IMPROVEMENTS IN, PRINTING AND DYEING VARIOUS FABRICS
Year: 1845

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of December, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, adñññors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the
Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN, PRINTING AND DYEING VARIOUS FABRICS," being a communi-
cation from a Foreigner residing abroad; in which said Letters Patent
is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by au
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately

page_text: after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hercunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say)-—
This Invention, which has been communicated to me by a Foreigner
residing abroad, consists,-
Firstly, in an arrangement of machinery whereby the operations of printing
or staining patterns upon various fabrics may be effected, and the same
operation may be again and again repeated to obtain a deeper or more brilliant
color, while a perfect register of the pattern is preserved.
Secondly, this Invention consists in..producing, new effects of color upon
various fabrics by sprinkling granulated or liquid colours upon the fabric, and
afterwards fixing them in the fabric.
....
Thirdly, this Invention consists in improved apparatus to be employed in
"stopping out" ornamental designs upon fabrics, which are intended to be
ayed. This effect; as is well. understood, is produced by printing the required
pattern upon the fabric in any suitable cement or composition, which will resist
heated dye liquor..
i
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In the accompanying Drawing, I have shewn the mode of carrying out
'these various improvements. The machinery which constitutes the first head
of this Invention is represented in Sheets 1 and 2.
Fig. 1 is a side view of the machine; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; and
Fig. 3 is an elevation taken in the line a, b, of Fig. 2. A, A, is the main
framing which supports a series of vats-B, B, B, containing dye liquor, which
is taken up on to the surface of the rollers C, C, C, and imprinted upon the
cloth to be dyed. These rollers turn in bearings in the supplemental
framing D, D, D, which is about twice the length of the framing A, and
extends beyond it at each end for the purpose to be hereafter explained.
a, a, are cog wheels keyed-one on each end of the rollers C, C, and are for the
purpose of taking into the endless chains 'b, b, (one on each side of the
machine,) which are provided on one side with small hooks along their wholo
length. By means of these hooks the cloth is kept distended. until the opera-
tion of printing or dyeing is completed. On the surface of the' rollers C, C, the
pattern or design which is intended to be transferred in color to the cloth is
formed in relief and covered with felt, in order more readily to take up the

page_text: color from the dye vat: As this machine is intended principally to produce shaded
serpentine or wavey lines, which are composed of different-strengths of color, it
is preferable, when such effects are' required, to make the lines of the pattern on
the roller C¹ narrower than that of the roller C, and the pattern on the roller
Cnarrower than that of the roller C. It will also facilitate the process if the
vat B¹ is supplied with strong dye liquor, the next vat B3 with weaker dye
liquor, and the third vat with a still weaker color. The arrangement shewn in the
Drawing is intended to produce shaded lines of two different colors, with three
shades each; but it is obvious that any variety of colored lines may be obtained
by introducing a greater number of vats and rollers lengthways of the machine,
or by dividing the vats into different compartments' to receive a variety of
colors, and also dividing the' pattern rollers into portions corresponding to the
length of such compartments. The dye-vats may be hented' either by steam.
pipes: or by a fire beneath them. E, E, are pressing rollers which have their
bearings in slots made in the framing D.- These rollers are the counterpart
of tlie rollers C, and-serve to keep the cloth in contact with the raised pattern
on the roller C while passing through the machine. F, F, are cog. wheels
keyed on their respective studs G, which are mounted on the extreme ends
of the framing D; and are intended to guide the chains b, b, through the
machine. F*, F*, are other cog wheels keyed upon the: shafts H, H, respec-.
tively, and have their bearings in the framing D; these wheels are also
intended for the like purpose. In order to preserve the uniform tenision of
the cloth (while entering the machine) grooved bars I, I, are provided; which
will allow the chains to pass free in a straight line, but will keep the chains
perfectly parallel to each other until. the links are taken up by the respective
guide wheels. The mode of driving the machine will be best seen by reference
to Fig. 2. K, K, is a horizontal- shaft turning in bearings, . which are
bracketed to the side framing. Upon this shaft the fast and loose driving.
pullies' L, L, are mounted, and at certain distances along the shaft bevilled.
wheels M, M, M; are keyed, which wheels gear into similar, bevil
wheels N, N, N, on the respective axes of the rollers C.. O, O,. O are
cog wheels on the axes of the rollers.C; gearing into cog wheels.P, P, P, 'on
the axis of the pressing rollers E. It will now: be seen, that when rotary.
motion is communicated by means of a band to the fast pulley L, and the
shaft K with its 'bevilled wheels are made to rotate, the rollers Crand:E will'
simultaneously revolve, and the cloth which is supported by the chains b, b;
will be 'drawn through the machine by the rotation of the cog' wheels a, which
take into the links of the chains, as before stated, when the serpentine or
wavey lines will be imprinted upon the cluth. Immediately above the

page_text: machine, rollers are provided to receive the length of chain as it passes from
the machine, and hold the cloth in suspension until, by the rotation of the
rollers C and E, it is brought round to receive a second imprinting or dyeing.
In this manner the cloth is passed and repassed over the pattern rollers, which
dipping in the dye vat, take up a portion of color and supply it to the cloth as
before mentioned until a sufficient depth of color is obtained. The operation is
then stopped, and the cloth is disengaged from the books of the chains, when a
fresh portion of fabric may be supplied to the machine to be similarly treated.
At each end of the machine is a steam box Q, through which the cloth passes,
.in order to fix the color and induce it to spread. I would here remark, that to
ensure a proper tension breadthways of the cloth, which will sometimes differ
in width, the cog wheels a, a, on the axes of the roller C must be made
adjustable, to allow of their receiving a slight. lateral movement, which will
increase or diminish the space between the two scries of hooks to suit the
width of the cloth. It will now be understood that the chains b, b, (being
non-elastic), will effectually prevent the cloth under operation from stretching.
or shrinking, and that the cloth having, before commencing to work, been
brought to a suitable tension, will remain so until the dyeing or staining is
finished. By the application therefore of these endless chains to printing or
dyeing machinery, the rigidity necessary to a perfect register of the patterns is
obtained, and thus a clear and accurate copy of the design can with certainty
be produced, the colors being strengthened as required by passing the cloth
repeatedly over the printing rollers, which will present the same portions of
pattern to the same place on the cloth at each repetition of the operation.
When color of a thick or pasty nature is required to be used, it will be necessary
to have an intermediate roller between the vat containing the color and the
printing roller; and across the vat lengthways a doctor must be provided
for regulating the supply of color to the intermediate roller which supplies
the color to the raised surface of the printing roller. The change in the
gearing requisite to suit this modification will readily suggest itself to any
practised mechanic, and therefore no further explanation need be given.
I. will now explain a mode by which the color may be fixed as soon as
printed into the cloth without the use of steam boxes.
In Sheet 3, Fig. 1 is an elevation, and Fig. 2 a sectional plan of this
improvement. A and B are hollow rollers. mounted in suitable bearings in
the vertical framework C, C. These rollers are provided at their ends with
induction and eduction steam pipes D and E; and as in every other respect
they are exactly similar (the object being in this case to print or stain parallel
lines of color), a description of the mode of forming the lower will suffice for

page_text: the upper roller also.
a, a, are collars placed on the roller at a distance apart,
nearly equal to the length of the vat F which contains the color or dye liquor.
These collars are intended to form shoulders, to which the ends of a cylinder
G are attached. At equal distances along the length of the roller A a ring of
Loles bored radially is made, and in the cylinder G similar rings of holes are
made coincident with those in the roller. Immediately over these holes hollow
rings of metal H, H, are fastened so as to form a steam-tight cover thereto;
the section figure of these rings H will be seen at Fig. 2. It will now be
understood, that when the cloth is passed between a series of those rollers, which
are supplied with steam, as above mentioned, the surface of the rings H, which
comes in contact with the cloth, will, at the moment the coloring matter is
imparted thereto, fix the color in the fabric. This modification may be used
either with or without the endless chain, according to whether stripes or figures
are intended to be printed. When shaded lines or shaded patterns are
required, it will be necessary to damp the cloth before passing it to the dye
vats, in order that the color may spread and shade off at the edges.
I will now describe the mode of producing the new effects in color, consti-
tuting the second head of this Invention. By referring to Sheet III. of the
accompanying Drawings, the apparatus employed for this purpose will be seen
in vertical section at Fig. 3, and in plan at Fig. 4. a is the beam which con-
tains the cloth to be operated upon, and B, B, is a steam chest into which the
cloth is conducted after the coloring matter has been deposited thereon. Cis
a beam having its bearings in the sides of the steam chest, and is intended to
wind up the cloth after passing through the steam. D is another beam having
its bearings in the sides of the steam chest, and provided with a plain cloth
which is wound on to the beam C along with the printed or stained fabric to
keep the coils of that fabric apart from each other, and thus prevent the color
from blurring or smearing. E is a serpentine pipe pierced with holes on its
upper surface for the purpose of supplying jets of steam to the steam chest.
This chest is covered with a thick cloth stretched over a wooden frame to
prevent the steam from escaping too freely, and in one end of the chest a
horizontal slot is cut to admit of the passage of the cloth to the beam C.
The operator, when using dry colors to produce the desired effect on the cloth,
employs them in the state of granulated powder, previously mixed with gum
and sugar, or any other thickening material capable of being easily dissolved
by steam, and having selected such a variety of color as will harmonize or
pleasingly contrast when combined, he proceeds to sprinkle them over the
surface without any apparent design, and the face of the cloth being thus
covered, rotary motion is given to the beam C, which will draw the fabric into

page_text: the steam chest, when the steam in that vessel will dissolve the colors and fix
them in the fabric. When liquid colors are used they may be sprinkled on the
fabric by suitable brushes, such as those at present employed for marbling
paper, or by any other convenient means. In some cases it may be advisable
to use stencil plates to direct the splashed or powdered colour into something
like a defined pattern. I would here observe, that the fabric may be operated
upon either in a damp or dry state, whether the colors be employed in a state
of powder or liquid; a better effect will, however, be produced by previously
damping it. After the whole of the fabric has been sprinkled over with color
and drawn to the steam chest and wound upon the beam C, it will be advisable
to continue the rotary motion for a short time-in order that the color may be
perfectly fixed; the roll of cloth may then be removed from the steam vat, &
when quite cold the fabric may be unwound from the roll. .
The third head of this Invention, viz, improved apparatus to be employed
in "stopping out" ornamental designs upon fabrics, will be seen by reference
to Sheet IV., in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is a
view of the left-hand end, and Fig. 3.is a view of the right-hand end of the
machine. A, A, is a cast-iron framing;- B is a bracket attached to the framing,
and is for supporting the beam C which carries the cloth to be dyed, and also
the tension bars a, a, and the guide roller D. E is another bracket attached
to the framing A, and is provided with bearings in which the axes of the rollers
F turn. These rollers are intended to conduct the cloth away from the
machine after the printing operation has been effected; and for this purpose
rotary motion is conveyed to the largest of these rollers, as will be herein-after
described, and is thence communicated to the other rollers by an endless cloth
which passes over them, and is kept up to tension by the roller F* being
adjustable. G is a vessel containing the liquid cement or composition which
is to be imprinted on the cloth to resist the action of the heated dye liquor in
an after process, and H is a pattern block placed immediately over and extend-
ing nearly the whole length of the vessel G. This block H is supported at its
ends by rods 1, 1, which are bolted to the cross bars 2, 2, and these cross bars
are keyed to vertical sliding rods 3, 3, which pass through them, and work in
guides 4 and 5. I is the main driving shaft upon which the fast and loose
pulleys K, K, are mounted, and L is a pinion mounted on the same shaft in
gear with a cog wheel M on the shaft N. This shaft N passes through a slot
in the rods 3, 3, and has its bearings in the framing. Upon the shaft N are
two excentrics O, O, which work between two rollers on bowls P, P, mounted
on studs screwed into the sliding rods 3. Upon the, right-hand end of the
shaft N is a small pinion Q, which gears into a large cog wheel R, mounted

page_text: on a stud projecting from the framing. One arm of this wheel is made
broader than the others and provided with a slot, through which a screw.
bolt passes in order to attach a stud S, capable of adjustment.
To this
stud a cord 6 is fastened, which passes over pulleys 7, 7, and is brought down
and attached to the click 8, which works on a stud in an arm 9 mounted
loosely on one end of the axle which carries the guide roller D: Upon this
same axle is keyed a ratchet wheel T, into which the click 8 takes at certain
periods for the purpose of driving that wheel round, and with it the guide
roller D, by which means the fabric is unwound from the beam C. 10 is a
slotted lever attached to the shaft N, and connected by a rod 11 to a stud of
the click 8. 12, 12, is an endless chain which passes over a pulley on the
axle of the roller D, and also over a pulley of the same diameter on the axle
of the largest of the rollers F. By means of this chain a rotating movement.
is communicated to the largest roller F, equal to and simultaneous with that of
the roller D, for the purpose of taking up the cloth and passing it out of the
machine after the "stopping-out" composition has been impressed upon the
cloth. On the axle of the largest roller F is a ratchet wheel 18, into the
teeth of which a click 14 takes to prevent-that' roller from turning in the:
wrong direction. U is a fan wheel supported by the bracket E, and receiving,
rotary motion by means of a strap 15 from the main driving shaft. "This fan
is intended to throw a current of air upon the under surface of the cloth while
passing out of the machine, and cool the cement which has been imprinted
upon it. V, V, is an arrangement of gas pipes and jets for heating the cement
in the vessel G, or if preferred, a fire may be made underneath the vessel.
W, W, are pullies having their bearings in brackets attached to the top of
the main framing A, and over each is passed a chain 14, attached to the upper
end of the vertical rods 3. Upon the end of these chains are hung counter-
weights 15, which will cause the block H to answer directly to the action of
the cams O, O.
The various parts of the machine having been now pointed out, I will
proceed to describe their mode of working so as to produce the object desired.
Presuming that the cloth is arranged in the machine as shewn by the red line,
and that the vessel G is supplied with the composition, heated to such a degree
as to be in a liquid state, rotary motion is now communicated to the main
driving shaft I by means of a band from any first mover passing over the fast
pulley K. This motion is conveyed by the pinion L on the driving shaft to the
cog wheel M, which is keyed on to the shaft N, and thus rotary motion-is
given to the cams O, O, which are on the same shaft, and work between the
bowls or rollers P of the vertical sliding rods, and thus raise and depress the

page_text: block H. This block, the construction of which I will particularly describe
hereafter,. is provided on its upper face with a raised pattern, and when at its
lowest position it is immersed in the melted composition in the vessel G; but
when the greatest diameter of the cam O is brought to act upon the upper
bowls P, the block I will be raised out of the vessel and made to impress
all the composition which the raised surface of the pattern brings up on to the
under face of the cloth. It has been found necessary to repeat this operation
three times for fabrics of an ordinary thickness, in order to get a good coating
of the composition thereon; but when the cloth is of a thin or of very thick
texture, the number of coatings of the composition must be regulated accord-
ingly. For this purpose the progressive movement of the cloth out of the
machine is so timed that the cloth will be stationary while the cement (say,
for. example, three coatings) is being impressed thereon. The manner in
which this is effected will be best seen at Fig. 3. In the pinion Q, on the end
of the shaft N, the number of the teeth are so arranged with regard to the
wheel R that it shall require three revolutions of the former to effect one
rotation of the latter. The stud S, to which the cord 6 is attached, is so
adjusted as to keep that cord in tension during two thirds of the revolution of
the wheel R, or while the pinion Q is making two revolutions. The click 8
will thus be kept clear of the teeth of the ratchet wheel T, and the throw of
the lever 10 and its connecting rod 11 will produce no effect; but imme-
diately the stud S has attained such an elevation as to allow the cord 6 to
slacken, the click 8 will fall into the teeth of the ratchet wheel T, and on the
next throw of the lever 10, caused by the rotation of the shaft N, the connecting
rod 11 will drive round that wheel part of a revolution, and with it the roller
D, which will draw down a certain length of cloth from the beam C, and at
the same time, by means of the chain 12, cause the rollers F to carry forward
an equal length of cloth out of the machine. As the throw of the lever 10
determines the quantity of fresh cloth to be unwound from the beam C, it will
be necessary to regulate the length of that lever according to the breadth of
the pattern on the block H, as will be readily understood. The peculiar con-
struction of this pattern block H will be clearly seen at Figures 4 and 5,
Sheet IV. It consists of a cast-iron grating, provided at each end with slots
for the reception of the rods 1, 1, by which it is secured to the cross heads 2, 2,
and through them to the vertical rods 3, 3, as before explained. On the
upper face of this grating the pattern, which is to be cast in brass, or other
metal, is screwed, the repeats being placed at convenient distances along the
whole length of the grating, as may be required. The advantage of this kind
of block is, that from the first model of the design any number of copies may

page_text: "
be obtained at little cost, and a high relief, which is essential to the proper
working of this machine, may with ease be obtained; a relief of about half an
inch will be found sufficient for this purpose. It will be obvious to any 'one
acquainted with printing machines that this mode of producing raised patterns
may be also applied with great advantage to rollers as well as flat surfaces, and
also that, instead of employing a flat grating to dip into the melted composition,
in order to bring up a portion of such composition and imprint it upon the
surface of the cloth, a roller similarly provided with a raised pattern may be
used, which revolving partially immersed in the composition, will bring up a
coating on its surface, and imprint the "stopping-out" mixture on the cloth.
The composition which the Inventor employs for "stopping out
the pattern
upon fabrics intended to be subjected to heated dye liquor is made by melting
down seventy-five parts of rosin of commerce, or other suitable resinous
substance, and mixing therewith, while in a fluid state, twenty-five parts of
whiting. These proportions may be slightly varied, but the above will be
found to produce a cement capable of resisting the action of heated dye liquor.
The heat at which the stopping-out composition is maintained in the vessel G
during the operation of the machine may vary from two hundred and sixty
degrees to three hundred and seventy degrees Fahrenheit. When the fabric
has been thus prepared it is carefully strained over a frame suitably constructed
for separating the folds of the fabric, and in this state it is plunged into the
dye vat.
Having now described the Invention of Improvements in Printing and
Dyeing.various Fabrics, as communicated to me by my Foreign Correspondent
I wish it to be understood that I claim under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,--
First, the application of chains to printing and dyeing machinery for the
purpose of holding the fabric (to be operated upon) at an unvarying tension
until the operation of dyeing or printing is completed, whereby I am enabled to
pass and repass the fabric through the machine in order to obtain a greater
depth of color as may be required, and at the same time effect a more perfect
register of the pattern than has heretofore been obtained by machines in which
rollers are used.
Secondly, I claim the mode of producing new effects of color by sprinkling
granulated and liquid colors upon fabrics, and afterwards fixing such colours
as above explained.
Under the third head of the Invention, I claim,-
First, the arrangement of machinery above shewn and described for printing
or impressing upon fabrics any desired pattern.

page_text: Secondly, the peculiar mode above described of producing patterns.in relief,
whether upon flat or round surfaces.
Thirdly, the employment of a rising and falling pattern block for taking up
upon its face the fluid into which it may be immersed, and imprinting the
same into fabrics in order to form patterns thereon, as above described; and,
Lastly; I claim the application of the mixture of whiting and rosin, or suit-
able resinous substances; to fabrics intended to be dyed, for the purpose of
resisting the dye liquor, and forming on the fabric patterns similar to those at
present obtained by the use of acids and by pressure.
In witness whereof, I; the said Alfred Vincent Newton, havo hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of June; in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.
W. FLORNE.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Tenth day of June. in the
year above mentioned, the aforesaid Alfred Vincent Newton came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid- was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute in that case made and provided.
Inrolled the same Tenth day of June, in the year above written.