Improvements in the Manufacture of Printing Rollers, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 25th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 16th May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Printing Rollers, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, HEINRICH ZIEGLER-REINACHER of Aadorf, Switzerland Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to this in ntion printing rollers of celluloid are employed that are
provided on their surfa designs in relief or in intäglio and are designed to
be used chiefly in subsutution for. the rollers of copper or copper alloys, heretofore
generally employed, for engraving-printing and relief printing. Such metal
cylinders have been turned and ground, and the design applied thereto by hand or
by machinery, chiefly by the aid of the pantograph or by the pressure of edge or
milling wheels, or by etching. The cylinders with designs in relief have consisted
mostly of wooden cylinders with covering shells of metal, said shell containing the
design and constituting a metal cliché or printing-surface or coating, the design in
relief being employed as the printing surface.
Now in place of the two kinds of metal cylinders referred to there are employed
according to my invention cylinders made in one piece of celluloid, on to which
there are transferred in a pressing apparatus negative photographic reliefs for
relief-printing, and positive photographic reliefs for engraving printing.
These new rollers possess considerable advantages over the old rollers, an
important one being that relief rollers can now be employed, not only for coarse
designs, but without very much more trouble and expenditure of time than for
coarse simple designs, also for the finest designs, because the photographic work
entails approximately the same expense whether for fine or for coarse designs.
Relief rollers, that is to say, rollers provided with designs in relief, instead of
recessed designs, can also be employed for this work without any considerable extra
expense. Thus by this means, for instance in multiple colour printing, the well-
known smearing of the engraved rollers, can be obviated. Celluloid rollers can
also be made much more quickly and cheaply than the old metal rollers. Celluloid
has also the advantage of being in the very highest degree proof against the action
of acids and alkalies. Furthermore although repairs can be effected just as
readily as in the case of copper rollers, yet, in view of the cheapness of celluloid
rollers, it will be advisable to replace a damaged roller by a new one, particularly
as the celluloid can always be used over again.
The introduction of celluloid cylinders will promote the use of relief cylinders
in printing on cloth, whether it be in printing machines with roller-colouring
apparatus exclusively or whether it be in printing machines which work both with
roller colouring apparatus, and blocks at the same time.
For practical reasons the celluloid cylinders will chiefly be employed in the form
of hollow cylinders.
Apparatus for the manufacture of such hollow celluloid printing rollers,
constitutes a part of my invention and is illustrated by the accompanying drawings,
whereof
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, half in longitudinal section, of an apparatus for the
manufacture of the hollow cylinders or rollers, the pressing apparatus being shown
in its most forward position;
Fig. 2 shows the left hand side of the apparatus, the pressing cylinder not being
quite in its most advanced position;

page_text: Figs. 3 & 4 are cross sections on the lines X-X and Y-Y respectively; and
Fig. 5 shows a detail on a larger scale.
The apparatus comprises a pressing cylinder and a mandril, between which parts
the requisite space is left for pressing out the shell of the celluloid cylinder. The
pressing apparatus is arranged between heads F and G, which constitute practically
the framing of the apparatus and are connected together by means of the rods f
The pressing cylinder D is provided with two covers H adapted to be screwed on,
and to be made with tight joints and is also provided with means for heating and
rapidly cooling it. For this purpose piping E is arranged to open into and
discharge from the hollow wall of the heating cylinder D. The covers H are
designed, when the pressing cylinder is in its extreme position, to enclose the
internal space, that is to say the space for the reception of the wall of the celluloid
shell. The shell-cylinder A is capable of being pushed into the heating cylinder,
and has arranged in front of it a guide-piece B; and at its rear end is screwed to
an impact-piece C.
The guide-piece B is cylindrical, and forms a continuation of the cylinder A
which itself diminishes slightly in diameter towards its rear end so as to produce
a certain amount of draught or taper to enable the cylindrical celluloid shell to
be slipped on to its roller or core-rod. An outflow aperture for superfluous
celluloid may be provided at a suitable point, and be adapted to be closed by
means of a screw so that if necessary the celluloid can be placed under pressure.
A pressing apparatus of any suitable kind, in the present case a hydraulic
pressing apparatus P, serves to advance the shell-cylinder A or its impact-
piece C.
A plate of sheet-metal 1° provided with the desired design according to the
well-known method is placed in the heating cylinder, in such a manner as to be
clamped or gripped fast by the sheet-holder I on the heating cylinder, as shown in
Fig. 5, whereupon the metal cylinder A with its guide-piece B screwed on to it,
and with the celluloid shell placed around it, is inserted into the heating cylinder,
the said heating cylinder being heated by steam.
Now by means of a suitable apparatus (in the present case the hydraulic
pressing apparatus P), the shell cylinder is pressed forwards to the full extent;
by which means the softened celluloid is pressed into the desired shape, and
receives at the same time the positive or negative base. The steam is now shut off,
and in its place cold water is admitted into the heating cylinder, so as to cause the
celluloid to harden.
After the shell-cylinder has been pushed back, and the finished celluloid
cylinder has been removed, the adhering metal plate is detached, and the gelatine-
relief that has become insoluble in water by exposure to light, is softened by
means of lye and water, and is destroyed. The pressing process takes about half
an hour.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Printing Rollers, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, HEINRICH ZIEGLER-REINACHER, of Aadorf, Switzerland, Engineer, 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 :-
According to this invention printing-roller's provided on their surfaces with

page_text: designs in relief or in intaglio, are made of celluloid, such rollers being intended
to be used chiefly in substitution for the rollers of copper or copper alloys,
heretofore generally employed for engraving-printing and relief-printing. Such
engraved metal printing-cylinders have hitherto been made by turning and grinding
and then engraving the required design thereon either by hand or by machinery,
chiefly with the aid of the pantograph, or by the pressure of edge or milling
wheels, or by etching. The cylinders with designs in relief have consisted mostly
of wooden cylinders with metal covering shells carrying the designs in relief and
constituting metal cliches, the parts in relief constituting the printing-surfaces.
Now in place of the two kinds of metal cylinders referred to, there are provided
according to my invention cylinders made in one piece of celluloid on to which
there are transferred in a pressing apparatus, negative photographic reliefs
for relief-printing, and positive photographic reliefs for engraving-printing.
These new rollers possess considerable advantages over the old rollers, an
important one being that relief-rollers can now be employed, not only for coarse
designs, but also for the finest designs; for in the case of the finest designs there
will not be very much more trouble and expenditure of time than in that of coarse
simple designs, because the photographic work entails approximately the same
expense whether for fine or for coarse designs, Relief-rollers-that is to say,
rollers provided with designs in relief-can therefore now be employed instead of
recessed or intaglio rollers, with greater facility and without any considerable extra
expense. Thus, by this means, for instance, in multiple-colour printing, the well-
known smearing of the engraved-rollers can be obviated. Celluloid rollers can also
be made much more quickly and cheaply than the old metal rollers. Celluloid has
also the advantage of being in the very highest degree proof against the action of
acids and alkalies.
Furthermore, although repairs can be effected just as readily as in the case of
copper rollers, yet, in view of the cheapness of celluloid rollers, it will be advisable
to substitute a new roller for a damaged one, particularly as the celluloid can
always be used over again.
The introduction of celluloid cylinders will promote the use of relief-cylinders
in printing on cloth, whether it be in printing-machines with roller colouring
apparatus exclusively, or in printing machines which work with both roller-colouring
apparatus and blocks at the same time.
For practical reasons the celluloid cylinders will chiefly be employed in the form
of hollow cylinders.
Apparatus for the manufacture of such hollow celluloid printing-rollers
constitutes a part of my invention and is illustrated by the drawings filed with my
Provisional Specification whereof.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, half in longitudinal section, of an apparatus for the
manufacture of the hollow cylinders or rollers, the mandrel being shown in its
most forward position;
Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the left-hand side of the apparatus, the
pressing cylinder not being quite in its most advanced position,
Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sections on the lines x x and y y respectively of
Fig. 1; and
Fig. 5 shows a detail to a larger scale.
The apparatus comprises a pressing and heating cylinder (hereinafter referred
to as a heating cylinder), and a mandrel, between which parts the requisite space
is left for pressing out the shell of the celluloid cylinder. This part of the
apparatus is arranged between heads F and G, which constitute practically
the framing of the apparatus and are connected together by means of rods f. The
beating cylinder D is provided with two covers H, which are adapted to be screwed
thereon and to make tight joints therewith. The heating cylinder is also provided
with means whereby it can be heated and also rapidly cooled. For this purpose.
piping E is arranged to lead to and from the hollow wall of the heating cylinder D.
The covers H are designed to enclose the internal space-that is to say, the space

page_text: for the reception of the wall of the celluloid shell-when the mandrel is in its
more advanced position. The mandrel comprises a portion A (hereinafter referred
to as the shell-cylinder) which is capable of being pushed into the heating
cylinder, and has arranged in front of it a guide-piece B; and to its rear end is
secured an impact-piece C.
An
The guide-piece B is cylindrical, and forms a continuation of the shell-cylinder A,
which itself diminishes slightly in diameter towards the piece B so as to produce a
certain amount of draught or taper to enable the cylindrical celluloid shell to be
slipped off the shell cylinder A which forms its core during manufacture.
outflow-aperture for superfluous celluloid may be provided at a suitable point
and be adapted to be closed by means of a screw so that if necessary the celluloid
can be placed under pressure. A pressing-apparatus of any suitable kind-in the
present case, a hydraulic pressing apparatus P-serves to advance the shell-
cylinder A through its impact-piece C.
A cylindrical plate of sheet-metal 1°, provided with the desired design-i.e., the
negative or positive photographic relief-made according to the well-known method,
is placed in the heating cylinder and clamped therein by the sheet-holder I which
is fixed to the heating-cylinder as shown in Fig. 5. A plate of celluloid, cut the
proper dimensions and adapted to the rounding of the guide piece B, is placed
upon the latter after it has been drawn back out of the cylinder D. Care must
be taken that the thickness of the celluloid plate is not too great, so that the space
between the interior of the metal sheet 1° with design and the external diameter
of the guide piece B is large enough to contain the sheet after it has been placed
around the guide piece B and this with the sheet thereon has been thrust into
the cylinder D. As the guide-piece B has a smaller diameter than the cylinder A,
which slightly increases in dimension backwards, B can be easily pushed forward
and as soon as B has arrived in the front cover H or covers H G the cylinder D
will be closed and the heating thereof by steam can be commenced so as sufficiently
to soften the celluloid which is then held against the inner side of the front
cylinder cover H. Now by means of a suitable apparatus (in the present case the
hydraulic pressing-apparatus P), the cylinder A is pressed forwards to its full
extent, i.e. until it is arrested by the inner side of the front cylinder cover H, or
the holder I by which means the softened celluloid is pressed into the desired
shape, and receives at the same time the positive or negative photographic relief
or base. The pushing forward of the cylinder A should of course be slow, so
that the small surplus of celluloid shall have time to flow away. The steam is now
shut off from the hollow wall of the heating cylinder and cold water admitted
thereto so as to cause the celluloid to harden. After the mandrel has been drawn
back, and the finished celluloid cylinder has been removed therefrom, the adhering
sheet metal plate 1° with the gelatine relief carried thereby, is detached. The
gelatine-relief, which has become insoluble in water by exposure to light, is softened
by means of lye and water, and destroyed. The pressing process takes about half
an hour.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what [
claim is :-
1. A printing-roller comprising a celluloid cylinder or cylindrical shell the
peripheral surface of which carries, either in relief or in intaglio, the design to be
reproduced.
2. The manufacture of a celluloid printing roller by transferring the design of a
negative or positive cylindrical photographic relief by means of pressure to the
softened peripheral substance of a celluloid cylinder, substantially as herein
described.
3. The hereinbefore described method of making a celluloid printing-roller
consisting in introducing a cylinder of celluloid into a negative or positive
cylindrical photographic relief, reducing the said cylinder to a plastic state by

page_text: heat, transferring the design of the said relief to the plastic cylinder by pressure,.
allowing the cylinder to cool and harden, and then removing the said relief
substantially as herein described.
4. Apparatus for the manufacture of hollow celluloid printing rollers comprising
a cylinder situated between centrally perforated covers, a mandrel capable of
movement in the bores of the said covers, and means for operating the said
mandrel, the arrangement being such as to leave between the mandrel and the
interior of the cylinder an annular space suitable for the reception of a positive
negative photographic relief and a celluloid shell to receive the impression of the
said relief, substantially as hereinbefore described.
or
5. An apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 4, in which means are provided
for enabling the cylinder to be heated and cooled substantially as hereinbefore
described.
6. An apparatus of the kind specified in Claim 4, in which the mandrel
comprises a cylindrical guide-piece B around which a celluloid strip to form a
cylinder can be placed, a slightly conical metal cylinder A, connected to the
guide-piece, and an impact piece C on the end of the cylinder A remote from the
guide-piece, substantially as herein before described.
7. An apparatus of the kind specified in Claims 4, 5, and 6 in which one of
the covers H of the heating cylinder corresponds in bore to the diameter of the
guide-piece B, whilst the other cover has a bore of somewhat larger diameter, the
latter cover being also provided, it may be, with a device for clamping a metal
pattern sheet I° in the heating cylinder, substantially as hereinbefore described.
8. Apparatus for the manufacture of celluloid printing rollers constructed,
arranged and operating as hereinbefore described with reference to and shewn in
the drawings berein referred to.
Dated this 25th day of March 1896.
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.