CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF PRINTING ON PAPER,. CALICOES,SILKS, AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
AUGUSTE DUCÔTÉ, of 70, Saint Martin's Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Lithographer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,..
the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the third year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Pierre Auguste.
Ducôté, my exors, adññors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and
themselves, by my or their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such
others as I, the said Pierre Auguste Ducôte, my exors, admors, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend my said Invention within that part
of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called:
England, Her Majesty's Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-.:
Tweed, and also within all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,.
my Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF PRINTING ON PAPER,.
CALICOES, SILKS, AND OTHER FABRICS," in such manner as to me, my exors,
admors, and assigns, or any of them, should, in my or their discretions, seem
meet; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the.
said Pierre Auguste Ducôté, by an instrument in writing under my hand and..

page_text: seal, particularly to describe and. ascertain the nature of my 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 after the date of the said 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
Pierre Auguste Ducôté, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described and
ascertained as follows, that is to say:-
My first improvement is the application of stone rollers or cylinders as the
printing surfaces, and for the purposes of this Invention sound pieces of litho-
graphic stone are the best, and are to be preferred for making the rollers, but
other kind of stones adapted for the purpose can be used. The stone having
been selected of the dimensions required, a-hole is to be bored directly through
its centre, into which hole an axis or spindle of the printing machine (in which
the roller is to be used) is to be placed and securely fixed, so that the stone and
axis or spindle shall revolve together. The stone thus prepared is then to be
placed in a lathe, and turned to the diameter. required, according to the nature
of the pattern, device, or drawing it is intended to receive, and afterwards its
surface is to be polished in the usual way in which lithographic and. other
stones are now polished when this is done the surface of the roller will be
ready to have the pattern, drawing, or device delineated, drawn, or worked upon.
it; and the mode by which I prefer this to be done constitutes another of my
improvements; at the same time I do not confine myself thereto, so long.as.
the impression or printing surface is a roller of stone. In order to delineate,"
draw, or work the pattern, drawing, or device upon a stone roller, I employ the
following composition or substance, viz. :-Two parts of pure white wax, four
parts of asphaltum, two parts of Burgundy pitch, two parts of soap; all which
are to be melted together in an earthenware pipkin or other suitable vessel;
over a moderate heat, until, by stirring the materials about, they become well
incorporated and mixed together; the composition is then to be allowed to cool,
and is then to be. thinned down to about the thickness of thin honey, by a
mixture.in of equal parts of linseed oil and oil of turpentine, so as to enable.
the artist or workman to use the composition with a brush, pen, or other
article suitable for accurately and beautifully delineating, drawing, or working
the pattern, drawing, or device upon the surface. of the stone rollers. This
composition having been brought to a proper state of fluidity, the artist or
workman is to proceed to delineate, draw, and work the pattern, drawing, or

page_text: device required, by drawing or producing the same upon the printing or
impression surface of the stone rollers with the aforesaid composition. The
pattern, drawing, or device being produced on the surface of a stone roller,
the ends of the roller and the axis or spindle are to be covered or protected
with a coating of the aforesaid composition, and then the roller is to be placed
upon a trougli rather longer than the roller, in such a manner that the roller
shall be capable of being revolved in the acid in the trough by the entire
surface of the roller being, when revolved, immersed in the acid to the depth of
an inch or thereabouts. The instant the surface of the roller touches the acid
in the trough the roller is to be gently turned or revolved in such a manner
that the whole of the surface of the roller not drawn upon, marked, covered, or
protected with the aforesaid composition will be acted upon by the acid, and
be eaten away and removed. To effect this, the rollér is to be kept gently
turned or revolved for the space of about one minute, if the liquid be nitric
acid (which is the liquid I usually employ), and about eight degrees strong,
which strength may be ascertained by employing or using a measure or
instrument called acid trometer, or acetometer; but if the acid be stronger
or weaker, then the time of the immersion in the acid must be either for a
shorter or longer time, according to the strength of the acid; the roller is then
to be withdrawn and immersed in water, in order to ascertain how far the acid
has operated in removing the surface not covered or protected by the design
produced on the stone roller, as aforesaid. If the action has not been strong
enough, the roller is to be once more immersed in the acid, but withdrawn in a
quarter of a minute, and again immersed in water, and these operations are to
be repeated until those parts of the surface of the rollers drawn upon, marked,
covered, or protected with the composition aforesaid shall stand out in suf-
ficient relief; great care must be taken that the action of the acid employed
does not destroy the under part or base of the pattern, drawing, or device;
should it be observed that this is taking place, the immersion must be instantly
stopped; and the artist or workman must take care to have the aforesaid com-
position entirely removed from the roller by washing it with spirits of turpentine;
when this is done, then cover the whole surface of the roller with the com-
position aforesaid, let it dry a sufficient time; and then remove such parts of it,
with a graver or other suitable sharp instrument, as may be required to be
made deeper or sunken, and once more subject the roller thus repaired to the
action of the acid as last observed; and so to proceed until the proper depth is
attained; this being obtained, the pattern, drawing, or device will be suitable
for printing, and the composition on the surface of the pattern, drawing,
device is to be entirely removed by washing it with spirits of turpentine, as
ог

page_text: aforesaid. The preceding description applies to preparing rollers for relief
printing, but in case it be desired to print from such stone rollers by means of
sunk surfaces, similar to engraved rollers, in such case the portions of the
surface eaten away would be the design or pattern. The stone roller and the
pattern, drawing, or device thereon being now ready to be printed from, the
roller, mounted upon the axis or spindle as aforesaid, is placed in the printing
press in which it is to work, in like manner to other relief roller, or other
cylinder printing. By this mode of constructing printing rollers or cylinders,
and by the means resorted to of employing a suitable acid for obtaining the
device, pattern, or drawing in relief, great facilities will be obtained in pre-
paring roller printing surfaces for printing paper, calico, silk, and other fabrics,
and it will be evident that when the device, pattern, or drawing on a stone
roller is no longer required, the same may be removed by turning or grinding,
and the roller again polished to receive a fresh device, pattern, or drawing; and
it will be found that when care is observed in preparing such stone roller
surfaces as above described, the impressions produced therefrom will have the
tints and shadings of the colors employed of a fine character.
My next improvement is a mode or method for printing paper, calicoes, silks,
and other fabrics twice or oftener with the same device, drawing, or pattern,
or parts thereof, so that the second or further impressions of the drawing,
pattern, or device, or parts thereof, shall every time they are printed fall in
truly with the first impression, and this mode or method is applicable
whatever be the number of impression or printing rollers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents an end view of a printing cylinder, a roller of stone,
though it will be evident that this part of the Invention is equally applicable
to other printing rollers; Figure 2 is a longitudinal view of a printing roller in
section; and Figure 3 is a plan of part of the chain, which carries the fabric
correctly through the machine, and enables the workmen to ensure correctness
of repeated impressions, whether by passing the fabric through and through
the same machine, or by taking the fabric and chains to other machines,
wherein the printing rollers and apparatus are properly arranged for receiving
the chains with the fabric. In each of the Figures the same letters indicate
similar parts. On the axes of the printing rollers are affixed the toothed
wheels a, a, one for each selvage of the fabric, and these wheels a, a, each
consist of three circular discs or plates, with cogs or teeth b, b, b, screwed or
otherwise affixed together, as shewn at c, c. These discs or plates are to be
placed, when fixed together, so that the two outside sets of cogs or teeth are

page_text: opposite each other, and form every alternate or double tooth of the wheel
produced by the three parts, and the middle disc or plate is so placed as to
form the other or single cogs or teeth, as will readily be understood on
examining the Drawing; and it will be seen that the double teeth of the
wheels a, a, take on each side of the single links of the chain f, and that the
single teeth of the wheels a, a, take into or between the double links of the
chains f, and cause them to move forward when the combined the wheels a
revolve; the chains f have a series of clamps or holders d, which consist each
of an upper and under plate, which are hinged together, and the axes of such
clamps or holders are carried by the chains f, and each of the clamps or
holders has a spring e, by which the two plates are retained securely together
when the edges of the fabric are between them, and one of the inner faces
of each of the plates d of the clamps or holders has points or projections which
penetrate the fabric, and the other plates d have holes or indentations to
receive the points or projections, so that when the fabric is placed and shut
between the clamps or holders d, it will be held securely so long as the plates
d are retained together; and to facilitate the opening and closing of the
clamps or holders d, there is an opening formed at g in each of the upper
plates d, and the springs are attached to the under plate d of each of the
clamps or holders, and the springs e are so attached as readily to turn round
on their axis, consequently, when the springs e are turned away from the
present to a directly opposite position, the plates d will be no longer held
together, and they will be readily opened to admit of the fabric being inserted
or removed from between them. I have not thought it necessary to show a
complete printing machine, as a workman will readily apply the Invention
thereto, only observing that the chains employed should be longer or at least
as long as the fabric which is to be printed, in order that when the fabric has
passed once through the machine, that it may be caused to enter and pass
again through the same or other machine, in order that the particular points
or parts of the fabric may come in contact with and be impressed by the
proper points or parts of the device, drawing, or pattern of the printing rollers,
to be correct in respect to the former passing through of the fabric. The
clamps or holders are to be placed opposite to each other across the fabric,
and at suitable intervals, to ensure the holding of the fabric evenly at all
points; and it should be stated that, in printing paper, particularly weak
papers, by machinery with one or several rollers, I prefer to use an endless
cloth of cotton or other suitable fabric to conduct the paper through the
machine, in order to relieve the paper from strain.
I would remark, that what I claim as the third part of the Invention is, the

page_text: In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Augusté Ducôté, have hereunto
subscribed my name, and set my hand and seal, this Sixtli day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and 5
thirty-nine
PIERRE AUGUSTE (L.) DUCÔTÉ.