IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PRINTING SURFACES
Year: 1852

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 First day of May, in the fifteenth 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 exors, adññiors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my exors, adñiors, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF PRINTING SURFACES,"
being a communication from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is con-
tained a proviso obliging me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and scal, particularly to describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date

page_text: 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 Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof (that is to say):-
The first part of this Invention, as communicated to me by my Foreign Cor-
respondent, relates to the production of printing plates by moulding and pressing
in moulds, having the characters, figures, &c. in reverse, which plates, whilst
they present a surface of the-requisite hardness;-shall at the same time be
sufficiently elastic and pliable to admit of bending around the periphery of
the cylinder of a printing press. For the purposes of letter-press printing so
far, the only practical modes which have been devised are the form of separate
types and the metal plates called-stereotypes. The former of these is not
well adapted to printing by what is known as the cylinder press, for the reason
that the types are quadrangular prisms, the sides of which, when the form is
arranged on the periphery of a cylinder, do not coincide with the radii of the
circle, and hence it is difficult to hold them firmly on the cylinder, and even
when held in place they do not all stand in a position perfectly perpendicular
to the axis of the cylinder; and the latter is objectionable on account of the
expense and the length of time required in manufacturing sterotype plates;
and besides this, a plate such as is used in sterotyping could not be bent to
give the required curvature to fit the cylinder and leave the surface in a
proper condition for printing.
To obviate all the objections to the methods heretofore suggested, the nature
of the present Invention consists in producing plates of letters, signs, figures,
&c. arranged in any suitable manner by moulding or pressing a substance
or compound whilst in the plastic state so as to receive from the mould.the
configuration, letters, signs, figures, &c. required, and then permitting such
substance or compound to become sufficiently hard to resist the force required
for giving the impressions by a press, but still so elastic and pliable as to
admit of being bent around the cylinder of a press.
And the second part of this Invention relates to the making of elastic
printing plates for printing on irregular or smooth but hard surfaces, such
as glass, wood, oilcloth, and a variety of other surfaces, and consists in pro-
ducing such printing plates by moulding or pressing in suitable moulds,
having the letters or figures, &c. in reverse, some highly elastic substance or
compound, such, for instance, as that used for making the inking rollers of
printing presses, whilst such substance or compound is in a heated and plastic

page_text: state, so that when cooled such substance will be permanently elastic, and
retain the letters or figures sufficiently to give impressions with any of the
known kinds of printing ink and other colors.
To enable any one skilled in the art most nearly allied to this improved
manufacture to make and use the Invention, the Inventor has given the
following description of the mode of procedure, which he has tried with success,
viz, I take by weight from two to three parts of gutta percha, or from
two to three parts of india rubber or caoutchouc, and from one to three
parts of finely pulverized graphite or soapstone, or plaster of Paris, or peroxide
of manganese, and by grinding or otherwise in a heated state thoroughly mix
them together, as in the manufacture of the usual compounds of gutta
percha and india rubber. I then take a mould made of the same material or
other suitable substance, having the impressions in reverse of those intended
to be produced, and obtained if desired from the usual form of types, and
having heated the gutta percha or india rubber compound so as to have it in
a plastic state, and rubbed or otherwise coated the surface with finely
pulverized graphite or its equivalent, to prevent adhesion, I introduce the
compound, prepared as above specified, and force or otherwise press it into
the mould to procure an accurate impression thereof, taking care to have
the plate of the required and uniform thickness. The plate thus moulded is
then permitted to cool and acquire the required consistency. When thus
produced it will be found to possess sufficient hardness or stiffness to give
good and sharp impressions, and at the same time admit of being bent around
a cylinder so as to take the perfect cylindrical form. The angles and lines of
the figures or characters will be found as perfect as if moulded from molten
metal, and in all respects as suitable to the purpose. After such plates have
been completely worn out, or otherwise put out of use, the substance can be
softened again by heat so as to be remoulded. The substance which I have
tried with success for the purpose of printing upon hard irregular surfaces is
a compound consisting of the best kind of coopers' glue, as it is known in the
arts, and molasses.
Having made the required impression of the types or other figures in a
gutta percha or other suitable mould, I then take the compound of molasses
and glue mixed in the proportions and manner adopted in the manufacture of
inking rollers for printing presses, and while in a liquid state I pour this
mixture into the mould, and when cold remove it therefrom. The surface
will then be found to have taken a complete impression of the mould, with all
the characters in relief. The substance thus produced will be found to be
highly elastic, and to hold and impart any of the known kinds of printers**

page_text: ink, and from its elasticity impressions can be made on irregular and uneven,
or smooth but hard, surfaces with facility. The figures or characters in relief
I usually raise to a greater extent than in making sterotype plates of metal,
particularly when intended for printing on very uneven surfaces. The said
plates can be made to vary in the degree of clastic tension by varying the
relative proportions of the glue and molasses, as is well known to those who
make inking rollers.
Having now described the Invention, as communicated to me by my Foreign
Correspondent, I would remark that, under the first part of this Invention, I
do not intend to limit myself to the use of any compound of which gutta
percha or india rubber is the chief ingredient, as other substances or com-
pounds may be made to answer the purpose, and be the equivalent thereof, so
long as the substance or compound can be rendered sufficiently plastic by heat
to admit of being forced into the moulds to receive the required impression,
and when cooled to acquire the requisite consistency to give good and sharp
impressions in printing, and be sufficiently durable, and yet admit of being
bent to the form of the cylinder of the press without distorting the characters
or figures.
And, likewise, in reference to the second part of the Invention, I do
not limit myself to the use of either of the substances enumerated as being
combined with the gutta percha or the india rubber, as many other substances
may be substituted, the object of such substance or substances being simply
to give the required consistency and hardness to the compound, whilst at the
same time it will not prevent it from becoming soft and plastic under the
influence of heat to admit of being moulded.
And finally, with reference to the third part of the Invention, I do not limit
myself to the use of the compound of glue and molasses, as other highly
elastic substances which will admit of being moulded and when set will possess
the requisite elasticity for giving impressions on irregular or smooth but hard
surfaces may be employed; I wish it therefore to be understood that, under
the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the making from flat moulds
of plates (from which to take impressions by a cylinder press) of a substance
which when heated will be sufficiently plastic to receive the required im-
pression by moulding in a mould of the required form in reverse, and when
cooled will be sufficiently hard to give the required impressions in a cylinder
press, and admit of being bent around and fitted to a cylinder, substantially as
specified. And I claim the application of such plates or printing surfaces to
the cylinders of cylinder printing machines.
And, finally, I claim the making, by casting in moulds or by pressure, plates

page_text: with raised characters or figures, the entire substance of such plates being
sufficiently elastic to adapt it to printing on hard or irregular surfaces, sub-
stantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.
Enrolled the First day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.