IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF PRINTING
Year: 1886

page_text: I, MAJOR A. BANCROFT, of Blunt, County of Hughes, and Territory of Dakota,
one of the territories of the United States, do hereby declare the nature of my.
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ART OF PRINTING, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improvement in the art of printing, whereby handsome
and attractive designs may be produced from a form made up from ordinary
movable printing material, as type, borders, brass rules, or ornaments, by allowing
only such portions of the form to print as are required to bring out the design.
sought without mutilating any of the material which is prevented from printing.
In order to enable others skilled in the art to use my invention, I will proceed to
describe it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of
reference marked thereon.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 shows a tympan bearing an impression of the form to be printed from,
the dotted lines indicating portions of the tympan to be cut out; and Fig. 2 is a
like view with those portions removed.
Fig. 3 illustrates the manner of obtaining the offset on a sheet which is to be
made the frisket sheet; and Fig. 4 represents a frisket sheet bearing the offset.
Fig. 5 illustrates the same sheet cut out in accordance with the design offset'
from the tympan; and Fig. 6 represents said sheet applied to the grippers to thus
form the off frisket,
In carrying out my invention, I first take an impression of the form on the
tympan A of the press, as shown in figure 1; after which I cut the tympan through
certain portions of the impression, in such manner that what remains of the
impression, will form the desired design, as illustrated in figure 2. I next ink
the design preferably by one or more impressions from the form in the press,
for the purpose of producing a distinct offset, as seen in figure 4, by another
impression, on a sheet of smooth surfaced paper B, large enough to extend one and
one half inches on each end beyond the grippers C, as seen in figure 3. However,
before taking this offset, I make guide marks on the paper B and also on the
tympan, as shown at m m, to enable me to replace the sheet in the same position
while attaching it to the grippers to form the frisket after the offset has been cut
out, as hereinafter described.
After taking the offset which I use as a guide in cutting I cut out that portion
of the frisket sheet B which bears the offset.
While cutting, it is more convenient and preferable in practice to follow the
contour of the offset, just clearing it except at the points or places where the
original impression of the tympan has not been changed by the cuts therein, at

page_text: which points or places the line of cut is given greater clearance from the offset, as
indicated by dotted lines d in figure 4.
In lieu of cutting out the frisket by an offset taken from the tympan, I can take
an impression of the form on the frisket, A, and cut out those portions of the frisket
which overlie the parts of the form from which I wish to print, after which I mark
the tympan with a pencil or other suitable implement through the cut out portion
or portions of the frisket and then cut out those parts of the tympan sheet which
underlie the uncut parts of the frisket opposite the type.
It will be seen that portions of an unbroken form can be printed by arranging
the frisket and tympan in the manner set forth; also, a cut may be so printed as
to leave blank spaces on its face, which, if desired, may be afterwards filled by an
impression from another form.
It will be apparent that a single impression presenting an outline different from
that of the form and having a finished appearance can be taken by simply arranging
the frisket and tympan in accordance with the design of the impression to be
produced.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is,-
1. The combination with a form of type placed on the bed of printing press,
of a frisket, the portions which overlie the part of the form from which it is
designed to take an impression, being cut out, and a tympan having the portions
which underlie the parts of the frisket covering the parts of the form not to be
printed from, cut out, substantially as described.
2. The improved method of printing herein described, consisting in first taking
an impression of the form upon the tympan, then cutting out such portions of the
impression on the tympan as are not to be printed in the design, then taking an
offset upon the frisket sheet from the design on the tympan, then cutting out the
offset on the frisket sheet, and, finally, taking an impression on the sheet to be
printed, substantially as described.
3. The method of printing herein described which consists in first taking an
impression of the form upon the tympan, then cutting out such portions of the
impression on the tympan as are not to be printed in the design, then taking an
offset upon a loose sheet of paper from the design on the tympan, then cutting out
the offset on said loose sheet, then attaching said loose sheet to the grippers of the
press, and, finally, taking an impression on the sheet to be printed, substantially as
described.
4. The method of printing herein described, which consists in first taking an
impression of the form upon the tympan, then cutting out such portions of the
impression on the tympan as are not to be printed in the design, then marking the
loose sheet and the tympan as a guage, then taking an offset on a loose sheet
of paper from the design on the tympan, then cutting out the offset on the loose
sheet, then attaching said sheet to the grippers of the press, and finally, taking an
impression of the sheet to be printed, substantially as described.
Signed this 13th day of October 1886 Washington DC.