IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake of the firm of Haseltine Lake
"
& Co Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London for an invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES A communication
from abroad by John Thomas Hawkins, of Taunton, Massachusetts, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Willian Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th May 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES OR
PRESSES [A communication from abroad by John Thomas Hawkins, of Taunton,
Massachusetts, United States of America.]
"
The object of this invention is to provide rapid and correct means for printing
newspapers and the like from flat type-forms thereby dispensing with curved
stereotype plates and the plant necessary therefor, and utilizing instead impression-
cylinders of minimum diameter, to print both sides of the sheet at one operation,
either from a continuous web or roll of paper, or from separate sheets, as inay be
desired.
The said invention consists broadly in constructing a press with two impression-
cylinders, one in advance of the other, and a single type-bed carrying two forms,
and wherein the first cylinder receives cach sheet at its top and delivers it from its
top, head first, to the bottom of the second cylinder, which there receives the
sheet and delivers it from its top, tail first; the various adjuncts and details
forming parts of the said invention being hereinafter described.
For the printing of newspapers "perfecting presses" or presses which print both
sides of the papers at one operation have heretofore, with a few unimportant
exceptions, been so made (whether printing from a continuous web of paper or
from separate sheets) as to require the stereotyping of the form in a curved or
cylindrical shape for printing from small cylinders arranged to carry such curved
stereotype plates. The machines in use for this class of printing are however very
expensive, particularly when the cost of the stereotyping apparatus and operation,
CD 1021

page_text: inseparable from them is considered. The time necessarily consumed in making
up the stereotype plates from the type-form and preparing them for the press,
prevents the possibility of getting the latest items of news for the day before going
to press, by compelling the "make-up " of the form to be effected earlier than if
stereotyping were entirely dispensed with--for newspapers also of comparatively
limited circulation, and yet whose editions are too large to be struck off in a
sufficiently short time upon any of the machines now in use which print from a
flat form and on one side only at one operation, facilities for more rapid printing
can only be extended by taking the very great and costly step from the last
mentioned machines to the very extensive and expensive plant required for a
modern rotary perfecting press with its stereotyping process and apparatus, or to
the equally or more expensive system of printing one side only at a time, from
typo secured to the periphery of a large type-cylinder by means of taper column
rules, which system requires a number of feeders and other attendants to operate
the machine proportioned to the number of impression-cylinders therein
contained.
According to the said Invention a press is constructed upon which newspapers
may be very rapidly printed direct from a flat type-form as set up by the com-
positors, and without the expense and time consumed in the process of stereotyping;
which press will print both sides of the sheet at one feeding and delivery; so that
the latest moment may be utilized in setting up the forms for both sides of the
sheet before going to press, and the paper be thereafter printed more rapidly than
is now done by means of flat forms and at an original outlay, small, compared with
that required for either the stereotyping or the cylindrical type-surfaced methods
of printing.
A printing press or machine made in accordance with the said Invention com-
prises a first impression-cylinder; a second impression-cylinder; and a type bed;
the type or form for printing the first side of the sheet and the type or form for
printing the second side of the sheet are placed end to end in the direction of the
length of the press, and the impression-cylinders are so placed as to give the bed
the least traverse or stroke consistent with the proper inking of the form and the
delivery of the sheets. Inking rollers are provided for the first side impression,
and for the second side impression. A feed-board and fly-board are employed for
A crank is
that form of the press to which separate sheets are fed by hand.
secured to a shaft and is driven by a gear-wheel also secured to the said shaft.
The said gear-wheel is driven by a pinion secured to another shaft journalled in
suitable bearings in the frames of the machine and carrying two fly-wheel pulleys.
To the said crank is attached a crank-pin to which one end of a connecting rod is
jointed, the other end of the said rod being jointed to a rolling pinion. A stationary
rack is secured to the bed-piece or roller-ways of the press and a corresponding
rack is secured to the under side of the bed, between which racks, and engaging
with both, the said rolling pinion revolves and travels. Upon shafts which with
the shaft carrying the said rolling pinion, are journalled in a carriage or roller-
frame, are rollers which run in roller-ways and support the bed by means of
The object of the last
corresponding roller ways on the underside of the bed.
described arrangement is to give to the bed twice the rectilinear motion imparted
by the crank to the carriage or roller frame and thus avoid the use of too long a
crank, while still imparting to the reciprocating parts the easy reversal, at the ends
of the stroke, peculiar to the crank-motion.
The two impression-cylinders are geared directly to and driven by the bed by
means of a rack secured to the upper side of the bed and corresponding gear-wheels
which are secured to the said cylinders and engage with the rack, the said cylinders
rotating in either direction as actuated by the bed. The impression-cylinders are
so proportioned that they each rotate more than one complete revolution in each
direction, for the purpose of obtaining a minimum diameter of cylinder; in the
case of the first impression-cylinder to carry the head of the sheet, after its first
complete revolution, far enough down inclined bridge-fingers, to reach the gripers

page_text: of the second cylinder; and in the case of the second impression-cylinder to carry
the tail of the sheet sufficiently high above the form to allow of its being passed
to, and delivered upon, fly-fingers at the commencement of the retrograde or non-
printing rotation of the cylinder. A shaft runs parallel with the side frame of the
machine and is carried in suitable bearings attached to the said frame; the said
shaft is driven from the crank-shaft by means of a pair of mitre wheels. On the
said shaft are secured two cams, and sliding bars are held in their places by two
collars secured to the said shaft. The said sliding bars are slotted to embrace the
said shaft and carry on their upper ends rollers which engage with grooves in the
said cams.
The sliding bars, carry also, on their lower ends, short racks, the backs
of which run against two friction or idler rollers, which run upon studs secured
to the frames for the purpose of keeping the said racks in gear with two sector
gear-wheels secured to excentric rock shafts. The excentric parts at each end of
the said rock-shafts are journalled in side rods and the impression-cylinders are
journalled in the upper ends of the said side rods. In order to avoid the inking
rollers belonging to one form coming in contact with the other form, while the
latter runs partly under each set of the said rollers, there are secured to the upper
side of the bed two sets of roller-bearers, each pair of bearers being set out of line
with the other, and upon the ends of the inking rollers for the first form are secured
roller-wheels slightly larger in diameter than the said rollers, and so placed upon
them as to come in contact with, and run only upon, the bearers of that part of
the bed which carries the form for printing the second side of the sheet; and
conversely there are similar roller-wheels on rollers for the second form so placed
as to run only on the bearers, on that part of the bed which carries the form for
printing the first side of the sheet. Two racks are secured to the underside of the
bed, engaging with which are spur-wheels running upon studs secured to the
frames. Two long heavy weights run upon grooved rollers and a rib on the lower
side of each weight runs in the respective grooves of each of the said rollers, which
ribs serve as guides for their respective weights. The grooved rollers run upon
shafts journalled in the frames and roller-ways. Upon the upper sides of the said
weights are secured racks, also engaging with the said spur-wheels. The said
weights are cast with pockets for the purpose of loading the said weights as may
be desired. A counterweight is placed in the first named gear wheel and is set
in opposition to the crank.
The aforesaid bridge or stripper fingers strip the sheet, head-first from the
cylinder when the sheet released by the gripers is lifted upon the said strippers
by sheet lifter fingers, and down which strippers the head of the sheet passes to
meet the gripers of the second cylinder. On the shaft running parallel with the
frame is secured a cam engaging with a roller attached to a vertically sliding bar
which, at its lower end, embraces the said shaft and at its upper end carries a short
rack held in gear with a sector gear-wheel by an idler roller running upon a stud
fixed in the frame. The said sliding bar is held in place at its lower end by a
collar secured to the said shaft. On the upper end of the said sliding bar are
placed weights which may be varied at pleasure, so as to keep the roller on the
cam, when the sheet is on the fly-fingers. The said weight, requires to be varied
for different sizes of sheets or speeds of press and the consequent variation in the
resistance offered by the air to the passage of the sheet through it. The fly-
fingers and the said sector-gear-wheel are secured to a rock-shaft journalled in the
frames. The said fingers will be away from the cylinder when the tail of the
sheet passes by the place occupied by the points of the said fingers, while at rest
upon a stop-rod. This position of the said fingers will therefore allow the tail of
the sheet, elevated upon sheet-supporting fingers to pass unobstructed by the said
fingers. The aforesaid cam is so placed however, as to bring the said fingers to
rest upon the said stop-rod by the time the second impression-cylinder commences
its retrograde or non-printing rotation, and the said fingers are so placed as to cause
their points to just clear the tympan upon the second cylinder, sufficiently for the
sheet to pass between them, and the cylinder, or a thin strip of steel thereon on

page_text: the direct or printing rotation. The cylinder gripers are operated to open and
close at the proper time in any of the usual manners. A very thin strip of steel
extends across the second impression-cylinder and is tightly stretched, in contact
with the usual blanket or tympan which covers the said cylinder. The said strip
is thus stretched by means of adjustable slotted clamps which may be secured in
any position on the circumference of the said cylinder to suit different lengths of
sheet by means of screws and screw holes. The said strip of steel is rivetted to the
said clamps and the latter fit into grooves, one at each end of the said cylinder,
next to the cylinder-bearers. These grooves are bevelled on their inner sides, for
the purpose of tightly stretching the steel strip in contact with the blanket or
tympan, all the said parts being below the impression-surface of the cylinder. The
said thin strip has formed on one of its edges towards the tail of the sheet, a series
of stationary sheet-supporting fingers, curved up slightly from the cylinder-surface.
The said strip with its sheet-supporting fingers, is so placed, depending upon the length
of sheet, that the tail of the sheet shall lie upon the slightly raised fingers, and the
strip and fingers are so placed that only the points of the said fingers remain under
the tail of the sheet, on which there is nearly always an unprinted margin. A
small shaft is supported in slotted bearings in the frames in order to allow it to
rise and fall with the second impression-cylinder. The said shaft carries two or
more pressure rollers or wheels bearing by their own weight only upon the said
cylinder and adjusted on the said shaft so as to run upon the unprinted margins of
the sheet. A similar shaft carries two or more similar rollers or wheels bearing
upon the first impression-cylinder and running in similar slotted bearings in the
frames. Two levers are each pivoted at one end upon pivots fixed in the frames
the central parts of the said levers resting upon the tops of the cylinder side rods.
The extended journals of the second shaft rest upon the free ends of the said levers.
I provide the gripers and sheet-lifter-fingers for the first impression-cylinder, the
said lifter-fingers being thin strips of steel, slotted, except at their ends, to embrace
the tongues of the said gripers. The inner or fixed ends of the lifter fingers are held in
a slotted shank, and project a short distance into a corresponding narrow groove in
a rod or shaft and thus act as a feather or key to prevent the said shank from
rotating upon the said rod or shaft. The said shauk fits so as to slide easily upon
the said rod, so that in making lateral adjustinents of the gripers upon the said
rod the lifter fingers may accompany them without other adjustment, the slots in
the said fingers preventing any lateral motion in them while in operation, by reason
of the tongues of the gripers acting in and through the said slots as guides for the
said fingers. The said rod is prevented from rotating by a small arm secured to it
at one of its ends and held in place by a pin or screw by removing which the said
rod with its lifter fingers may be rotated away from the griper edge of the first
impression-cylinder when the gripers are opened for the purpose of access to the
tympan or other cylinder covering. The free ends of the gripers fall upon the
unslotted portion of the lifter fingers when the gripers are closed, the fingers then
lying upon the tympan and thus the sheet is clamped between the upper sides of
the said fingers and the undersides of the gripers. The hubs of the said gripers
are wider than the tongues, and the fingers have the same width as the hubs of
the said gripers at each side. Upon the hubs of the gripers are formed cams or
cam-shaped projections and the narrow sides of the fingers lie upon the hubs of
the gripers. As the said gripers are opened by the usual mechanism, the said cams
cause the lifter-fingers to rise by the springing of the fingers carrying with them
the griper edge or head of the sheet resting upon them.
The shaft running parallel with the frame has a continuation supported at its
end in a suitable bracket or bearing attached to the frame. A. vertical shaft is
supported in bearings and receives motion from the aforesaid shaft by means of
bevel gear-wheels. A horizontal shaft journalled in the frame receives motion from
the said vertical shaft by means of bevel gear-wheels. The said horizontal shaft
carries, on the inside of the frames, a spur-wheel engaging with a similar spur-wheel
upon a similar shaft parallel with the said horizontal shaft, and similarly journalled

page_text: A
in the frames. The horizontal shaft carries a cylinder with a groove or slot parallel
with its axis and a series of shallow circumferential grooves into which the points
of a series of stripper fingers enter. The second horizontal shaft carries a cylinder
which has secured therein a serrated knife, parallel with its axis and projecting
beyond its periphery a sufficient distance, and so situated with reference to the said
groove or slot in the other cylinder as to enter the groove at every revolution of
the said two cylinders and cut a web of paper running from a roll, into sheets of
the proper length. The said roll is carried in brackets extending from the frames
and a leading roller is carried in similar brackets, projecting from the frames.
pressure or feeding roller is journalled in the frames and is covered with a yielding
and frictional substance, such as felt, cloth, or india-rubber, and adjusted to press
upon the periphery of one of the said cylinders. A series of parallel shafts
carrying rollers are journalled in bearings in the frames and driven by pulleys and
tapes or belts from the shaft or one of the said cylinders. Two levers are pivoted
upon studs fixed in the frames, their longer arms resting upon the tops of the side
rods and under lugs projecting inwardly from the said side rods. The extremities
of the longer arms of the said levers operate to raise and lower a shaft with its
rollers. The journals of one of the aforesaid parallel shafts rest upon the extremities
of the shorter arms of the said levers by which means the said shaft and its rollers
are raised and lowered at the proper times by the raising and lowering of the side
rods. Two shafts with the tapes or belts, serve to convey the web before being
separated by the knife, to, and between, rollers or between their tapes or belts and
pressure rollers, which latter convey the sheet to the gripers of the first impression
cylinder after the knife has separated the said sheet from the web.
A pair of levers are secured to a rock-shaft journalled in the frames and carrying
a friction-brake pivotted to the lower ends of the said levers, and pressing against
the roll by means of a lever arm secured to the outer end of the said rock-shaft
carrying an adjustable weight.
The folding attachment or apparatus comprises the following parts that is to
sayA vertical shaft driven from another shaft by means of bevel gear-wheels
carries on its upper end a pulley which by means of a belt and another pulley,
imparts motion to one of a pair of vertical rollers for making the first fold in the
printed sheet, the whole being carried in a suitable framework or housing built
upon, or forming extensions of, the frames of the machine. To a rock-shaft is
secured a folding blade in common with, and forming one of, the series of fly-fingers.
A sheet-stop limits the passage of the sheet down the said fingers and prevents it
from dropping further down upon the said fingers during the oscillation of the fly
(composed of the said fingers and the folding blade) from its position of rest upon
the stop-rod over to the folding rollers to which it delivers the sheet. The cam in
this arrangement is a closed or box cam and a roller being provided upon the
sliding bar the said cam carries it both up and down without the instrumentality
of a weight as hereinbefore described. Two of the fly fingers adjoining the said
folding blade are placed far enough from the said blade to permit of the folding
rollers entering about to the depth of their semi-diameters between the said
fingers, the blade then passing between the said rollers to crease and drive the sheet
between them for the first fold.
In presses of small dimensions, built upon the above described principle, sufficient
space cannot be had, under the inclined bridge fingers for an ink-fountain,
distributing rollers, and other parts. In such cases the whole inking apparatus,
including the form-rollers, may be placed at the back of the first impression-
cylinder under the feed-board or under one series of stripper fingers where there is
ample room for such purpose, in which case the arrangement of the roller bearers
may be dispensed with, the form belonging to one cylinder in such an arrangement
not running under the form-rollers belonging to the other form.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th November 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING MACHINES OR
PRESSES A communication from abroad by John Thomas Hawkins of Taunton,
Massachusetts, United States of America
"
The object of this invention is to provide rapid and correct means for printing
newspapers and the like from flat type-forms, thereby dispensing with curved
stereotype plates and the plant necessary therefor, and utilizing, instead,
impression-cylinders of minimum diameter to print both sides of the sheet at one
operation either from a continuous web or roll of paper, or from separate sheets as
may be desired.
The said invention consists broadly in constructing a press with two impression-
cylinders, one in advance of the other, and a single type-bed carrying two forms
and wherein the first cylinder receives each sheet at the top and delivers it from
the top, head-first to the bottom of the second cylinder, which there receives the
sheet and delivers it from its top tail first; the various adjuncts and details
forming parts of the said invention being hereinafter described.
For the printing of newspapers "perfecting presses" or presses which print both
sides of the paper at one operation, have heretofore with few unimportant
exceptions been so made (whether printing from a continuous web of paper or from
separate sheets) as to require the stereotyping of the form in a curved or cylin-
drical shape for printing from small cylinders arranged to carry such curved
stereotype plates. The machines in use for this class of printing are however very
expensive particularly when the cost of the stereotyping apparatus and operation,
inseparable from them is considered. The time necessarily consumed in making
up the stereotype plates from the type-form and preparing them for the press
prevents the possibility of getting the latest items of news for the day before
going to press, by compelling the "make-up" of the form to be effected earlier
than if stereotyping were entirely dispensed with. For newspapers also of com-
paratively limited circulation, and yet whose editions are too large to be struck off
in a sufficiently short time upon any of the machines now in use which print from
a flat form and on one side only at one operation, facilities for more rapid printing
can only be extended, by taking the very great and costly step from the last
mentioned machines to the very extensive and expensive plant required for a
modern rotary perfecting press with its stereotyping process and apparatus, or to
the equally or more expensive system of printing one side only at a time, from type
secured to the periphery of a large type cylinder by means of taper column rules,
which system requires a number of feeders and other attendants to operate the
machine proportioned to the number of impression cylinders therein contained.
According to the said invention a press is constructed upon which newspapers
may be very rapidly printed directly from a flat type-form as set up by the
compositors, and without the expense and time consumed in the process of
stereotyping; which press will print both sides of the sheet at one feeding and
delivery; so that the latest moment may be utilized in setting up the forms for
both sides of the sheet before going to press, and the paper be thereafter printed
more rapidly than is now done by means of flat forms, and at an original outlay,

page_text: small, compared with that required for either the stereotyping or the cylindrical
type-surfaced methods of printing.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a printing machine constructed according to this
invention
Figure 2 a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 3 a plan of the machine as designed to be fed with separate sheets from
an ordinary feed board and to print and deliver the same flat upon an ordinary
fly board.
Figure 4 shows two detail views of the impression cylinder which prints the last
side of the sheet, and
Figure 5 shows in detail the impression cylinder which prints the first side, both
cylinders being drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figure 6 illustrates in plan and elevation the gripers belonging to the first
cylinder and
Figure 7 illustrates also in plan and elevation the sheet lifter fingers belonging
to the same cylinder.
Figure 8 illustrates the distortion of the griper edge of the sheet, caused by the
old method of clamping the sheet upon the tympan over and between the sheet
lifter fingers by spacing the gripers between the sheet lifter-fingers
Figure 9, shows the smooth and undisturbed condition of the said griper-edge
of the sheet, when held upon the sheet lifter fingers, by the gripers constructed in
accordance with this invention
Figure 10 is a side elevation, and Figure 11 is a plan of the machine as designed
to print from a continuous web or roll of paper and to deliver the printe
in separate sheets to a folding machine which may be attached thereto.
Figure 12, illustrates in two detached views, one being in section, the apparatus
for separating the web of paper into sheets, as it is fed from the roll and delivered
to the gripers of the first impression cylinder, which apparatus is shown attached
in position in the preceding Figures 10 and 11.
Figure 13 illustrates certain details of the folding apparatus hereinafter
described.
In the several Figures of the drawings, all the mechanism relating to the
opening and closing of the gripers, the feed guides, and the inking apparatus,
except the arrangement and positions of the form rollers is omitted, as not essential
to this invention, several of the well known plans of each of these being applicable
to this machine. In Figure 2 the feed board is omitted. In Figure 3 both the
feed board and fly board are omitted, for the sake of more clearly illustrating other
parts of the machine
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawing
A, A, are the side frames of the machine; B the first impression cylinder B. the
second impression cylinder B2 the type bed; T the type or form for printing the
first side of the sheet, and T¹ the type or form for printing the second side of the
sheet, the two forms are placed end to end in the direction of the length of the press,
and the impression cylinders B and B' are so placed as to give the bed B2. the least
traverse or stroke consistent with the proper inking of the form and the delivery
of the sheets. R, R, are the inking rollers for the first side impression and R, R¹
the inking rollers for the second side impression. C, is the feed-board and C¹ the
fly-board for that form of the press to which separate sheets are fed by hand. The
crank G, is secured to the shaft G¹ and is driven by a gear wheel G2, also secured
to the shaft G¹. The gear-wheel G2 is driven by a pinion G³ secured to a shaft G
journalled in suitable bearings in the frames A and carrying the two fly-wheel
pulleys G. To the crank G is attached the crank pin c to which one end of the
connecting rod c¹ is jointed, the other end of the said rod being jointed to the
rolling pinion P. The stationary rack E is secured to the bed piece or roller ways
of the press, and a corresponding rack E¹ is secured to the under side of the bed B²
between which racks and engaging with both, the said rolling pinion P, revolves

page_text: and travels. Upon the shafts S, S which with the shaft P¹, are journalled in the
carriage or roller frame K, are a number of rollers E which run in the roller ways R³
and support the bed B2 by means of corresponding roller ways R³ on the under side
of the bed B. The object of the last described arrangement is to give to the bed B2
twice the rectilinear motion imparted by the crank G to the carriage or roller frame K
and thus avoid the use of too long a crank, while still imparting to the reciprocating
parts the easy reversal, at the ends of the stroke, peculiar to the crank motion.
The two impression cylinders B and B are geared directly to and driven by the
bed B by means of a rack R* secured to the upper side of the bed B2, and corre-
sponding gear wheels R, Re which are secured to the cylinders B and B and
engage with the said rack R the cylinders rotating in either direction as actuated
by the bed B. The impression cylinders B and B are so proportioned that they
each rotate more than one complete revolution in each direction, for the purpose
of obtaining a minimum diameter of cylinder; in the case of the cylinder B to
carry the head of the sheet, after its first complete revolution, far enough down the
inclined bridge fingers f1, to reach the gripers of the second cylinder B'; and in
the case of the cylinder B' to carry the tail of the sheet m sufficiently high above
the form to allow of its being passed to and delivered upon the fly-fingers f, at the
commencement of the retrogade or non-printing rotation of the cylinder as herein-
after explained. The shaft D runs parallel with the side frame A at the right
hand in Figure 2 and is carried in suitable bearings attached to the said frame, the
said shaft is driven from the crank shaft G' by a pair of mitre wheels D₁ and D².
On the shaft D are secured two cams D³ D' and the sliding bars D³, DⓇ are held in
their places by two collars D7, D8, secured to the said shaft The sliding bars D
and D are slotted to embrace the shaft D and carry on their upper ends the rollers
D and D10 which engage with the grooves in the cams D³ and D, and on their
lower ends short racks, the backs of which run against the two friction rollers D¹¹
and D2, which run upon studs secured to the frames A for the purpose of keeping
the said racks in gear with two sector gear-wheels D¹³, and D₁, secured to the
excentric rock-shafts D¹³, and D16. The excentric parts at each end of the rock-
shafts D1 and D¹ are journalled in the cylinder journal side rods D1 and D¹s,
and the cylinders B, and B¹, are journalled in the upper ends of the side rods.
The effect of the operation of the parts last described is to both raise and lower
the impression cylinders B and B₁, at the proper times, the form and position
respectively given to the cams D³ and D' upon the shaft D being such as to lower
and retain in that position the cylinders while making the impressions, and to
raise them and hold them clear of the form during the retrograde or non-printing
stroke of its corresponding form but not sufficient to take them out of gear with
the rack R. As the bed 12 prints the first side of the sheet while it runs in one
direction, and the second side while it runs in the opposite direction, one cylinder
remains elevated while the other is depressed, or nearly so. With the above
described positions and proportions of parts, the inking rollers R, will run partly
over the form T', belonging to the cylinder B¹, and the rollers R', partly over the
form T belonging to the cylinder B. In order to avoid the inking rollers belonging
to one form coming in contact with the other form, while the latter runs partly
under each set of the said rollers there are secured to the upper side of the bed B2
two sets of roller bearers B and B each pair of bearers being set out of line with
the other; and upon the ends of the inking rollers R are secured the roller
wheels B5 slightly larger in diameter than the said rollers, and so placed upon them
as to come in contact with and run only upon the bearers B of that part of the
bed B which carries the form T for printing the second side of the sheet and con-
versely there are similar roller wheels Be on the Rollers R' so placed as to run only
on the bearers B³ on that part of the bed B, which carries the form T, for printing
the first side of the sheet. In this way each set of inking rollers is caused to run
from end to end of its own form in contact therewith but does not touch any part
of the other form. Without this arrangement one pair of rollers would run partly
upon and in a reverse direction upon the opposite form, which would interfere

page_text: with the proper distribution of the ink and fill up the finer lines in the form at the
point of reversal. Two racks E are secured to the under side of the bed Ba
engaging with which are the spur wheels E running upon studs E' secured to the
frames A. Two long heavy weights E³ run upon grooved rollers E and a rib on
the lower side of each weight runs in the respective groove of each of said rollers,
which ribs serve as guides for their respective weights. The grooved rollers E³ run
upon the shafts S¹. S₁ journalled in the frames A, and the roller ways R2 upon the
upper sides of the weight Es, are secured racks E³, also engaging with the said spur
wheels E. The weights E³ are cast with pockets E10 for the purpose of loading
them as may be desired. The object of these weights is to equilibrate the
momemtum of the reciprocating bed B². with its type forms, the carriage or roller
frame K, with its rollers and the efforts or momentum exerted by the rotary
cylinders to propel the bed B2 all during the last half of either stroke of the bed
and thus to avoid all tendency to impart vibrations to the machine as a whole
through the inertia of the reciprocating parts when run at high speeds the
weights Es having motion at all times in a direction contrary to that of the other
main reciprocating parts. It is designed to so load the pockets E° of the weights E8,
for any weight of form used, that their combined momentum or total momentum
shall equal the total horizontal momentum of all the otherwise unbalanced recipro-
cating parts moving in the opposite direction to the said weights. The vertical and
horizontal momentum of the crank G, and connecting rod c¹ are equilibrated by a
counterweight placed in the wheel G and set in opposition to the crank G.
Through the above described systems of equilibrating the several momenta of the
moving parts, the machine may be run at high speeds without vibration or tendency
to move as a whole.
The bridge or stripper fingers fl strip the sheet head first from the cylinder B
when the sheet released by the gripers K is lifted upon the said strippers by the
sheet lifter fingers L and down which strippers the head of the sheet passes to meet
the gripers of the second cylinder B₁, as hereinafter explained. On the shaft D is
secured a cam F engaging with a roller F1 attached to a vertically sliding bar F2,
which at its lower end embraces the shaft D and at its upper end carries a short
rack F held into gear with a sector gear-wheel F3, by a friction roller F running
upon a stud in the frames A. The sliding bar F2 is held in place at its lower end
by the collar F secured to the shaft D. On the upper end of the sliding bar are
placed weights W, which may be varied at pleasure but sufficiently heavy to keep
the roller F on the cam F, when the sheet is on the fly fingers f. The weight W,
requires to be varied for different sizes of sheets or speeds of press and the
consequent variation in the resistance offered by the air to the passage of the sheet
through it. The fly fingers f, and the sector-gear wheel F3 are secured to a rock-
shaft journalled in the frames A. All the parts just described operate to
deliver the sheet from the second cylinder B¹ during its retrograde or non-printing
rotation and the cam F is so formed proportioned and angularly set upon the
shaft D, through the connections already described, to commence to move over to
the fly board C¹ when the whole of the sheet has passed upon the said fingers.
fingers will be away from the cylinder B' when the tail m of the sheet, passes by
the place occupied by the points of said fingers while at rest upon the rod f³ on
the direct or printing rotation of the cylinder B¹. This position of the said fingers
will therefore allow the tail of the sheet elevated upon the sheet supporting
fingers o, to pass unobstructed by said fingers. The cam F is is so placed however
as to bring the fingers f to rest upon the rod f³, by the time the cylinder B'
commences its retrograde or non-printing rotation, and the said fingers are so
placed as to cause their points to just clear the tympan or a thin strip of steel O
(Figure 4) upon the cylinder R¹ sufficiently for the sheet to pass between them and
the cylinder. The tail m of the sheet, elevated upon the sheet supporting fingers of
as shown in Figure 4 will thus pass upon the fingers f and be stripped by them
from the cylinder B₁ during the retrograde or non-printing rotation of said cylinder.
Figure 4 illustrates in side and end elevation the cylinder B'. In the said Figure
The

page_text: the cylinder-gripers c¹ are operated to open and close at the proper time in any of
the usual ways. In the end elevation m, indicates the tail of the sheet, and o, a
very thin strip of steel extending across the cylinder and tightly stretched in
contact with the blanket or tympan which covers the said cylinder. The said
strip o is thus stretched by means of the adjustable slotted clamps o¹, which may
be secured in any position on the circumference of the said cylinder B¹, to suit
different lengths of sheet by means of the screws o² and screw holes o³. The strip
of steel o, is rivetted to the clamps o¹, and the latter fit into grooves, one at each
end of the cylinder B¹, next to the cylinder bearers B³. These grooves are bevelled
on their inner sides, as shewn, for the purpose of tightly stretching the steel strip o,
in contact with the blanket or tympan, the parts o¹ and 0%, being below the
impression surface of the cylinder. The thin strip o has formed on one of its edges
towards the tail of the sheet m, a series of stationary sheet-supporting fingers o*,
curved up slightly from the cylinder surface, and the said strip o with its sheet-
supporting fingers 0% is so placed (depending upon the length of sheet) that the
tail m of the sheet shall lie upon the slightly raised fingers 0 and the strip o and
fingers o* are so placed that only the points of the fingers o¹ remain under the
tail m of the sheet, on which there is nearly always an unprinted margin. All
these said parts will therefore clear those parts which make the impression, and
as such parts are required to be only type-high upon the bed the chase, furniture
and the like being on a lower plane the strip o and fingers o* can come in
contact with no obstructions in passing through the impression. The object of
keeping the tail m of the sheet slightly raised by the fingers o' is to ensure the
entrance of the sheet upon the points of the fingers ƒ as the cylinder B¹
commences its retrograde or non-printing rotation. A small shaft 2 is supported in
slotted bearings in the frames A, in order to allow it to rise and fall with the
cylinder B¹, The said shaft carries two or more pressure rollers or wheels j³ bearing
by their own weight only upon the cylinder B' and adjusted on the said shaft j² so
as to run upon the unprinted margins of the sheet. A similar shaft j (figures 1
and 2) carries two or more similar rollers or wheels j' bearing upon the first
impression cylinder B and runs in similar slotted bearings in the frames A. Two
levers are each pivotted at one end to the frames A, by the pivots j" the central
of the said levers resting upon the tops of the cylinder side rods D¹. The
extended journals of the shaftj rest upon the free ends of the levers j10, and cause
friction between the cylinder tympans and the sheets and thereby ensure the
passage of the sheets fully upon the finger f and f¹. In the case of the cylinder B¹
(Figures 1 and 2) the sheet is required to pass its whole length upon the fingers j
and the rollers j³ may remain in contact with the cylinder or the sheet upon it,
during the whole of the retrograde or non-printing rotation of the cylinder, the
journals of the shaft j resting in the bottoms of their slotted bearings when the
cylinder is depressed and printing. In the case of the cylinder B, the sheets run
down the fingers f', only during the last part of the direct or printing rotation of
the cylinder, a portion of the tail end of the sheet still remaining upon the cylinder
at the termination of its direct rotation. At this time by the action of raising the
cylinder B to clear the form for the retrogade rotation, the lever j¹0 is raised by
the cylinder side rod D¹ so as to lift the shaft j and with it the rollers j¹ from the
surface of the cylinder (or from the sheet upon it) to allow the remainder of the
sheet to be withdrawn from the cylinder B, by the gripers of the cylinder B¹,
without resistance from the rollers which would hold the sheet in contact with
the cylinder B (then reversed and running in the wrong direction for the delivery
of the sheet) if the said rollers were to remain in contact with the sheet and press
it against the retrograding or retreating cylinder.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7 the gripers and the sheet lifter fingers for the cylinder B
are indicated respectively by the letters K', and L. The said lifter fingers are thin
strips of steel, slotted except at their ends to embrace the tongues of the said
gripers. The inner or fixed ends of the lifter fingers L, are held in a slotted
shank L and project a short distance into a corresponding narrow groove in the

page_text: rod L' as shown at L Figure 7 and thus act as a feather or key to prevent the
shank L³ from rotating upon the rod or shaft L. The shank L' fits so as to slide
easily upon the rod L₁ so that in making lateral adjustments of the gripers K' upon
the said rod the lifter fingers L may accompany them without other adjustment
the slots in the said fingers preventing any lateral motion in them while in
operation, by reason of the tongues of the gripers acting in and through the said
slots as guides for the said fingers. The rod L¹ is prevented from rotating by a
small arm L secured to it at one of its ends and held in place by a pin or screw Lº,
by removing which the rod with its lifter fingers L may be rotated away from the
griper edge of the cylinder B, when the gripers K¹ are opened for the purpose of
access to the tympan or other cylinder covering. The free ends of the gripers K'
fall upon the unslotted portion of the fingers L, when the gripers are closed, the
fingers then lying upon the tympan, and thus the sheet is clamped between the
upper sides of the fingers L and the under sides of the gripers K¹. The hubs of
the gripers K are wider than the tongues, and the fingers L have the same width
as the hubs of the said gripers at each side. Upon the hub of the gripers K' are
formed cams or cam-shaped projections K² and the narrow sides of the fingers L
lie upon the hubs of the gripers K'. As the said gripers are opened by the usual
mechanism the cams K³ cause the fingers L to rise by the springing of the fingers
carrying with them the griper edge or head of the sheet resting upon them. By
the time the gripers K are wide open, as shown in section in Figure 5, the
fingers L are again lowered to rest upon the tympan or covering of cylinder B.
When the gripers K³ are again closed to seize the sheet the fingers L are again
lifted during that part of the cylinders retrograde on non-printing rotation just
preceding the seizing of the sheet, but resume their places again upon the tympan
before the gripers K₁ close upon the sheet inserted between them and the said
fingers.
In Figure 8 the edges of the cylinder gripers and lifter fingers are shewn in
section with the lifter fingers spaced between the gripers, the sheet being shewn
under the gripers and over the lifter fingers, as is practiced in the older methods.
The objection to such method is, as clearly seen in the said Figure that the sheet is
forced into a corrugated or distorted form at the griper edge, thus interfering with
accurate and certain lateral register. Figure 9 illustrates the sheet in a straight
line at its griper edge, as is the case when clamped directly on the top of the
fingers L, as provided for in the parts shewn in Figures 5, 6, and 7. The object
of which provision is fully carried out by the said means and the tendency to
distortion of sheet, and inaccuracy of lateral register due to the old arrangement
are entirely obviated
The web cutting and folding apparatus is illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12,
and 13
The shaft D has a continuation d supported at its end in a suitable bracket or
bearing d' attached to the frame A¹. The vertical shaft is similarly supported
in bearings and receives motion from the shaft d by means of the bevel gear
wheels ds and d. A horizontal shaft journalled in the frames A receives motion
from the shaft d² by means of the bevel gear wheels and d. The shaft d³
carries on the inside of the frames A, a spur wheel d' engaging with a similar
spur wheel do upon a shaft de parallel with the shaft d and similarly journalled
in the frames A. The shaft do, carries a cylinder d", with a groove or slot d¹³
parallel with its axis and a series of shallow circumferential grooves ¹³ into which
the points of a series of stripper fingers d enter. The shaft d³ carries a cylinder
dis (Figure 12) which has secured therein a serrated knife do parallel with its
axis, and projecting beyond its periphery a sufficient distance, and so situated with
reference to the groove d¹² in the cylinder du and the gear wheels do do as to
enter the groove 12 at every revolution of the cylinders du and ds and cut the
web of paper p running from the roll p¹ into sheets of the proper length. The
roll p' is carried in brackets p² extending from the frames A and a leading
roller p³ is carried in similar brackets p* projecting from the frames A. A pressure

page_text: or feeding roller p³ is journalled in the frames A and is covered with a yielding
and frictional substance such as felt, cloth, or india rubber adjusted to press upon
the periphery of the cylinders d". The shaft j is journalled in slotted bearings
in the frames A and carries two or more pressure rollers j³. A second and parallel
shaft je carrying similar rollers jis also journalled in the frames A and a third
shaft parallel with the shaft je carries rollers 1º. The shaft jo is driven from the
pulley b on the shaft d by the bell b' and the shaft js by tapes or belts b² running
from the rollers to the rollers, these rollers acting as pulleys. Two levers jo
are pivotted upon studs j fixed in the frames A. their longer arms resting upon
the tops of the side rods D17 and under the lugs 12 projecting inwardly from the
side rods D. The extremities of the longer arms of the levers 10 operate to raise
and lower the shaft j. with its rollers as already explained in the description of
Figures 1 and 3. The journals of the shaft j¹ rest upon the extremities of the
shorter arms of the levers 10 by which means the shaft and its rollers are raised
and lowered at the proper times by the raising and lowering of the side rods D¹7,
the shaft being raised when the shaft j is down. The shafts j and with the
tapes or belts b² serve to convey the web p before being separated by the knife (10
to and between the rollers 7 or between their tapes or belts and the pressure
rollers which latter convey the sheet to the gripers of the cylinder B after the
knife die has separated the said sheet from the web p. The rollers j being lifted
from the sheets by the depression of the side rods D at the time the gripers of
the cylinder B seize the leading edge of the sheet the severed sheet is carried by
the cylinder B at its own velocity without obstruction from the rollers . The
web of paper p runs under the feeding roller p³, between it and the cylinder ¹¹
over the top of the said cylinder and between it and the cylinder d the circum-
ferences of which cylinders are each exactly equal to the length of the sheet to
be printed. A pair of levers g are secured to the rock-shaft g2 journalled in the
frames A and carrying a friction brake g³ pivotted to the lower ends of the said
levers and pressing against the roll p¹ by means of the lever arm g' secured to the
outer end of the said rock shaft and carrying an adjustable weight W'. The
object of these last described parts is to prevent the too rapid rotation of the roll
of paper p
In the folding attachment or apparatus a vertical shaft driven from another
shaft G by means of bevel gear wheels h', h² carries on its upper end a pulley ³
which by means of the belt and pulley 5 imparts motion to one of a pair of
vertical rollers for making the first fold in the printed sheet the whole being
carried in a suitable framework built upon or forming extensions of the frames A
of the machine. The remainder of the apparatus for making the succeeding folds
and delivering the folded sheets may be performed in many well known ways
depending upon the number location and order of succession of the folds to be
made. To the rock shaft f2 is secured a folding blade f in common with and
forming one of the series of fly-fingers f. The sheet-stop f limits the passage of
the sheet down the fingers f. and prevents it from dropping further down upon
the said fingers during the oscillation of the fly (composed of said fingers and the
folding blade f) from its position of rest upon the rod f³ over to the folding
rollers to which it delivers the sheet. The cam F in this arrangement is a
closed or box cam similar to the cams D³ and D* the roller upon the sliding bar F2
carrying it both up and down without the instrumentality of a weight W. Two
of the fingers f adjoining the folding blade f4 are placed far enough from the said
blade to permit of the folding rollers entering about to the depth of their semi-
diameters between the said fingers, the blade f* then passing between the rollers ho,
to crease and drive the sheet between them for the first fold, as shown in Figure 13,
in which the folding rollers 8 and the fly fingers fare illustrated in transverse
section, with the said fingers in position for delivering the sheet to the rollers, the
form and position of the sheet at the time of entering said rollers being also
shewn.
In presses of small dimensions, built upon the above described principle, sufficient

page_text: space cannot be had, under the fingers fl for an ink fountain distributing rollers
and other parts. In such cases the whole inking apparatus including the form
rollers R may be placed at the back of the cylinder B under the feed board C
(Figure 1) or under the fingers d (Figure 10) where there is ample room for such
purpose, in which case the arrangement of the bearers B³ and B*, may be dispensed
with, the form belonging to one cylinder in such an arrangement not running under
the form-rollers belonging to the other form.
The complete operation of this machine is as follows:-that is to say the sheet
fed from the feed-board to the usual guides, is taken thence by the gripers K¹ of
the cylinder B, just as the said cylinder comes practically to rest, by reason of
the crank G having reached its "dead centre "furthest to the right, correct
register is thus ensured, as all the parts connected with the seizure of the sheet
have only a slight motion. The crank G now commences to rotate and to move
the bed B2 upon its forward or printing stroke for the cylinder B. The cam D³
through its connections already described, having at this point caused the cylinder B
to descend into position to inake the impression, the cam D, through its con-
nections, simultaneously raises the cylinder B to clear the form, and the bed B2
causes the cylinders B and B both to rotate in the same direction. The cylinder B¹
at the commencement of the stroke now described, having just completed the
printing of the second side of the preceding sheet performs its retrograde rotation
during the passage of the crank G, from its right to its left hand centre, and
delivers the preceding sheet upon the fingers f and also brings its gripers at the
termination of this retrograde rotation into position at the lower ends of the
fingers to seize the advancing edge of the sheet coming from the cylinder B.
During this same passage of the crank G or stroke of the bed B3, the cylinder B
prints the first side of the sheet and at the completion of its first completo
revolution the gripers K¹ are opened The lifter fingers L then raise the advancing
edge of the sheet upon the upper points of the fingers f' down which it passes by
the performance of the last fractional part of a revolution of the cylinder B, (the
said sheet being driven by the pressure of the rollers j¹ at this time resting upon
it) the head of the sheet reaching the bottom of the fingers f¹ just as the gripers
of the cylinder B₁ arrive in place to grasp it. At this time all these parts liave
come to a state of minimum inotion by reason of the crank G having arrived upon
its "dead centre" at the left. Thus the sheet is seized a second time under
conditions ensuring correct register upon the second cylinder B₁ the highest speed
attainable by the machine as a whole, in no wise interfering with said register. At
this point the cylinder B is raised to clear the form, and the cylinder B¹ depressed
to make its impression by the cams D³ and D, as before described. The raising of
the cylinder B through the instrumentality of the levers j¹0 releases the rollers j¹
from the sheet, a part of which sheet still remains upon the cylinder B, thus
allowing the gripers of the cylinder B¹ to draw the sheet unobstructed entirely
from the surface of the cylinder B, and down the fingers f¹. The crank G con-
tinuing its rotation back to its starting point, the cylinder B now down, prints
the second side of the sheet and continues to rotate sufficiently more than one
complete revolution to bring the tail m of the sheets above the points of the
fingers the said tail end of the sheet in the meantime resting upon the sheet
supporting fingers 0 until the cylinder B commences to perform its retrograde
rotation to the position required to take another sheet. At this time through its
connections already described, the cam F has just brought the fly fingers f to rest
upon the rod f³, the forin of said cam being such as to retain them there until
(another revolution of the crank G commencing) the sheet has been passed,
tail-first down the fingers f by the said retrogression of the cylinder B₁ to the
stop f³ when the cam F through its connections causes the fly fingers f to describo
an arc over to the fly board C (Figure 1) delivering the sheet thereon and then
again returning it, at the proper time to the stop-rod f³ to receive the succeeding
sheet. The arrangement and operation of the equilibrating weights has been

page_text: sufficiently explained in the description of the weights themselves and their
connections already given.
In the arrangement of press illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 for printing
from a continuous web or roll of paper and delivering to a folder attachment the
operations of the press proper are the same as those just described. By the
additional attachments, however, as has already been explained in detail, the
sheets are automatically cut from the web and fed to the gripers of the cylinder B,
but the fly fingers f with their folding blade ƒ perform a shorter arc of vibration
in delivering the sheets to the vertical folding rollers he than if delivering flat upon
a fly board, the cam F being properly proportioned formed and adjusted to impart
the necessary throw of the fly, in either case. It is obvious that these presses
may be arranged to print either from the continuous web and deliver flat upon a
fly-board, or from sheets separately fed from a feed-board and delivered to a folder
by the attachment of such proper parts as have been herein before described.
By means of the above described system and arrangement of parts there is
produced at a comparatively small cost, a machine capable of rapidly printing
newspapers or other work, on both sides, fed either from separate sheets or from a
continuous web, and delivered either flat or to a folder, the work being printed
from the original type form without the expense of, or time consumed in, stereotyping
the forms and preparing the stereotype plates for the press.
I do not confine myself to the methods described for imparting motion to the fly
fingers not for raising and lowering the impression cylinders, nor for actuating the
vertical folding rollers, as all of these motions or movements may be effected in
many well known ways.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it understood
that I claim-
First. In a perfecting printing press, the combination, with one reciprocating
type bed carrying two forms, of two impression cylinders geared to and con-
tinuously rotated in opposite directions by the said bed, and arranged substantially
as described so that one cylinder takes the sheet at or near its top when practically
at rest for printing the first side and the other cylinder takes the sheet at or near
its bottom, when practically at rest as delivered from the top of the first cylinder,
for printing the second side of the said sheet, substantially as, and for the purposes,
set forth.
Second. In a perfecting printing press, the combination, with one reciprocating
type bed carrying two forms, of two impression cylinders, and two sets or series of
fingers or strippers all arranged and operating substantially as described, so that
one cylinder delivers each sheet head first from its upper side to and upon one set
of the said fingers or strippers inclined to the lower side of the other or second
cylinder, the said sheet being taken by the second cylinder and delivered tail first
upon the second set of fingers or strippers, substantially as, and for the purposes,
set forth.
Third. In a perfecting printing press, the combination, with one reciprocating
type-bed carrying two forms, of one or more reciprocating weights provided with
a rack or racks, and one or more gear-wheels running upon a stationary stud or
studs and geared to the said rack and to a rack or racks attached to the type bed,
the said weights being so proportioned as to equilibrate the momentum of the
reciprocating bed and attached parts, substantially as set forth.
Fourth. In a perfecting printing press constructed to print from two forms upon
a reciprocating type-bed, the combination, with two impression cylinders con-
tinuously geared to and rotated by the said bed, of an automatic feeding and sheet
cutting apparatus, consisting of sheet cutting cylinders d" and d, the pressure or
feeding roller p³, the strippers or fingers d, the tape rollers j' and ', their tapes b²
and the lifting pressure or feed rollers j³, whereby paper in the roll is automatically

page_text: fed to the machine, cut into sheets, and the said sheets fed to the first impression
cylinder, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. In a cylinder printing press, the combination, with cylinder gripers
provided with cam-shaped hubs, of sheet lifter fingers consisting of thin slotted
blades resting upon the said hubs, whereby the sheet is griped between the upper
face of the sheet lifter-fingers and the lower face of the gripers and the edge of the
sheet lifted from the surface of the cylinder by the operation of the gripers,
substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Tenth day of November in the year of Our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
W. ROB. LAKE (L.S.)