a book may be printed would be but little
thicker than the leaves of the book which it is desired to paint and would therefore
occupy the smallest possible space for storage
Moreover the capital invested in the metal plates would be but a small matter
Where a cylinder or plate has been written upon in a typewriter should any
mistake have occurred in so doing or any alteration be desired to be made this
may be easily done by rubbing out the incorrect part, cleaning the surface and
re-writing it before the final action of depositing the copper or dissolving the iron
is carried out
Where any defect occurs in the copper surface and which would make a spot or
blemish upon the printing this can be rectified by cleaning off the surface of the
copper and amalgamating it afresh
According to this invention it is easy to print both pictures and type writing
matter from the same plates and surfaces with one machine
When I desire to print in several colours various plates may be used in the same
machines which are at present used for lithographic work, each plate being used in

page_text: place of the present lithographic stones to carry the colour or tint which it is
desired to put on I however prefer to do this class of work in a rotary machine
which consists of a large drum or cylinder 1ound which the paper is carried
Upon the outer surface of this drum and in spring contact therewith are carried
the various cylinders, one being arranged over each of the various colours which
it is desired to print
These cylinders may be prepared according to any of the above explained
processes and may be fed with colour as requned The paper in passing between
the surface of these printing cylinders and of the large rotating cylinder round
which the other cylinders are placed has the various impressions printed upon its
surface all of which can be made to register perfectly thus producing a good and
satisfactory picture in colours
Letter press printing may also be put upon one or more of the rollers thus
producing a combination of type written matter and coloured or tinted pictures
According to my invention it will be evident that it is easy to have pictures and
type written matter on both sides of a sheet of paper as the type not standing out
in the ordinary way the picture on one side is not injured by the type on the other
In the above descriptions I have mentioned the use of copper as the metal which
is amalgamated, and iron for the metal which takes the printing ink In place of
copper I may use tin or other metal which can be dealt with to produce the same
1esult as copper and which is capable of amalgamation
In place of the iron I may use nickel or other metal which is incapable of
amalgamation and which produces substantially the same results as iron
Where it is desired to use a mordant to eat away either the copper or the iron
and where either metals are used to fulfil the respective functions of the copper
and the iron in this process I use suitable mordants for attacking each particular
metal, such mord ints are already well known
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
-
(1) Printing from composite metal surfaces in the form of metal such as iron
which will not amalgamate and which receives and delivers the printing ink, and
of a metal such as copper which will and is amalgamated and which does not take
up or deliver ink
(2) Composite metal surfaces for printing from formed of amalgamated and
Don-amalgamated metals substantially as described
(3) Composite metal surfaces for printing from formed in layers of two or
more amalgamating metals laid on successively according to their reluctance to
amalgamate and with the most readily amalgamated metal on the outer surface,
substantially as described
(4) In a painting process where the amalgamated surface is used and which is
repellent to the printing ink replenishing the amalgamated surfaces during the
work by an amalgamating roller or other means substantially as described
(5) My improvements in printing surfaces substantially as described
(6) My improvements in the production of printing surfaces substantially as
described
(7) My improved means for the direct production of a surface for printing
type written matter by the direct use of a writing machine substantially as
described
(8) My improved means of printing from a flat surface substantially as
described
(9) Preparing the surface of a drum or cylinder for printing from substantially
as described
(10) Preparing thin metal sheet which may be printed from when rolled round
a roller or in the flat substantially as described

page_text: (11) My improvements in printing processes and apparatus connected therewith
substantially as described
(12) In a printing process the use of mercury or a mercury amalgam surface
repellent to printing ink substantially as described
Dated this 6th day of March 1896
ET
JOHN H NOAD