IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REPRODUCING WRITING, DRAWINGS, COLOURED PATTERNS, AND THE LIKE IN ONE OR MANY COLOURS, THE INVENTION BEING ALSO SUITED FOR COLOURING PAPER."
Year: 1879

page_text: "
LETTERS PATENT to Frank Wirth, of the Firm of Wirth and Company,
Patent Solicitors, at Frankfort on the Main, in the Empire of Gormany, for
the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REPRODUCING WRITING,
DRAWINGS, COLOURED PATTERNS, AND THE LIKE IN ONE OR MANY COLOURS,
THE INVENTION BEING ALSO SUITED FOR COLOURING PAPER." A communi-
cation from Albert Ungerer and Friedrich Bazant, of Vienna, in the Empiro
of Austria.
Sealed the 27th December 1879, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 20th January 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank Wirth at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th January 1879.
FRANK WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth and Company, Patent Solicitors, at
Frankfort on the Main, in the Empire of Germany. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
RATUS FOR REPRODUCING WRITING, DRAWINGS, COLOURED PATTERNS, AND THE
LIKE IN ONE OR MANY COLOURS, THE INVENTION BEING ALSO SUITED FOR
COLOURING PAPER." [A communication from Albert Ungerer and Friedrich
Bazant, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria.]
This Invention relates to improvements in the method of an apparatus for repro-
ducing writing, drawings, colored patterns, and the like in ono or many colors, the
Invention being also suited for coloring paper.
The said apparatus is designed to reproduce any writing, drawing, pattern, or the
like produced with color, ink, or etching solution on any kind of material, such
as paper, leather, wood, stone, woven fabrics, metals, and other materials and
substances.
This reproduction is effected in one or many colours at one operation, and as
many copies can be produced as are required up to about sixty, or even more.
The said apparatus may also be used for coloring paper, leather, and the like,
either with or without producing a pattern on the material at the same time.
The said apparatus consists of one of the masses of materials hereinafter described
and the colors or inks suited to the same.
Writing, drawing, or the like intended for reproduction is first made on well
Price Ga

page_text: sized paper, and placed face downward on the reproducing mass or block, and gently
stroked with the hand on the back. In about one minute the paper can be removed,
and the device covering the face will be left on the mass or block.
The material on which the reproduction is to be effected has now only to be
placed upon the mass or block carrying the subject ("negative"), and gently pressed
upon the same, when on removing the same a clear and distinct copy of the subject
has been obtained, and this without any damping or wetting, and without use of a
press or any other apparatus. The number of copies is only limited by the reproductive
properties of the colour employed; thus when using so called methyl-violet some
sixty good copies may be obtained.
In order to produce coloured paper and the like the whole mass is covered with
color, which reproduces itself on the material pressed on the mass in the same
manner as above described.
In order to produce an imitation of marble the coloured mass is cut into pieces
when cold, then mixed, and more or less warmed until the whole receives an even
surface. Reproductions can be made from this mixture as long as there is any of
the mass of material left. If the colors are not wanted to run into each other no
more of the mass should be mixed than can be used in from 2 to 3 hours.
This method is especially suited for soft masses containing water, and consisting
of starch and glue, to which may be added stearine, paraffin, carnanbawase, or
similar materials, in order to be able to smooth the paper well after thoroughly
drying the same. By covering the mass with a stencil any pattern is easily
obtained.
Colours of less reproductive power can be used for this process than for the
reproduction of writings and drawings, as herein before described. Colored paper
can be produced much more cheaply by this method than by the methods hitherto
practiced.
The following is a list of materials suited to compose the negative, which materials
or substances may be used alone or in combination with any of the additional

page_text: Daryta
0
Every kind of soap may be used as a negative mass as long as the same is pure
and so dry as not to stick to paper.
The negative mass may be washed with water after having been used, and then
used for another reproduction. The writing or the like on the mass cannot be so
washed off, but has to be removed by washing off the substance of the mass with
the writing (or whatever may be the subject of reproduction) as deep as the latter
has penetrated into the mass. By adding glutinous substances, gum, and saccharine
matter this can be effected with cold water, otherwise warm water has to be used.
Powdered emulsive substance render the mass or block less transparent, and there-
fore the writing or other subject better seen. The more of the matter there is con-
tained in the mass the better the negative can be removed.
The compounding substances named under the letter e prevent the mass or block
from deteriorating, and the glycerine serves to take up the color, and prevents the
same from drying.
If the mass or block is to be used for several subjects, and therefore often washed,
a compound like those described under the Figures 4, 7, 8, and 10 should be used.
If on the other hand it is intended to use the mass or block for only one color as,
for instance, in the manufacture of coloured paper, a composition like one of the
others above named should be used.
Only soluble colors are to be used, and the greater the power of reproduction
they possess the better is the result. I name especially methylviolet, methylgreen,
methylblue, eosine, acetic rosanline, uranine, polychroit from saffron, nigrosine, and
induline, and suitable mixtures of these colours. The following I recommend:
Methyl-violet and polychroit for black; methylgreen and polychroit for green;

page_text: polychroit for yellow; polychroit and uranine for yellow; induline and nigrosine for
green.
These colors are to be used in as concentrated a form as possible after having
been dissolved in water, or in from 6 to 10 per cent. of spirits of wine. The con-
centration of the colours determines the shade of the same, as the chemical
construction of these colours is not always the same.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frank Wirth in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th January
1880.
FRANK WIRTH, of the Firm of Wirth and Company, Patent Solicitors, at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the Empire of Germany. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPA-
RATUS FOR REPRODUCING WRITING, DRAWINGS, COLOURED PATTERNS, AND THE
LIKE IN ONE OR MANY COLOURS, THE INVENTION BEING ALSO SUITED FOR
COLOURING PAPER." A communication from Albert Ungerer and Friedrich Bazant,
of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria
This Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for reproducing writing,
drawings, patterns, and the like in one or many colours, the said Invention being
also applicable for colouring or tinting paper.
The said apparatus is designed to reproduce any object or matter written, drawn,
or otherwise delineated or marked with colour, ink, or etching solution on the surface
of any paper, leather, wood, stone, woven fabric, metal, and other materials or
substances. This reproduction is effected in one or many colours at one operation,
and as many copies can be produced as are required, up to about sixty or more.
The said apparatus may also be used for colouring or tinting paper, leather, and
the like, either with or without producing a picture or pattern on the said paper or
other surface at the same time.
Tho said apparatus consists of a mass, block, or sheet composed of materials such
as are hereinafter described, the colours or inks suited to the same being employed
for writing or colouring.
The original writing, drawing, or other work intended for reproduction is first
made on well sized paper and placed face downward on the reproducing mass or
block and gently stroked with the hand on the back; in about one minute the
paper can be removed and a facsimile of the writing, drawing, or device thereon
will be left on the said mass or block; the latter with the subject thus produced
upon it is termed the negative. The paper or other material on which the reproduc-
tions are to be effected being now placed upon the said mass or negative is gently
pressed upon the same, and on removing the said paper or other material the latter
will be found to have received a clear and distinct copy of the subject without any
damping or wetting, and without the aid of a press or similar apparatus. The

page_text: number of copies is only limited by the reproductive properties of the colour
employed, thus when using so called methyl-violet about sixty good copies may be
obtained.
In order to produce coloured or tinted paper and the like the whole surface of
the mass is covered with colour which reproduces itself on the paper or other
material pressed on the mass in the manner above described.
In order to produce an imitation of marble the coloured mass is cut into pieces
when cold, then mixed, and more or less warmed until the whole surface becomes
even or uniform. The reproductions can be obtained from this mixture on paper or
other material as long as any of the mass of material remains. If the colours are
to be kept from running into each other no more of the mass should be mixed than
can be used in from two to three hours.
This method is especially suited for soft masses containing water and consisting
of starch and glue, to which may be added stearine, paraffine, carnauba wax, or
similar materials in order to be able to smooth the paper well after thoroughly
drying the same. By covering the mass with a stencil plate any pattern is easily
obtained. For this process I may use colours of less reproductive power than
those used for the reproduction of writings and drawings as herein before described.
Coloured paper can be produced much more cheaply by this Invention than by
the ordinary methods hitherto practised.
The following is a list of materials or substances to be used in the composition of
the mass or negative. They are to be boiled in water.
1. Agar agar or pararabin, also called Chinese gelatine.
6. Albumen.
Each of these materials or substances may be used singly, but must be mixed at
least with water, and mostly with glycerine, in order to make the gelatinous mass,
and each of these materials or substances may be used in combination with any of
those hereinafter called "additional substances," that is to say :-
a. Vegetable mucilage of lichens, island moss, marsh-mallow, flea-bane, and flax
seed, salep quince.
b. Dextrine, gum, sugar, tragacanth-gum.
c. Emulsions of fat, wax, paraffine, stearic acid, cerasine, ozokerit.
d. Barytes, plaster of Paris, chalk, clay, silicious earth, phosphate of lime,
magnesia, lead and zinc white.
e. Carbolic, salicylic, and benzoelic acids and their salts, quinine, camphor, thym
oil, or preparations of arsenic or mercury.
f. Glycerine.
The substances used are boiled with water until on cooling they form a mass
more or less firm which is run into trays or dishes, or upon slabs. When the
reproductions are to be made upon uneven surfaces, such for instance as pottery, the
mass constituting the negative is lifted up and pressed against the said surface.
Exact rules suitable in all cases for compounding the said mass cannot be given,
as the properties of the above named substances vary considerably according to
their quality and temperature. If the composition is to be used repeatedly it is
necessary that it should be soluble in water so that it may be washed, therefore gum
and saccharine substances are added. Glue is preferred to gelatine; agar agar and
gelatine form a mass not soluble in cold water.
It is important that the mass should have the proper consistency and amount of
liquid; the said mass or block must not be moist enough to stick to the paper, but
must separate readily from the same on the raising of the latter; on the other hand it
inust not be too dry, as in this case it will take but little colour from the original,
and the copies or reproductions will therefore be imperfect and faint.
When it has

page_text: to be used in a low temperature the mass or block should contain more water than
when it has to be used in a high temperature.
The following recipes are given as examples for mixing the said masses or blocks,
namely:-
(1). Agar agar 5 parts, water 150 parts, glycerine 10 parts.
(2). Corn starch 15 parts, water 60 parts, glycerine 20 parts, carbolic acid 3/10th
part.
(3). Gluo 1 part, water 1 to 2 parts, glycerine 3 to 5 parts according to temperature,
plaster of Paris 1 part, salicylic acid 1/200 part.
(4). Glue 1 part, water 4 to 6 parts according to the quality of the glue, sugar
'/, part, silicious earth or baryta /, part.
(5). Glue 1 part, starch 1 part, flax seed mucilage 6 parts, baryta 3 parts,
emulsion of oil, gum, and water 1 part.
(6). Pectine jelley, sugar, and glue, or isinglass and salicylic or benzoelic acid.
(7). Glue 3 parts, dry soap 1 part, glycerine 12 parts, water 10 parts, sugar
/ part, fine clay 3 parta.
(8). Glue 3 parts, water 6 parts, glycerine 9 parts, baryta 5, dextrine or sugar 1
part, carbolic acid '/40th part.
(9). Agar agar 5 parts, glue 15 parts, water 30 parts, glycerine 45 parts, baryta
40 parts.
The substance herein termed agar agar is a dried alga found in the Indian and
China Sens; when boiled in water it forms a gelatinous mass which is commonly
used for sizing paper.
(10). Soap may be used for the negative mass as long as the same is pure and so
dry as not to stick to the paper or other material.
The negative mass may be washed with water after having been used, and then
used for another reproduction. The writing or other matter or representation on
the mass cannot be washed off the surface, but has to be removed by washing off
the substance of the mass with the said writing, drawing, or other representation
to the depth to which the ink or colour bas penetrated the mass. By adding
glutinous substances, gum, and saccharine matter this washing can be effected with
cold water, otherwise warm water has to be used.
Powdered and emulsive substances render the mass or block less transparent, and
therefore the writing or other subject will be more clearly visible; the more of these
substances there is contained in the mass the greater will be the facility for washing
the negative.
The substances specified under the letter e in the above lists prevent the deteriora-
tion of the mass or block; the glycerine serves to take up the colour, and prevents
the drying of the mass.
If the mass or block is to be used for several subjects, and therefore often washed,
a compound like that described under the headings 4, 7, 8, and 10 should be used.
If on the other hand it is intended to use the mass or block for only one colour, as
for instance in the manufacture of coloured paper, a composition like one of the
other above named compounds should be used. I prefer to supply the composition
for use in metal trays, as shown in the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1
is a plan, Figures 2 and 3 are side views, and Figure 4 is a transverse section on the
line x, x, Figure 1, of the said trays with the composition in the same. a, a,
represent the trays, which are fastened together by means of hooks and eyes in
such a manner that the said trays will close somewhat in book form when not in
use, as shewn, thus preserving the composition from dust or dirt. Each tray is
supplied with composition b, and each one may be detached from the other when
required to be used.
Only soluble colours are to be used, and the greater power of reproduction they
possess the better will be the result. I find the following very advantageous,
namely:-Methylviolet, methylgreen, methylblue, eosine, acetic rosaniline, uranate,
polychroite from saffron, nigrosine, induline, and the like and suitable mixtures of

page_text: these colours. I recommend methylviolet and polychroito for blue black, methyl-
green and polychroite for green, polychroite for yellow, polychroite and uranate
for yellow, induline and nigrosine for grey.
These colours are to be used in as concentrated a condition as practicable after
having been dissolved in water, or in from 6 to 10 per cent. of spirits of wine. The
concentration of the colours determines their shade or tint, as the chemical con-
struction of these colours is not always the same.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I am aware of the patent of John Guy Wilson,
dated the 13th November 1878, No. 4606, and do not claim anything covered by
that Patent, and I wish it to be understood that I make no claim to the composition
of the mass described in the Specification of the said Patent, but I claim,-
First. The apparatus consisting of either or any of the substances specified under
the heads 1 to 6, with or without admixture of those enumerated under the heads
a tof formed into masses or blocks for the purpose of reproducing writing, drawings,
patterns, and the like in one or many colours, on paper or other substance, or for
colouring or tinting paper, leather, or the like by a dry process, as hereinbefore
described.
Second. The modification of the said apparatus for producing an imitation of
marble, as herein before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frank Wirth, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
FRANK WIRTH. (LS.)