Year: 1897

page_text: We, HEINRICH LAAG, Proprietor of Dye-works, of 25, Goltsteinstrasse, CHARLES
RÜTLER, Foreman, of 18, Gueisenaustrasse, and Martin Rutler, Foreman, of
3; Gneisenaustrasse, all of Düsseldorf, in the German Empire, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows: -
The method adhered to since the introduction of the piece-dyeing of silk
fabrics and fabrics of half silk and half cotton, of treating the pieces on the reel
or in a wincing-machine, has always involved various kinds of injury to this
fabric, and although with time these have certainly been reduced by the attain-
ment of greater experience and care in the treatment, the practical abolition
thereof is still to be hoped for. At the present time the faults and injuries which
are still caused by the primitive lengthy manipulations of the fabric on the reel
or in the wincing-machine and through the handling with the dyeing-sticks are
so serious that they are the very despair of the dyer as well as of his customer.
The faults caused by dyeing on the reel are essentially the following:-
1. Irregular penetration of the dye.
2. Shifting and disturbed appearance, breaks in the fabric.
3. General wearing-away of the silk-threads, therefore diminished gloss and
reduced strength of the fabric.
4. Streaks, which are caused by a longer treatment than the ordinary, this
being necessary for pieces which, in the first treatment, are not sufficiently dyed
or are not finished according to sample.
5. Entirely worn-out, whitish-grey places, the result of careless or unskilful
handling of the dyeing-sticks or friction on the reel.
6. Cracked strips or streaks in which the dye-material has taken more strongly.
7. Visibility of the sewing holes at the longitudinal sides of the fabric, which
are caused in tacking the pieces together in order to protect the silk side.
"
8. The pieces are so badly damaged at both ends, by tying the pieces to one
another, or binding them together by means of their ends, that the loss caused
thereby to the manufacturers amounts, in pieces of 100 metres long, to at least
per cent., in pieces of 50 metres long, to 1 per cent. of the value of the goods.
The occurrence of all these faults can be avoided by adopting the "jigger
dyeing-process, as this is employed in the dyeing of woollen, half-wool and cotton
piece-goods, also in the dyeing of half-silk fabrics in black and in white, although
with the latter colour the results are imperfect so that, for example, a large pro-
portion of the pieces cannot be made to correspond in shade.
On the contrary
all troublesome goods, particularly silk and half-silk pieces, which were hereto-
fore entirely ruined, can also be faultlessly dyed as regards colour according to
this process.
It is not, however, successful in dyeing the pieces uniformly. The
circumstance that the silk possesses an extraordinary high affinity for the dye-

page_text: stuff employed therefor, has the result that the dye-bath, during the running-
through of silk and half-silk pieces in the " jigger" dyeing process, is very
rapidly exhausted, therefore the fabric at the commencement of the roll is very
much more strongly dyed than towards the middle or even only towards the
end thereof. By allowing the pieces to pass frequently to-and-fro, adding each
time a suitable amount of dye-stuff and also by adding dye-stuff from time to
time during the running-through of the fabric, it has been possible in some
degree to remove the difficulties; to entirely obviate them, however, so as to
obtain certainty in dyeing, has not been attained, for which reason the old im-
perfect process of dyeing on the reel or in the wincing-machine is still generally
employed at the present time.
"
The applicants have discovered a simple method of overcoming this incon-
venience, which is incidental to the ordinary "jigger dyeing-process. The
dyeing-bath or liquor, according to this method, is not placed in the jigger but
in a separate receptacle or reservoir preferably arranged in a higher position, and
with this dye-liquor the jigger is filled to such a depth, that the said liquor evenly
laves the lower rollers, at which level the overflow is also maintained in a collect-
ing vessel, the jigger being then set in action.
The arrangement of the overflow is so regulated or controlled that, with very
strongly acting dye-baths, the liquor is at a lower level in the jigger and with
less strongly acting baths, at a higher level.
At the same time, the supply of fresh dye-liquor from the upper reservoir into
the jigger is regulated so as to take place as uniformly and continuously as possible
and for as long a time as the jigger remains in operation. By means of the over-
flow, regulated as above mentioned and which is caused to take place so as to
correspond to the supply of fresh dye-bath, the bath in the jigger is maintained
of sufficiently uniform composition to uniformly dye the fabric from the begin-
ning to the end of the roll. In order to enable the dye to better penetrate, the
fresh liquor is sprayed or squirted onto the fabric by means of perforated or slit
tubes. If for this spraying operation, dye liquors are employed the dye-stuff of
which is taken up instantaneously or very rapidly by the fabrics to be dyed and
which do not necessitate for any length of time, a close contact with the fabrics to
be dyed, the said dye-liquor, after having been sprayed onto the said, fabrics,
may be also led away so as not to lave the lower rolls. After the liquor placed in the
upper reservoir has run away, the liquor in the lower receptacle is again raised
into the upper reservoir and made up for further use on the pieces in case they
are not yet in accordance with the sample.
For half-silk fabric, in the dyeing of which it is sought to give the cotton a
dark ground, and with the simultaneous use of a dye-liquor which (with sufficient
equalizing capacity) only acts slowly on the silk as well as in tanning, neither
spraying nor squirting of the dye-liquor in the upper reservoir nor an overflow
of the liquor from the jigger takes place, moreover the dye-liquor supplied to
the jigger remains therein, thus it can obtain increased contact with the fabric
and be spent or exhausted.
It is to be noted that the more friction the silk is subjected to when in a moist
state, the more its characteristic beauty, the sheen, disappears. It is therefore
always the aim of the silk-dyer to reduce this injurious action to a minimum. To
effect this in reel or wince dyeing processes, (which must be termed a long, unin-
terrupted series of attempts to combat this property of the silk), is the utmost
limit of attainment with this method, since if a further advance therein were still
possible, it would have taken place long ago under the pressure of the daily losses
which accrue to the silk-piece-dyer by reason of his unsuitable arrangements.
Consequently the above-mentioned disadvantages which, with their losses, are
so considerable that they make even an approximately exact calculation impossible
for the dyer, are daily occurrences.
The new process forming the subject of the present invention, obviates all
these faults and injuries. It obviates any rubbing or friction, continuous as

page_text: well as accidental, to which the silk would otherwise be subjected during the
preparation process; the results given thereby are thus the following:-
1. The original gloss or sheen and the strength of the silk are perfectly
preserved.
2. Shifting or displacement of the fabric (displacement of the weft-threads in
the lighter qualities) and cracking of the fabric (displacement of the warp or
chain threads) can no longer take place in the new method of dyeing; its structure,
moreover, remains intact.
3. Neither does cloudy dyeing occur, which also forms a main disadvantage in
the reel- or wince dyeing.
4. In cases in which, through inadvertence or ignorance, a mistake has been
made in colour, the goods can be dyed another colour without causing white
streaks (blanchissures), as in the reel- or wince-dyeing.
5. Since the use of dyeing-sticks is obviated, the production therewith of
entirely slit-off parts in the fabric by inadvertent manipulation is also avoided.
6. Since the fabric always runs smoothly on the rollers and parts thereof are
never pressed promiscuously together loosely in the jigger, no broken strips or
pices can be caused.
7. Since the tacking together of the fabric is done away with, the marks of the
sewing-thread are obviated.
8. Since the pieces from the beginning to the end of the process remain flat
sewed against each other, no damage to the ends nor the losses resulting therefrom,
can take place.
9. A further advantage of this new process is that no fresh duvet (projecting
thread-ends) can be produced on the fabric, as takes place in a too high degree in
the reel or wince-dyeing process by the continual rubbing of the fabric against itself.
This disadvantage is especially fatal to the heavy dearer qualities of satin, since
it can only be imperfectly remedied by additional strong singeing and moreover
the colour is easily acted upon, even so far as to render it useless, so that the gloss
or sheen of such silk materials is appreciably influenced.
To the improvements above mentioned in the preparation of the fabric must be
added the still very essential advantages in working obtained by employing the
new process of dyeing, viz.:—
1. As was found in trials already made, wherein somewhat imperfect apparatus
was employed, a very remarkable saving was effected in the cost of labour.
2. A large economy is likewise effected by the omission of the tacking together
of the pieces and the separation thereof again, as well as in the consumption of
material (yarn, thread, &c.).
3. The quantity of dyeing liquid necessary for dyeing the fabric is considerably
less than is required with the reel or wince process. In this way, a considerable
economy in the use of the steam is effected, since the baths are generally used
boiling; and even those which are not, (except the clearing or brightening baths,
which are generally used cold) are used fairly hot. The steam consumed in again
raising the used dye-liquor through a few metres into the raised reservoir is
inappreciable in comparison.
4. In the reel or wince process, the possibility of making large quantities of
material uniform in shade depends upon the size or capacity of the dye-vats.
Since these can scarcely contain-for the colours black and white-more than
80 to 100 kilograms of fabric the limiting capacity of previous dye-works is
determined in this respect. In the new method of dyeing one is no longer limited
in this respect, since it is possible to conduct the corresponding amount of dye-
liquor from the reservoir to a number of jiggers and, even with proportionately
small reservoirs, it is possible, by frequently repeated raising of the used dye-
liquor into the reservoir and re-use thereof, to serve a correspondingly large
number of jiggers.
5. The washing or rinsing of the fabric according to the new process is likewise
effected in the jigger and can be carried on where the dyeing took place, when

page_text: the dye-liquor is run off. The supply of soda or warm or cold water required
therefor preferably takes place from large reservoirs arranged at a suitable
height, which serve the whole dye-works through suitable mains which are pro-
vided, at the required points, with systems of jets or spraying devices (for increasing
the effect of the supply). Therefore the whole of the washing or rinsing vats,
together with the dyeing-vats (both kinds have frequently a length of 10 to 12
metres) are dispensed with, and since the jiggers only take up very little room
(1 to 1 square metres) and the reservoirs, in which the dye-liquor is placed, are
raised several metres above the floor, a very great economy is effected in space.
The modified process above mentioned, in which no spraying or carrying away
of the liquor from the jigger takes place can also be used for mordanting.
Dated the 11th day of December 1897.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.
An Improved Process of Dyeing.
We, HEINRICH LAAG, Proprietor of Dye-works, of 25, Goltsteinstrasse, CHARLES
RÜTLER, Foreman, of 18, Gneisenaustrasse, and MARTIN RUTLER, Foreman, of
3, Gneisenaustrasse, all of Düsseldorf, in the German Empire, 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:-
The method adhered to since the introduction of the piece-dyeing of fabrics,
of treating the pieces on the reel or in a wincing-machine, has always involved
various kinds of injury to the fabric (especially to silk fabrics and fabrics of half
silk and half cotton), and although with time these have certainly been reduced
by the attainment of greater experience and care in the treatment, the practical
abolition thereof is still to be hoped for. At the present time the faults and
injuries which are still caused by the primitive lengthy manipulations of the
fabric on the reel or in the wincing machine and through the handling with the
dyeing-sticks, are so serious that they are the very despair of the dyer as well
as of his customer. The faults caused by dyeing on the reel are essentially the
following:-
1. Irregular penetration of the dye.
2. Shifting and disturbed appearance, breaks in the fabric.
3. General wearing-away of the threads, therefore diminished gloss and reduced
strength of the fabric.
4. Streaks, which are caused by a longer treatment than the ordinary, this
being necessary for pieces which, in the first treatment, are not sufficiently dyed
or are not finished according to sample.
5. Entirely worn-out, whitish-grey places, the result of careless or unskilful
handling of the dyeing-sticks or friction on the reel.
6. Cracked strips or streaks in which the dye-material has taken more strongly.
7. Visibility of the sewing holes at the longitudinal sides of the fabric, which
are caused in tacking the pieces together in order to protect the show or outside
thereof.
8. The pieces are so badly damaged at both ends, by tying the pieces to one
another, or binding them together by means of their ends, that the loss caused
thereby to the manufacturers amounts, in pieces of 100 metres long, to at least
per cent., in pieces of 50 metres long, to 1 per cent. of the value of the goods.

page_text: 16
The occurrence of all these faults can be avoided by adopting the jigger
dyeing-process.
All efforts, however, to dye fabrics faultlessly by this process heretofore have
been fruitless. It is not successful in dyeing the pieces uniformly. In the
employment of the jigger filled with the dye-bath or liquor, it was found that
the fabrics (and in a particularly high degree fabrics made of threads which have
a strong affinity for the dye, such for example, as silk and half-silk materials) in
running through a jigger of this kind, very rapidly remove the dye from the
bath, so that, the pieces of fabric are much more strongly dyed at the end that
first enters the dye-bath than towards the other end or even the middle of the
piece. By using friction driving-gear in the jigger to regulate the speed at
which the fabric is run through, or by allowing the pieces to pass frequently
backwards and forwards making a suitable addition of dye-stuff each time and
also by adding dye-stuff from time to time during the running-through of the
fabric, it has been possible in some degree to remove the difficulties; heretofore,
however, no one has been able to obviate them sufficiently to obtain certainty
in dyeing, for which reason the old imperfect process of dyeing on the reel or in
the wincing-machine is still preferably employed at the present time.
According to the present invention, a simple method is proposed of overcoming.
this difficulty which is incidental to the ordinary jigger-process of dyeing, and
of rendering the same applicable for the successful dyeing of fabrics, even those
containing threads which have a strong affinity for the dye, whilst, for the pur-
pose of dyeing as uniformly as possible, the dye-bath is prepared of a strength
or composition corresponding to the shade or colour to be obtained (whether it
be the preliminary, intermediate or final shade or colour), in a special vat, so
that one unit volume of this bath without further addition of dyestuff consequently
imparts to a definite unit quantity (referring either to surface or weight) of the
material, the desired preliminary, intermediate or final shade or colour.
The preparation of the bath can be effected in a very simple manner as will be
seen from the following example. Assuming that the fabrics to be dyed have
a length of 1000 meters with a width of 60 centimeters, and the dye-bath or liquor
a volume of 1000 liters, that is to say, there is one cubic centimeter of the dye-
liquor for each six square centimeters of the fabric, then a sample of the
size of 120 sq. cm., for example, will be thoroughly dyed in 20 c. cm. of an approxi-
mately-prepared dye-liquor whilst maintaining the temperature to be employed
for the actual dyeing. If the depth of shade is now not yet sufficient, a cor-
responding amount of dye-stuff is added and it is again tested, this being repeated
until the desired shade is obtained.
With this dye-bath, which is preferably placed in a reservoir or receiver
arranged at a high level, the fabric can be dyed in the jigger in the desired manner.
This is effected, according to the present invention, by conducting the pre-
pared bath from the reservoir into the tank or vat of a jigger, which it gradually
fills, whilst the fabric simultaneously performs its running-through motion. In
this manner, whilst obtaining an uniformity in shade, it is possible to proceed
so that the jigger-tank or vat is first filled with the prepared or diluted dye-
liquor to such a depth that the lower guide-rollers are touched, and then, during
the passing backwards and forwards of the fabric, the full quantity of dye-bath
or liquor is gradually added, the jigger-tank or vat can also be empty at the
commencement of the process, or the liquor contained therein originally can
reach up to the lower rollers.
It has been found to be particularly advantageous to introduce the dye-liquor
into the jigger by protecting or spraying it onto the fabrics from the elevated
reservoir by means of jets, syringes or the like, whilst the said fabrics run in the
jigger, which, if desired, may be originally empty. The dye-liquor which has
been in contact with the fabric and has thus had the amount of dye therein con-
siderably reduced, collects in the lower part of the jigger and can then, in its
weakened condition, during the further flow of dye-liquor into the jigger so as

page_text: to continually rise higher therein, more and more lave the fabric running through
and further dye it without thereby causing, especially with fabrics which easily
take up the dye-stuff, an undesirable irregularity in the colour obtained. This
result can be explained by the aid of the following circumstance. By increasing
the speed at which the fabric is run through, the naturally-increasing time of
contact of the fabric with the dye-bath by reason of the rise in level of the said
dye-bath caused by the flow of dye-liquor into the jigger, is correspondingly
shortened and thus an action which is uniformly distributed over the whole of
the fabric, is obtained, and the at first, apparently too slight action of the dye-
liquor as it runs into the jigger, is compensated for.
The practical working of the process has shown in the most complete manner,
that the above mentioned objections are satisfactorily obviated thereby.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A process for dyeing fabrics, wherein the dye-liquor is placed ready pre-
pared in a reservoir at a strength or composition corresponding to the shade or
colour to be obtained (that is to say, the preliminary, intermediate or final shade
or colour) and is then conducted from the said reservoir into the tank or vat
of a jigger in which the fabric is dyed whilst the same performs a running-
through motion.
2. A process for dyeing fabrics, such as is herein before described, wherein the
supply of the prepared dye-liquor into the jigger-tank or vat is effected by jets,
Syringes or the like, which direct the dye-liquor against the fabric whilst the
latter is moving through the vat or jigger and thus enable fabrics, more especially
those which easily take up the dye-stuff, to continually remove or extract the
dye-stuff from the entering dye-liquor in the progressive motion of the same.
Dated this 5th day of September 1808
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.