IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR LETTER PRESS PRINTING
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Soulby, of Ulverston, in the County
of Lancaster, Printer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR LETTER PRESS PRINTING,"
Sealed the 11th December 1852, and dated the 1st October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Soulby at
j the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st October 1852.
I, STEPHEN SOULBY do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR LETTER PRESS PRINTING"
be as follows:-
There are two kinds of printing machines now in use for letter press
printing. The simpler kind of the two is the common printing press,
which is worked by hand, and in which the form of type is placed on a
table which is run in and out under a flat printing surface, which (after
the paper to be printed is properly placed) is, by means of levers or
other mechanical contrivances, brought down on to the form of tyre,
and by pressure transfers the impression from the surface of type to
the paper.
The operation of running the table in and out, together
with the necessary operations of inking the type and placing and

page_text: removing the paper, all take such an amount of time that the number
of impressions the most skilful and expert workman can print per
hour is necessarily very limited. To remedy this inconvenience self-
acting printing machines have been devised; and although a greatly
increased number of impressions can be obtained within a given time
by means of these machines, yet the cost of such machines is very great,
and the power necessary to work them is such that a steam engine, or
some other powerful agent, is required to drive the machine.
In the self-acting machine, as in the ordinary printing press, the
form of type is moved to and fro under the impression surfaces, which
in the self-acting machine are usually cylindrical, whereas in the hand
printing press it is always flat. As the form of type and the table on
which it is placed are weighty, it requires considerable power to move
them to and fro; and this has been found so great an objection that
many attempts have been made to obviate the difficulty. For this
purpose the type has been fixed on a revolving cylindrical surface, and
made to rotate in contact with certain other cylinders which carry the
paper into the machine, and press it against the type, and therefore
are called impression cylinders. By this means the whole of the ope-
rations are carried on without the jar incidental to a machine with a
reciprocating bed.
The principle of the machine for which I desire a Patent differs not
only from the ordinary hand press, but also from all cylindrical or
rotatory machines now in use, inasmuch as the table and type-form are
fixed and immoveable on the stationary frame which supports the
whole of the machinery, and the impression roller, with the inking
apparatus attached, is mounted in a travelling frame which runs on
V, guides, and is furnished with a hand rail whereby it is drawn to
and fro over the form, and thereby produces the impression on the
paper which is drawn in by the impression cylinder.
In order to distribute the ink properly over the surface of the type,
a zigzag or endway motion is communicated to the inking rollers as
they run to and fro over the type. It should also be here observed,
that the impression cylinder is mounted in bearings at the end of a
pair of levers, one of which is placed on each side of the travelling
+

page_text: frame, and these parts are so arranged that when the frame is driven
back to the feeding apparatus, in order to enable the impression,
cylinder to take another sheet of paper from the pile on the table,
then the cylinder is lifted up, and passes over the form without touching
the type; but immediately it lays hold of a sheet and is drawn back
again it descends, and on coming into contact with the form it rolls
over the type, and by that means trausfers an impression from the type
to the sheet of paper that was carried in. The weight of the moving
parts of this machine is therefore considerably less, and more easy to
work, than in those machines in which the table and form are driven
under a cylinder; consequently there is a great economy of working
power, and therefore a machine constructed according to my improve-
ments can be easily worked by hand labor. The distance the move
able frame with the impression cylinder has to travel is regulated by
the length or size of the form required to be printed, and therefore
the smaller the size of the form the greater the number of impres-
sions that can be worked within a given time. By the inking appa-
ratus being attached to the frame which carries the impression roller,
it will only be necessary to drive the moveable frame the exact length
of the form. The pressure of the impression roller on the form is
obtained, to a certain extent, by its own weight, and also by the
employment of levers connected to the moving frame of the machine;
and the pressure may be increased, if required, by the employment of
other levers and screws, as will be understood by any competent
mechanic acquainted with this description of machinery.
I would here observe, that various colours may be printed in this
machine at the same time, by dividing the inking trough by partitions
into several compartments, each having a different coloured ink; but
when this is done, the inking rollers must not have the endway or
zigzag motion communicated to them.
The conducting tapes can be adjusted to any description or size of
work in a few minutes. Although I propose to work the machine by
hand labour for forms of moderate size, yet it may sometimes be found
advisable to apply steam power thereto. This can easily be done, as all
the several parts are so arranged to operate in respect or relation to

page_text: each other, that it will only be necessary to communicate a recipro-
cating motion to the frame which carries the impression cylinder and
inking apparatus, and to feed in the paper. All the other parts of the
machine are actuated by this motion. In order to cause the travelling
frame (which carries the impression cylinder) to travel to and fro only
the required distance, I communicate motion from a crank or eccentric
on the driving shaft to the travelling frame by means of a rod, which
is capable of being adjusted so as to lengthen or shorten the stroke,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Stephen Soulby in the Great Seal Patent Office,
on the 30th March 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
STEPHEN SOULBY, of Ulverston, in the County of Lancaster, Printer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Stephen Soulby, Her special license that I, the
said Stephen Soulby, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Stephen Soulby, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Iuvention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
LETTER PRESS PRINTING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Stephen Soulby, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next, and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Stephen Soulby, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereou (that is
to say):
There are two kinds of printing machines now in use for letter press
printing. The simpler kind of the two is the common printing press
which is worked by hand, and in which the form of type is placed on a
table that is run in and out under a flat printing surface, which (after
the paper to be printed is properly placed) is, by means of levers or
other mechanical contrivances, brought down on to the form of type,
and by pressure transfers the impression from the surface of type to the
paper. The operation of running the table in and out, together with
the necessary operations of inking the type and placing the paper in
and removing it from the machine, all take such an amount of time
that the number of impressions the most skilful and expert workman
can print per hour is necessarily very limited. To remedy this incon-
venience, self-acting printing machines have been devised; and
although a greatly increased number of impressions can be obtained
within a given time by means of these machines, yet the cost of such
machines, is very.great, and the power necessary to work then is such
that a steam engine, or some other powerful agent, is required to drive
the machine. In the self-acting machine, as in the ordinary printing
press, the form of type is usually moved to and fro under the impres-
sion surfaces, which in the self-acting machine are usually cylindrical,
whereas in the band printing press the impression surface is always
As the form of type and the table on which it is placed are
weighty, considerable power is required to move them to and fro; and
this has been found so great an objection that many attempts have
been made to obviate the difficulty. For this purpose the type has
been fixed on a revolving cylindrical surface, and made to rotate in
contact with certain other cylinders which carry the paper into the
machine, and press it against the type, and therefore are called "im-
pression cylinders;" by this means the whole of the operations. are
flat.

page_text: carried on without the jar incidental to a machine with a reciprocating
bed.
The principle of the machine which forms the subject of the present
Invention differs not only from the ordinary hand press, but also from
the cylindrical or rotatory machines now in use, inasmuch as the table
and type-form are fixed and immoveable on the stationary frame which
supports the whole of the machinery, and the impression roller, with
the inking apparatus attached, is mounted in a travelling frame which
runs on V guides, and is furnished with a hand rail whereby it can be
drawn to and fro over the forin, and thereby produce the impression
on the paper which is drawn in by the impression cylinder.
In order to distribute the ink properly over the surface of the type,
a zigzag or end-way motion is communicated to the inking rollers as
they run to and fro over the type. It should also be here observed,
that the impression cylinder is mounted in bearings at the end of a
pair of levers, one of which is placed on each side of the travelling
frame; and these parts are so arranged that when the frame is driven
back to the feeding apparatus, in order to enable the impression
cylinder to take another sheet of paper from the pile on the table,
then the cylinder is lifted up and passes over the form without touching
the type, but immediately it lays hold of a sheet and is drawn back
again it descends, and on coming into contact with the form it rolls
over the type, and by that means transfers an impression from the type
to the sheet of paper that was carried in. The weight of the moving
parts of this machine is therefore considerably less, and more easy to
work than in those machines in which the table and form are driven
under a cylinder; consequently, there is a great economy of working
power, and therefore a machine constructed according to my improve-
The distance the move-
ments can be easily worked by hand labor.
able frame with the impression cylinder has to travel can be regulated
to the length or size of the form required to be printed, and therefore
the smaller the size of the form the greater the number of impressions
that can be worked within a given time. By the inking apparatus
being attached to the frame which carries the impression roller, it wil
only be necessary to drive the moveable frame the exact length of the

page_text: form.
The pressure of the impression roller on the form is obtained,
to a certain extent, by its own weight, and by the employment of levers
connected to the moving frame of the machine; the pressure may be
increased, if required, as will be understood by any competent mechanic
acquainted with this description of machinery.
I would here observe, that various colors may be printed in this
machine at the same time, by dividing the inking trough, by par-
titions, into several compartments, each having a different colored ink.
Having briefly explained, in general terms, the nature and object
of my improvements, I will now proceed to describe more minutely the
construction and operation of the several parts, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, in which Fig. 1; represents a side
elevation of the machine complete. Fig. 2, a plan or bird's eye view,
as seen from above; and Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section. ab, a, a, a,
is the fixed framework of the machine. b, b, the moveable or tra-
velling framework which supports the principal working parts, and is
made to run in or on horizontal guides c, c, c, c, fixed or attached to
the fixed framework. The impression cylinder d, is mounted in bear-
ings made in the lever frame e, e, e, e, which turns on a centre e*,
Fig. 1. This centre or fulcrum being fixed on or attached to the
upright standards of the travelling frame b, b the lever frame e, e,
and impression cylinder d, are of course caused to travel with it.
The whole system of inking apparatus, consisting of the ink trough *1,
distributing and inking rollers i, i, i, i, i, seen by dots in Fig. 1, and
other parts, is also attached to the upright standards of the travelling
frame b, b; the upper roller *, is caused to revolve (as the frames b,
and e, are moved to and fro) by means of the cord or band 1, passing
round the pullies 2, on the axle of the roller' *2. The ink trough
has a long narrow slot made along the bottom, so as to supply the ink
to the first ink roller. The inking apparatus is also furnished with a
pair of additional rollers *, *, which are made to roll over the form
of type before and after the inking roller for the purpose of more
evenly distributing the ink, and also taking up and removing any dust,
dirt, or other extraneous matters that may get on to the surface of the
type. The bed f, f, of the machine (and on which the form of type

page_text: of a vertical arm m, to the slotted
there is a square steadying piece,
running in the guides e, maintains
f", f, is placed,) is stationary, but is adjustable from beneath by
means of the set screws g, g, two of which are placed on each side of
the machine. The paper to be printed is fed into the machine from a
table j, j, which is supported at one end of the stationary framing.
When the machine is to be worked by steam power, the moveable or
travelling frame b, b, with the inking apparatus i, i, and the impression
cylinder or roller d, together with its appendages, is moved backwards
and forwards over the stationary form of type by means of the adjust-
able cranks, rods, and levers k, k, and l, t, which are actuated by the
gearing below. The crank arms and levers are slotted, in order to
allow of the extent of motion of the frames b, and e, being varied to
suit the size of the form of type. One end of the arms of the lever
frame e, e, is connected by means
rods, by means of the stud n:
shewn by dots, in Fig. 1, which, by
the arms in a horizontal position, and yet admits of the arms being
pushed back out of the vertical line, as shewn by dots in Fig. 1. At
one end of the rods 1, is made a slot o, which works on a pin p, fixed
on the side of the upright standards of the travelling frame b; the
other end of the rod 1, being pierced with holes, so as to allow of the
frames being worked at all times as near the paper board j, as possible.
The length of the slot o, is capable of being adjusted by means of the
set screw 9, for the purpose of regulating the length of the action of
the rods, in bringing the arms m, into the dotted position when
raising the printing roller. To the lower part of the travelling frame b,
is bolted an arm r, which supports a vibrating levers, the upper end of
which is forked, and embraces a rod which is connected with the
spindles of the two distributing rollers i, i, which distribute the ink
over the surface of the composition rollers, whereby the form of type
is supplied with ink. The lower end of the lever s, is also forked,
and embraces a horizontal rod or bar t, which is fixed to arms pro-
jecting from the side standards of the machine, and is placed obliquely,
as seen in the plan view; so that as the travelling frame b, moves to
and fro, and carries with it the vibrating lever s, s, the latter may be
vibrated on its centre, and thus made to communicate a zigzag motion

page_text: to the distributing rollers i, i. It will now be seen that when the rods
1, 1, are drawn back in the direction of the arrow, the end of the lever
frame e, will be pulled down by the link m, into the position shewn by
dots in Fig. 1, and will consequently raise up the opposite end of the
lever frame, and lift the impression roller 7, above the level of the
form of type f. The travelling frame b, may then be pushed forward
over the form of type to the paper table, in order to allow the impres-
sion roller or cylinder d, to take in another sheet of paper. The edge
of the sheet of paper is pushed forward by the attendant to a certain
mark on the table, so as to allow the tapes and rollers on the rods u,
to take hold of the edge of the sheet. To facilitate this operation the
rod u, is mounted in rocking arms v, v, and has an up and down or
lifting motion communicated to it by means of the connecting rod w,
which is attached at one end to the arms », and at the other end to the
vertical arm m, as seen best in Fig. 1.
It will now be understood that when the rods 1, l, are drawn back in
the direction of the arrow, the impression cylinder d, will be lifted up
and the rollers and tapes on the rod u, will be raised from the surface
of the impression cylinder or roller; then by pushing forward the
travelling frame b, up to the paper table i, the edge of the sheet of
paper will be inserted between the small rollers of the rod u, and the
impression cylinder, and when the arms 1, 1, are drawn back again,
their first action will be to pull back the vertical arm m, and thereby
cause the rollers of the rod u, and also the impression cylinder, to
descend and assume their original position; by this means the small
rollers of the rod u, press the paper on to the impression cylinder; and
as the latter is made to rotate by friction of contact with the fixed
wooden rails placed upon the plate f, but not shewn, the paper is
carried round the impression cylinder, and is by the onward motion
of the travelling frame b, b, brought into contact with the form of
type, which has been previously supplied with ink by the rollers of the
inking apparatus, which, both at their forward and backward motion,
are made to roll over the type. From this arrangement and construc-
tion of the working parts it will be seen that the pressure of the
impression cylinder on the type is not due simply to its own weight,

page_text: but, being mounted at one end of a vibrating lever, the pressure of the
cylinder is increased by the power necessary to be exerted in moving
the travelling frame and all its appendages.
In printing a form of type consisting of several pages, with channels
or wide spaces between them, the printing cylinder d, would, if not
prevented, bump up and down over the forms of type into the channels,
and thereby spoil the impression. This may be prevented by placing
rails alongside of the form for the ends of the printing cylinder to
run upon, or, if preferred, rollers or wheels, as at 2, Fig. 1, may be
mounted at one end of the lever frame e, and made to run on V guides,
so as to support the frame e, when the impression cylinder is not in
contact with the form of type.
It will be seen, upon referring to Figs. 1, and 2, that, instead of the
arms of the lever frame e, being jointed direct to the upper end of the
vertical arm m, this connection is effected by means of adjusting screws
which will admit of the arms e, being screwed up or down, so
regulate with nicety the pressure of the cylinder at the opposite end of
the frame e; by this means a greater or less pressure on the face of the
type may be given at either end of the cylinder.
as to
The bed on which the form of type is placed also admits of nice
adjustment by means of the screws 9, 9; for instance, if, upon exami-
nation of a proof, it should be found that any particular part of the
form (say, for example, one corner thereof,) is too pale in consequence
of a deficiency of pressure, this defect can be easily rectified by simply
slightly raising that part of the bed by means of one of the screws
beneath that particular part.
I have not thought it necessary to explain the position, arrange-
inent, and operation of the strings or tapes whereby the paper to be
printed is conducted into, through, and out of the machine, as the
arrangements I have adopted for these purposes are similar in their
nature to those usually employed in printing machines for similar
purposes, and therefore need no particular and detailed explanation,
as any intelligent mechanic conversant with the construction and
operation of printing machines will be able to adapt these parts with
facility.

page_text: From the above description it will be seen that in the operation of
printing it will only be necessary to traverse the travelling frame and.
its appendages a few inches beyond the length of the form of type, as
the inking apparatus is carried with the impression cylinder, and the.
distance the travelling frame will have to move will depend upon the
length of the form; the same machine may, therefore, without great,
inconvenience, be employed to print large or small forms, or, in fact
any form less than the dimensions of the bed, the speed of the printing
operation, of course, increasing with the decrease in the size of the
form, as the distance to be travelled over will, of course, be diminished.
In order to prevent the workman (when the machine is driven by hand
labor, as shewn by dots in Fig. 1,) from moving the travelling frame
too far either way, I place wooden stops y, at one end of the side
grooves c, c, of the machine. These stops are made capable of adjust-
ment in the grooves c, c, and may be fixed at any point, so that when
working a small form they will prevent the workman from pulling back
the travelling frame further than is necessary.
Having now described my improvements in printing, and the best
means with which I am at present acquainted for carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not mean or intend
to confine myself rigidly to the precise arrangement of parts herein
shewn and described, as they may perhaps be varied without departing
from the nature and object of my Invention; but that which I consider
to be new, and therefore wish to claim as the Invention secured to me
by Letters Patent, is, -
First, the general arrangement of the machine, as herein shewn and
described.
Second, mounting the impression roller or cylinder in a lever frame,
which, being moveable, admits of the roller or cylinder being moved
backwards and forwards over the form of type, which remains stationary
on its bed.
I claim particularly the arrangement shewn, or any mere modifica-
tion thereof whereby the impression cylinder, when moved forward
with the paper to be printed, is made to press on the surface of the

page_text: type, and, when moved back with the printed sheet, is lifted and carried
over the type without touching the same.
'Third, I claim the combination of the inking apparatus with the
impression roller in one travelling frame, so arranged and operated that
it may be made to traverse any required distance according to the size
or dimensions of the form of type to be printed. I also claim adjust-
ing the bed on which the form of type is placed, as shewn and
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Soulby, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three
STEPHEN SOULBY. (L.S.)