IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES, FOR PRINTING IN COLORS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, DENNY ELBERT MACK, of 196 High Street Brooklyn, in the State of New
York, United States of America, Printer, do hereby declare the nature of said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES, FOR PRINTING IN COLORS," to be as
follows:-
In this press the printing surface is either types, or stone, or zinc, or any other
material adapted to being printed from.
Two, three, or more colors are made use of, and there are one or more composition
inking rollers for each color.
Upon the shafts of the inking rollers there are discs fastened, and at the sides of
the types or other printing surfaces there are lifters, that are preferably screwed on.
Lifters are to be placed in line with the discs of those color rollers that are to be
lifted out of contact with those portions of the printing surfaces that are not to be
inked by the particular color; such lifters being absent from the path of the discs
on those rollers that are not to be lifted, hence the ink is spread upon the printing
surface in sections of different color, so that by one impression several colors are
printed.
In order to supply ink to the color rollers I employ inking rollers or drums; also
lifters at the ends of the rollers or drums,
There is a roller or a portion of the surface of a drum alloted to each colored ink,
and the rollers and discs, and lifters are placed in such positions that the surfaces
of dissimilar color are kept from contact and those of similar color are allowed to
come together for spreading or working the ink.

page_text: ·
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, DENNY ELBERT MACK of 196 High Street, Brooklyn in the State of New
York, United States of America Printer do hereby declare the nature of said
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR PRINTING IN COLORS," and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
Presses have been made for printing in colors, and in some instances the inking
roller has been raised or lowered by the action of stationary offsets. In these cases
a press had to be constructed with special reference to color printing.
My improvement is made for rendering the distribution of the ink more uniform,
for preventing the inking rollers coming into contact with any wrong color, either
on the distributing surfaces or upon the types, and for using one distributing roller
or cylinder for two or more colors without risk of the colors becoming mixed or
blurred and for using the ordinary press with but little changes.
In the drawing
Fig. 1. is a front elevation of so much of a printing press as is required to show
my invention.
Fig. 2. is an elevation endwise of the inking rollers.
Fig. 3. represents a portion of one of the ink distributing cylinders and rollers in
.larger size.
Fig. 4. is an end view of the same.
Figs. 5. and 6. are front and side views of two forms of lifters, and
Fig. 7. represents rollers for applying the colors in stripes or patches:
The form of types is represented at A.
The same may, however, be wood-cuts or any other printing surfaces, such as
stones in lithographic presses, &c. The means for giving the impression are not
represented as these may be of any known character.
The side frames B. of the press form also the track for the traveling carriage D.
containing the journal boxes e. of the composition inking rollers.
The carriage D. receives its movement up and down upon the tracks or frames B.
in the ordinary manner. When raised, the respective composition rollers occupy
the positions shown by dotted lines in fig. 2. and when drawn down they pass over
'the surface to be inked the links or connecting rods f. usually being employed to
move the carriage D.
.
The springs and slide bars n. to the journal boxes e. give the pressure for the
inking rollers upon the distributing surfaces and upon the types or printing
surfaces.
The inking rollers are shown as three in number and marked h. k. l. and they
are made of composition. The respective shafts . of the rollers pass into the
journal boxes e. and the disks h¹. k'. l. are upon the shafts of the rollers having the
same letters.
L. is a drum or cylinder forming a distributer for two or more colors: this is
revolved by gearing or otherwise by the motive power of the press.
The distributer H. is a roller geared to and revolving with the drum L. but not
in contact therewith,

page_text: : M. N. are working rollers, the surfaces of which are in contact, and the roller M
is revolved by contact with the roller H, hence the one color that is applied to the
rollers H. M. N. is thoroughly distributed and worked, and the inking roller h.
which comes in contact with H. receives therefrom the proper color and that color
is rendered uniform and even.
As the roller h. passes by the distributer drum L it is lifted so as not to, touch
the same. This is effected by the cam lifters p. p. fastened upon the track or edge
of the frame B. which are in the path of the disks h¹ upon the shaft of the roller h
hence as the carriage D. travels with the roller h. up or down, the lifters p. acting
upon the disks h¹. force the roller h. bodily away from L. and prevent the contact
of the surfaces and prevent the colored inks on the respective surfaces becoming
mixed.
The distributer-drum L. is represented as adapted to working and distributing
two different colored inks, one color to each of the two rollers k. l. It may be used
for more than two colors if the parts described be increased in number..
. At the respective ends of the distributer drum L. are the segmental lifters p². pl.
and q. q. and these are placed so that the lifters p' pl. act upon the disks k¹. of the
inking roller k. and lift them during that portion of the revolution of the
distributer L. in which said lifters p¹. are in contact with such disks k¹; hence
the roller k. will not be in contact with the portion 1. of the distributor L. but it
will be in contact with the portion k³. The samne may be said in relation to the
segmental lifters q. q. They act to raise the roller l. from contact with the
surface k. but allow such roller to come into contact with the surface . of
the distributer L.
It will be observed by reference to figs. 1. and 3. that the lifters p' are in the
line of movement of the disks k. as they are moved up and down by and with the
carriage D. and that the disks . are in line with the lifters q, hence the lifters 2.
as they revolve with the drum L will not come into contact with the disks k¹.
neither will the lifters p¹. come into contact with the disks l¹..
These segmental lifters pl. and q. are of a length corresponding to the surface
required for the different colors.
I have shown them as equal in length and hence as separating the distributing
drum into two equal vari-colored inking surfaces. The said distributor might be
divided into more than two vari-colored inking surfaces if desired.
The working cylinders r. and 8. figs. 2. 3. and 4. are upon shafts that occupy
inclined slots in the frame, and hence they move toward the distributing drum L;
but upon the shafts of the roller r. there are the disks r¹. figs. 3. and 4. corresponding
in position to the disks . so that the lifters q. prevent the roller r¹. from coming
into contact with the surface k. of the drum L. and upon the shaft of the roller 8.
there are the disks s'. that correspond in position to the disks k. so that the
lifters pl. acting on these disks lift the roller 8. and prevent the same from
coming into contact with the portion . of the distributing drum L
By this means the rollers r. and 8. operate to work and distribute the respective
colors of ink and are raised from contact with the other color.
The lifters p¹. q. are connected to the distributing cylinder L. by screws passing
through slots so as to be adjustable and also changeable as required.
There are rollers 8. and r². running in contact respectively with the rollers 8.
and r. and to these an end movement is given by cams or screws as usual in
printing presses to spread the ink evenly. The roller N. should also receive a
similar end motion.
Upon the tracks or frame B. at the sides of the form A. I employ lifters t. u. v.
of any desired length; the lifters are in pairs one on each track or frame.
The lifters u. v. act with the disks u¹ v. upon the shafts of the rollers k. L. and
the lifters t. with the disks h¹. upon the shaft of the roller h. so that as the rollers
are carried bodily over the types or printing surface the vari-colored rollers will be
lifted from the surfaces at the places where their respective colors are not to be
applied and the absence of the lifters at any interval or space in the path of the

page_text: disks on any particular roller allows such roller to come in contact with and to ink
the types or printing surface at that interval.
The lifters are to be of suitable length and attached by screws through slots s0
that they are adjustable and may be applied exactly where it is desired to remove
any of the vari-colored rollers from contact with the printing surface and by their
absence allow such roller to be in contact with the types or printing surfaces in the
⚫other portion of its movement across the types or printing surfaces.
The rollers h. k. l. may be in sections as shown in fig. 7. and receive their ink from
the distributing surfaces aforesaid and ink the types in longitudinal lines or patches.
Lifters are not always required upon the frames at the sides of the printing-
surfaces; but they are always needed with the distributing rollers.
When the printing is upon a web drawn along progressively, I am able to ink
two or more different surfaces and to complete the impression in different colors
simultaneously impressed, but each picture or device has its parts impressed
successively.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my sald
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. The cylindrical ink distributing drum and the sectional lifters applied
upon the end portions thereof, in combination with the composition inking-rollers
and the respective disks on the shafts of the same and the lifters at the sides of
the form, whereby one ink distributing drum is employed to ink each of a plurality
of composition inking rollers in different colors and the same are applied to the
different portions of the types, substantially as specified.
'
Second. The combination with the inking rollers h. k. l. of the ink distributers L H.
the lifters p. pl. and q. and the disks h¹. . . substantially as set forth,
Third. The combination with the inking drum L. of the segmental lifters p², q,
the working rollers r. s. and the disks 1. 8. substantially as specified for distributing
and working two vari-colored inks upon the drum L as set forth,