Improvements in or relating to the Production of Printing-surfaces.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application; 26th Mar., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 16th Aug., 1892-Accepted; 1st Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Production of Printing-surfaces.
I CLAUDINE CLAREMONT of Millbrook House Hampstead Road in the
County of London Artist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
I take a piece of tin foil and impress upon it an evenly dispersed grain. "This
can be done by laying the piece of tin foil on a raised grained surface and pressing
it on. This grain is sufficiently pressed to appear on both sides of the metal.
then mount this metal on glass. This is then ready for the artist to draw on with
a stylo. The stylo produces the drawing by pressing out the grain wherever it
touches.
It is necessary that the metal shall be of such a thickness as to admit of the
grained impression being indented and appearing on both sides as an indentation and
raising respectively.
It is not necessary to use tin foil any other substance which can be manipulated
in the same way and which is sufficiently soft and elastic for the purpose will do.
It is not necessary to use glass on which to mount the metal, any other flat
suitable substance will do.
When the drawing is done an electrotype can be taken from the block.
If copper foil or other substance hard enough to print from is used it is not
necessary to make an electrotype but the copper foil or other substance itself.can be
filled in and mounted in the usual way.
The result is a block for the artist to draw upon
which forms the basis for various
printing processes and which reproduces exactly the artists drawing with a general
tint and time is saved over many other processes in-common use.
Dated this 26th day of March 1892
CLAUDINE CLAREMONT.
4
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Production of *Printing-surfaces.
I CLAUDINE CLAREMONT of Millbrook House Hampstead Road in the
County of London Artist 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 :-
The object of this invention is to make a surface on which the artist can draw
with ease and which can either be converted directly into a printing block or
surface or from which a printing block or surface can be readily produced and
in either case with greater expedition economy and accuracy than by any process
now in-use.
I take a piece of tin foil. I lay it on a raised grained or granular surface (on
which the grain is more or less evenly dispersed). I lay on the top of the tin foil
a thin sheet of india rubber. I then roll an ordinary ruler over the sheet of india
rubber several times pressing it firmly on the india rubber. By this means I
impress the tin fail with a more or less evenly dispersed grain thus giving it a
granular surface. This grain or granular surface should be sufficiently impressed
as to appear on both sides of the foil.
I suggest the above method of impressing the foil with a granular surface
though any other available method such as passing between rollers would, do
equally well

page_text: "
It is necessary that the sheet of tin foil should be of such thickness as to admit
of the grained or granular impression being indented and appearing on both sides
as indentations and raised points or lines respectively whilst of suflicient strength to
allow of its being used in manner hereinafter appearing.
The object of making the surface granular is to provide for a "general tint"
when the surface is used as a printing surface; or as a surface from which
a printing surface is produced by electrotyping or stereotyping or other process.
Without such granular surface the background would take the ink and produce
black blotches.
Any substance which is of sufficient strength and consistency as well as softness
and elasticity so that a sheet of it can be manipulated in the way above described
and which will stand being drawn on with a style and manipulated as hereinafter
mentioned may be used in the place of tin foil.
In the next place I mount the piece of tin foil or sheet of other suitable material
impressed with or having a granular surface on a piece of flat glass; this may be
done by damping it and laying it on the glass or in any other convenient and
suitable way. In place of glass any other suitable flat substance with a sufficiently
hard surface may be used as the foundation for my drawing surface though I
prefer glass.
By this means I have constructed a drawing surface on which the artist can with
style or other suitable instrument produce any desired drawing. The style by
pressing out the grain wherever it touches leaves all the lines of the drawing
indented on the foil or other substance.
The drawing surface when drawn upon as above described can be made to form
the basis for various printing processes reproducing exactly the artists drawing
with a general tint whilst considerable time is saved over many other processes
now in use.
:
An electrotype can be taken directly from the drawing. For this purpose
the drawing should not be removed from the foundation or mount but the
edges of the tin foil must be fixed down on the glass or other foundation so as to
prevent the liquid in the electro bath from getting underneath the foil. This done
the tin foil or other substance with the drawing on it serves all the purposes of a
matrix ready for the process of electrotyping. Should the tin foil cling to the
copper deposit (as sometimes happens in the process) it can be got off by the use
of acid and heat.
An electrotype or stereotype can also be made from a matrix made from the
drawing. To make such a matrix I form a solid filling in or backing on the
drawing; this may be done by several ways generally do it by pouring plaster
of Paris on the drawing surface and allowing it to set. The foil or other substance
on which the drawing appears will cling to the backing and can then easily be
removed from the glass or other foundation. The surface then exposed is a
_ raised representation of the drawing a mould of which can be taken by methods
ordinarily in use to form a matrix for an electrotype or stereotype as the case
may be..
A drawing surface made of tin foil as above described backed with plaster of
Paris or other suitable cement in the manner above described will form a block
sufficiently hard to be screwed up in the form with the type for the purpose of
taking a mould of the whole to form a matrix with which to produce a stereotype or
an electrotype.
A block made by pouring plaster of Paris on the drawing, as above described may
be cut to any required size or it may be made of the required size in the first instance
by placing a frame (of the desired size) on the foil and round the drawing and
filling it up with cement. By leaving the frame round the cement the block is
greatly strengthened.
If copper foil or other substance hard enough to print from is used as the
drawing surface the foil may be filled in or backed like an electrotype shell
"and by this means a block is produced which can be used to print from directly.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare what I
claim is :-
(1.) The construction of a grained drawing surface substantially in the manner
above described and for the purposes above set forth.
(2.) The construction of a block for printing either directly or indirectly (as by
means of electrotyping or stereotyping) with the above described drawing surface
by backing or filling in the same with plaster of Paris or other suitable cement, or
other suitable material substantially as above described.
Dated this 16th day of August 1892.
CLAUDINE CLAREMONT.