Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 4th May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 8th June, 1888
I, ALOIS WINKLER, of 1 Schottenring 2, Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Sheet
metal printer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists in an improved method of making embossed sheet metal
signs, that is to say signs made of sheet metal, with projecting words or letters and
projecting representations of the article to be advertised, the said words or letters and
representations being moreover painted in varnish-colours.
"Heretofore, when embossed sheet metal signs were to be made, it was necessary
first to cast or to engrave a matrix and a punch or die, and then to press the sheet of
metal between these two parts; this is such a laborious and tedious operation as to
materially increase the cost of manufacture.
According to the present invention, cast iron types are made of the letters and
representations to be produced in relief, and these types are placed in a printer's
forme and tightly locked therein by means of screws, so as securely to resist any
pressure. The forme or frame with the advertisement thus composed is then fixed
to the table of an embossing press, whereupon the sheet of metal is placed in a
suitable position upon the said forme and the stamp lowered, this latter being lined
with a sheet of soft india rubber about of an inch thick. The stamp may be
lowered several times in order to cause the letters and representations embossed to
assume sharp outlines. In the following operation of varnishing the embossed plate,
care is to be taken that a very thin layer of varnish only is formed, as by a thicker
layer the spaces between the embossed letters and figures would partly be filled up
and thus the outlines of the projections would no longer be of the desirable
sharpness.
For applying colour to the plane surface of the embossed letters or words, a roller
is used, made of gelatine and glycerine like a printing roller. When several colours
are to be used, the letters already inked are allowed to dry and then they are covered
with a thin sheet metal stencil, whereupon the other colour is applied. In order to
prevent the embossed letters or representations from being flattened by the pressure
exerted with the roller, a zinc cliché is made of the composed advertisement, and
this cliché is placed under the sheet metal plate before inking the same.

page_text: The other embossed representations are coated with the desired colours in the
manner usual for printing on sheet metal, that is to say, a copy of the representation
in the colour desired is taken from a lithographic stone on unsized tissue paper, and,
after placing this copy exactly upon the representation, the said tissue paper is
moderately moistened with water, by means of a metal roller coated with felt.
the paper is then stripped off from the metal plate, the colour will separate from the
paper and adhere firmly to the metal plate: In this manner several colours or several
tones of one and the same colour may be applied successively.
Finally the whole is coated with a transparent and durable varnish.
Dated this 4th day of August 1887.
If

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Manufacture of Sheet Metal Signs.
1, ALOIS WINKLER of 1, Schottenring 2 Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, Sheet
metal printer, 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 consists in an improved method of making embossed sheet metal
signs, that is to say signs made of sheet metal, with projecting words or letters and
projecting representations of the article to be advertised, the said words or letters
and representations being moreover printed or painted in varnish-colours.
Heretofore, when embossed sheet metal signs were to be made, it was necessary
first to engrave a matrix in steel and to cast a punch from this matrix and then to
press the sheet of metal between these two parts; this is such a laborious and tedious
operation as to materially increase the cost of manufacture.
According to the present invention, cast iron types, resembling the types used in
ordinary printing, are made of the letters and representations to be reproduced
in relief. In the annexed sheet of drawings, Fig. 6 shews a side elevation and a
topside view of such a type a, having a prismatic body and shewing on its face the
raised letter D. Fig. 1 shows several such types a having spaces interposed
between them, and combined to form a composition in the manner hereinafter
described; moreover there is shewn in Fig. 1a type c, the face of which carries,
instead of a raised letter, a relief image of a bottle.
Of the requisite number of types with letters, a, and spaces 6 and types with other
representations, c, the advertisement to be reproduced is composed within a printer's
iron chase d Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the types and spaces are firmly locked by means
of bars e and screws f. so as securely to resist any pressure without displacing
themselves. The chase d with the advertisement thus composed is afterwards fixed
to the table of an embossing press and steadied thereon with wedges, when stamping
may be proceeded with.
The sheet metal destined for the manufacture of the signs, viz. sheet iron,
sheet zinc, sheet brass or tin-plate, is placed in a suitable position upon the aforesaid
composition and covered with a sheet or plate of soft india rubber, about of an inch
thick. Everything being thus prepared, the press is actuated, that is to say, the
stamp is lowered from two to three times, as required for causing the letters and
representations embossed to assume sharp outlines.
The following operation consists in varnishing the embossed sheet-metal sign and
is carried through in the same manner as with smooth sheet metal signs, but care
has to be taken that a very thin layer of varnish only is formed, as by a thicker

page_text: layer, the spaces between the raised portions of the letters and figures would be
partly filled up, and the outlines of the projections would no longer be of the desirable
acuteness.
Before applying colour to the plane surface of the letters or words and before
chromatically printing upon the other embossed representations, the varnish should
be perfectly dried, this being effected in a quick and suitable way by means of drying
kilns, heated with hot air.
Colour is applied to the raised letters preferably by means of a roller, having by
preference the form shown at Fig. 4, that is to say, resembling a printing roller.
The letters however may also be printed with the aid of impressions taken from a
lithographic stone, as hereinafter described in reference to the printing of the raised
representations of objects, and it will depend, in any special case, on the existing
conditions and on the judgment of the operator, whether the one or the other method
is to be employed. In the roller shown, a frame g provided with two handles h, h,
has journalled to it a wooden roller coated with a thick layer of a mixture of
gelatine and glycerine, whereby a somewhat soft and yieiding roller is formed. This
roller is first uniformly covered lithographic varnish-colour, and then is rolled
to and fro over the raised letters until the surface of the same is perfectly covered,
so as to present sharp outlines. When the letters are to be executed in several colours,
the letters already inked are allowed to dry and then they are covered with thin sheet
metal stencils or plates, after which the other colour is applied in the described
manner. In order to prevent the raised letters or representations from being partly
flattened or altered in form, by the pressure exerted with the roller upon the rather
thin sheet metal, a zinc cliché is made of the composed advertisement, and this cliche
is placed under the embossed sheet metal plate before inking the same. As the raised
portions of the said cliché fill up all raised or embossed portions of the sheet metal
sign, no deformation of this latter can take place.
As for the chromatic printing in oil-colours of the other raised representations or
images of the sheet metal sign, the procedure is the same as with the generally used
flat sheet metal signs. This procedure consists essentially in taking impressions on
unsized tissue paper of uniformly coloured or toned surfaces or of drawings executed
on lithographic stone, these impressions being afterwards carefully adjusted over the
raised representations covered with a correspondingly shaped piece of sponge, flattened
by pressure and previously moistened and pressed onto the plate by means of a small
metal roller coated with felt, which is previously moistened. By rolling the said roller
which may be of the form shown by Fig. 5, to and fro upon the flattened piece of wet
sponge the unsized tissue paper is moistened and caused to adhere on the underlying
portion of the sheet metal sign, while at the same time, the colour separates from the
paper and attaches itself to the surface of sheet metal, so as to remain thereon when
the paper is afterwards stripped off. When the object to be represented has to shew
a ground of a given colour upon which appear several tones or tints, the ground
colour is first applied and allowed to dry, and afterwards the other tints are successively
transferred from papers upon the metal plate with the aid of the moistened roller as
described; finally a drawing of the outlines of the object and other lines to be made
visible on the image of the same is applied in the same way.
As soon as all colours are well dried, the whole sheet metal sign is painted over
with a transparent, durable varnish, whereby more brilliancy is given to the colours,
and when this varnish has dried, the sign is ready for use; Fig. 3 shews such
a sign.
It will be evident that the composition or punch by means of which the sheet metal
is embossed, may be fixed to the stamp instead of the table of the press; and the
metal plate be placed upon a yielding support. As it is desirable, when proceeding
in this way, that the punch should be formed in one piece instead of being composed
of separate types, the letters of which the advertisement is to consist are cut out of
sheet zinc by means of a saw and attached, by means of a suitable cement, to a
plate of zine, whereupon a sand-mould is prepared of the whole, and a zinc casting
made.

page_text: This zinc casting forms a very economic punch, and when a great number of one
and the same sign is wanted, any required number of such castings is prepared, in
order to have spare punches in case one or more punches become worn by use.
When the sign is to comprise a raised representation of an object, the same is first
carved in wood, cemented to the zinc plate like the letters and cast in zinc.
As already stated, these castings form the punches while the matrix is formed by
a plate of soft rubber, or when several thousand copies are to be made of one and the
same sign by a layer of lead.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. Sheet metal signs, having letters and representations of objects embossed on
them, which letters and representations are printed in one or more oil-colours,
substantially as described.
2. The method of making polychromatic embossed sheet metal signs, by embossing
the sheet metal plate between a suitable punch and a yielding support, coating the
embossed plate with a thin layer of varnish colour, inking the letters by means of a
printing roller, and applying colour to the embossed representations of objects by
means of impressions on unsized tissue paper taken from lithographic stones and
pressed onto the said representations with the aid of a moistened felt roller, sub-
stantially as described.
3. In the method of making polychromatic embossed sheet metal signs, referred to
in the preceding claims, the use of a punch composed of cast iron types, substantially
as described.
4. In the method of making polychromatic embossed sheet metal signs, referred
to in the preceding claims, the use of a punch cast in zinc, by means of a sand-mould,
prepared from a pattern, which consists of letters cut out of sheet zinc, and of raised
representations of objects carved in wood, these letters and representations being
cemented to a plate, substantially as described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.