IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING CALICOES AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
BEARD, of Egremont Place, New Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirteenth day of October, in the seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Beard, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Richard Beard, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Richard Beard, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exer-
cise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING CALICOES AND OTHER FABRICS,'
communicated to me by a certain Foreigner residing abroad; in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Richard Beard, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Beard, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:
The Invention relates to improvements in machinery for printing calicoes,
and other fabrics where relief printing rollers are employed, and the color is
supplied thereto by rollers sometimes called transınitting rollers, and also
sieve rollers, and the improvements consist of combining printing rollers, having
raised surfaces with the use of sieve rollers or transmitting rollers, the elas-
ticity of which is obtained by the use of glutinous or gelatinous matter, which
when in a jellied state will maintain its form yet readily yield to pressure, and
return to its form when the pressure is removed. And in order that the
Invention may be most fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to explain the means pursued in carrying out the Invention. I would,
however, first remark, that in the Specification of a former Patent granted
to me, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, I did describe an Invention, whereby
several colors might be transmitted by rollers on one axis to a printing roller
or cylinder, and I mention this circumstance in order to state that the present
Invention is applicable to such transmitting or sieve rollers as were there
described, as well as to a simple cylinder where only one color is to be
applied to a printing roller or cylinder used in combination therewith. In
constructing such transmitting rollers or sieve rollers, as heretofore practised,
the surfaces were made yielding by means of felt, several thickness of felt
being applied where a considerable degree of yielding and elasticity of surface
was desired to be obtained. Now, according to the present Invention, rollers
(whether suitable for applying one or more colors) are employed in com-
bination with printing rollers of a character very similar (in respect to the
elasticity of their surfaces) to the horizontal sieves used in block printing; for
the rollers, excepting the axes, are composed of a glutinous or gelatinous
composition in a state of stiff jelly, so that the rollers will keep their forms,
and yet readily yield when their covered surfaces are in contact with the
printing rollers or cylinders used in combination therewith, sieve cloth or
felt being covered over such elastic composition, the sieve cloth or felt
employed being of the ordinary description, and where the ends of the sieve
cloth meet they are drawn carefully together with a needle and thread; and
in order to prevent water or the fluids used in printing passing through the
felt or sieve cloth so as to injure the composition, I prefer that there should
be a thin coat of india rubber placed at the side of the felt or sieve cloth

page_text: which comes next the elastic composition, the composition being first covered
with oil case" similar to that used by block printers, or other means may be
resorted to for rendering the sieve cloth fluid-tight. By thus using an elastic
composition of a glutinous or gelatinous character formed into cylinders, and
covered with suitable seive cloth or felt, sieves may be employed in combination
with printing rollers or cylinders, which, being similar in their elasticity to
horizontal sieves for blocks, will render cylinder printing more resembling
the best block printing. The composition which I prefer to employ consists
of two to three pounds of glue with four pounds of treacle, the glue to be
steeped about six hours before mixing the treacle therewith. The composition
is then boiled for four or five hours and kept constantly stirred.
Figure 1 shews a section of an apparatus for making composition rollers suit-
able for sieve rollers, and Figure 2 is a plan thereof. a is an axis for a roller,
having suitable turned necks at its ends. b, b, are two circular plates fixed on
the axis; in the upper one are two holes, through one of which the composition
is poured, and through the other the air passes off. c is a cylinder which I
generally form by bending a plate of zinc, or other material may be used, and
I retain the cylinder c in form by hoops with screws and nuts, and before
running the composition into the mould the interior is well oiled. In case
the roller is to have several colors applied thereto, and transmitted thereby
to the printing cylinder, then I prefer that the roller should have as many
surfaces as there are colors to be placed thereon, so that the colors may be
scraped or "doctored" separately, and the colors prevented running into each
other on the sieve roller, and also in such manner that the separated colors
may be returned to their respective color troughs in like manner to what was
described in the Specification of my said former Patent.
Figure 3 shews a roller having several divisions or surfaces, the plates b, b,
having a narrow space between them for receiving the upright plates of the
divided color trough, the composition for forming the sieves being made of
suitable widths, according to the patterns to be printed, each division on the
axis, in fact, being a separate sieve, though on the same axis. I would
however, remark, that other means may be resorted to for keeping the colors
separate.
Figure 4 shews a section of so much of a printing machine as will enable
a workman to understand the mode of using roller sieves such as above
described in combination with printing rollers or cylinders.
Figure 5 shows part of a front view thereof, but these arrangements form
no part of the present Invention, and are similar for the most part to what
are shewn in my former Patent. e, e, is a long color trough divided into

page_text: several compartments by the upright partitions f. f. The sieve roller is
supplied with color by the furnishing rollers g, g, which revolve in the color
in the color troughs, and the color is spread evenly and "doctored" on the
sieve roller a by means of a doctor blade h, with nicks or cuts in it so that it
may act as so many separate doctors.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would remark, that I am
aware that glue and treacle have been used in the constructing of inking
rollers for type printing, I do not therefore, claim the same generally for
making rollers used by printers, nor do I confine myself to the composition
above given, though I believe the same to be the best for the purpose. But
what I claim is, the application of sieve rollers such as are herein described
in combination with printing cylinders or rollers for printing calicoes and
other fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Beard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
wo thousand night hundred and forty-four
Enrolled the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One 2
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.