Improvements in Means to be Employed in Printing.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Aug., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 30th May, 1900-Accepted, 4th Aug.,
1900
Improvements in Means to be Employed in Printing.
We, THE PRINTING ARTS COMPANY, LIMITED, of 119 & 121, Shattesbury Avenue,
in the County of London, and IWAN ORLOFF, of St. Petersburg, in the Empire
of Russia, Gentleman, but at present residing at 119 and 121, Shaftesbury
Avenue aforesaid, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
The principal object of this invention is to provide improved means for effecting
the superposition of inks or colours in the moist condition in printing in one
colour or in more than one colour.
This invention solves the problem of the transfer of ink from a surface, on to
which the ink has been freshly delivered, to another surface, which has been
freshly inked, in such a manner that the two moist inks become superposed on
the last mentioned surface, while ink is not transferred from the second to the
first surface. Upon the surface thus supplied with two layers of ink freshly laid
one over the other, ink freshly applied to a third surface can be transferred;
so that the said second surface will be provided with three layers of ink, none of
the ink being transferred back to the third. surface. By repetitions of the opera-
tion moist inks can be transferred from any desired number of freshly inked
surfaces in succession to one "collecting" surface which will receive the successive
layers of ink in superposition, without yielding up any of that ink to any of the
several inking surfaces brought into contact with it.
As applied to the colour printing industry this invention does away with two
drawbacks incidental to the present method of printing, viz., generally, the
imperfect priming of the printing block, or plate with ink, notwithstanding the
employment of a series of inking rollers, and particularly the impossibility of
printing direct in several superposed colours.
Where the printing blocks or plates are primed by a number of successive
rollers with the same colour ink the inconvenience is experienced that the ink is
not transferred in its entirety from the second and following rollers to the surface
of the printing plate or block, whilst some of the ink on such printing plate or
block is transferred back therefrom onto the said second and following rollers.
Hence the printing block or plate does not receive the sum-total of the supplies
of ink which the several rollers are intended to superpose, and the full effect of
the several inking rollers is not secured. By the method adopted hitherto, a
printing block or plate in order to become inked with any approach to the inten-
sity or depth corresponding to the supply of ink to one roller, requires to be
brought into contact with no fewer than four rollers, and no matter what may
be the number of rollers employed the depth of colouring will never exceed that
supplied to one roller; whereas by the present invention, two rollers suffice to
produce a deeper colouring on the printing block or plate than that supplied to
each inking roller, and each succeeding roller if more than two be employed con-
tinues to ink the printing block so as to increase the intensity of colour. This
is of great importance in the monochrome printing of illustrations, as it enables

page_text: colouring or inking on such plates or blocks the procedure in accordance with
this invention is as follows. The required colour ink is prepared in several degrees
of body or strength the first inking roller being supplied with ink of the strongest
grade; the second roller with ink next in strength and the succeeding rollers,
each with ink weaker than that of the preceding roller. Two rollers will however
suffice to produce according to this invention a fuller colouring than that which
has hitherto been obtained with four rollers.
The novel colour printing process, then mainly consists in the graduation of
the strength of all the different coloured inks with which it is intended to print,
the printing being commenced with the strongest ink and the other coloured inks
being printed in the order of succession determined by their diminishing strength.
If it is desired to take the colours in a predetermined order as is usually the case,
their strength must be graduated in the order of succession the ink if the colour to
be printed in the first place being made strongest the ink of the colour to be
printed next, somewhat weaker, the third ink weaker still, and so on, gradually
reducing the inks in strength as they are to be used at a later stage of the print-
ing process.
This invention is not limited to any special method of preparation of the inks
of different degrees of strength. If the ink be made from colouring matter and
gum resin solution the strength of such ink will depend upon the proportion of
solution employed, and also necessarily upon the quality of the gum resin used,
the ink containing a small proportion of gum resin solution, being the stronger
ink will attract the ink containing more solution being the weaker ink, when the
iwo inks are brought into contact. Even if in addition to gum resin, other sub-
stances should be mixed with the inks, it is nevertheless in all cases possible to
produce colours for printing, of such quality as to "strength" that if the colours
be used in a predetermined order each succeeding ink will be attracted by the
ink immediately preceding. By suitable admixtures the consistency or tone (or
depth) or both of the ink can be properly regulated. As a general rule, however,
the addition of a predetermined quantity of gum resin solution will suffice to
bring about the required variation of strength though different colours may
require different quantities of solution to be brought to the desired degree of
strength.
By the novel process, an improved effect of colour printing can be obtained
even with machines of the ordinary construction and by the usual printing method
since it is only necessary to follow the order of succession determined by the strength
of the inks to be printed immediately the one after the other to obtain the
desired effect by printing on paper with the ordinary blocks or plates; and even
a single passage of the paper through the machine suffices for the production of
an almost perfect polychrome print.
The highest degree of perfection, however cannot be attained by this method
of procedure, partly because after such impression, the paper, is more or less,
stretched, thereby preventing the colours from registering with the requisite
precision, and partly because, as before stated, one single making ready
the plates no matter how elastic they may be, is not sufficient for the reproduction
of all graduation of shade or tone.
66
of
In order to obviate this further inconvenience the plates or blocks in accord-
ance with this invention are not imprinted upon the paper direct but through
the intermediate agency of a special "collecting" plate or surface to which the
several colours are first fransferred from their respective plates by means of
elastic rollers, being thus "collected" thereon, after which all the colours, regis-
tering with strict accuracy are printed on to the paper at once. And accordingly
as only one printing plate is eventually used, one making ready operation only is
required and is sufficient.
The collecting plate which thus at the same time constitutes a printing forme
or block, will in most cases have to be of hard material preferably metal, stone or
the like. Should it however he desired in printing with such a forme or block

page_text: This invention solves the problem of the transfer of ink from a surface, on to
which the ink has been freshly delivered, to another surface, which has been
freshly inked, in such a manner that the two moist inks become superposed on the
last mentioned surface, no ink being transferred from the second to the first
surface. Upon the surface thus supplied with two layers of ink freshly laid one
over the other, ink freshly applied to a third surface can be transferred; so that
the said second surface will be provided with three layers of ink, none of the
ink being transferred back to the third surface. By repetitions of the operation
moist inks can be transferred from any desired number of freshly inked surfaces
in succession to one collecting" surface which will receive the successive layers
of ink in superposition, without yielding up any of that ink to any of the several
inking surfaces brought into contact with it.
As applied to the colour printing industry this invention does away with two
drawbacks incidental to the present method of printing, viz., generally, the im-
perfect priming of the printing block, or plate, with ink, notwithstanding the
employment of a series of inking rollers, and particularly the impossibility of
printing direct in several superposed colours.
Where the printing blocks, or plates, are primed by a number of successive
rollers with the same colour ink the inconvenience has hitherto been experienced
that the ink is not transferred in its entirety from the second and following
rollers to the surface of the printing plate, or block, whilst some of the ink on such
printing plate, or block, is transferred back therefrom onto the said second and
following rollers. Hence the printing block, or plate, does not receive the sum-
total of the supplies of ink which the several rollers are intended to superpose,
and the full effect of the several inking rollers is not secured. By the method
hitherto employed, a printing block, or plate, in order to become inked with any
approach to the intensity, or depth, corresponding to the supply of ink to one
roller, requires to be brought into contact with no fewer than four rollers, and
no matter what may be the number of rollers employed the depth of colouring
will never exceed that supplied to one roller; whereas by the present invention,
two rollers suffice to produce a deeper colouring on the printing block, or plate,
than that supplied to each inking roller, and each succeeding roller, if more than
two be employed, continues to ink the printing-block so as to increase the inten-
sity of colour. This is of great importance in the monochrome printing of illus-
trations, as it enables two priming, or inking, rollers to produce a considerably
fuller colouring on the printing block than has hitherto been obtainable with
four rollers.
In polychrome printing it has heretofore been impossible to print the several
colours over each other in the moist condition, throughout the whole edition of a
print without affecting, more, or less, the purity of tone, firstly, because, as the
second colour is printed over the first, the whole of the available supply of such
second colour is not transferred on to the first colour; and further, because some
of the first colour is, at the same time, transferred back to the surface by which
the second colour is applied, and these drawbacks increase as each succeeding
transfer is made with the result that the surface to be printed on does not receive
the several colours in sufficient quantities, and consequently fails to acquire the
proper depth of colour; whilst the inking and printing surfaces become soiled by
the re-transference of the inks previously applied and go on losing more and
more of their original purity of tone, so that, in the prints, the colours are not of
the pure tone originally intended, but of a different, and impure, tone, and, as the
printing of an entire edition progresses, the colouring of the print deteriorates.
and, after a time, it will become a dirty grey.
For this reason, the rule hitherto observed in polychrome printing is that each
successive colour is not printed over the preceding colour until the latter has had
sufficient time to dry. Therefore, whenever it is desired to turn out good work
on an ordinary double-colour printing machine for printing in two colour inks.
each colour ink is printed on to a certain part of the paper, so that the colours are

page_text: ink, will attract the ink containing more solution, being the weaker ink, when the
two inks are brought into contact. Even if, in addition to gum-resin, other sub-
stances should be mixed with the inks, it is nevertheless, in all cases, possible
to produce colours for printing, of such quality, as to "strength" that, if the
colours be used in a predetermined order, each succeeding ink will be attracted
by the ink immediately preceding. By suitable admixtures the consistency, or
tone, (or depth), or both, of the ink, can be properly regulated as a general rule,
however, the addition of a predetermined quantity of gum-resin solution will
suffice to bring about the required variation of strength, though different colours
may require different quantities of solution to be brought to the desired degree
of strength.
By the novel process an improved effect of colour printing can be obtained even
with multicolour machines of the ordinary construction and by the usual print-
ing method, since it is only necessary to follow the order of succession deter-
mined by the strength of the inks to be printed immediately the one after the
other to obtain the desired effect by printing on paper with the ordinary blocks,
or plates; and even a single passage of the paper through the machine suffices
for the production of an almost perfect polychrome print. The highest degree
of perfection, however, cannot be attained by this method of procedure, partly
because, after each impression, the paper, is more or less, stretched, thereby pre-
venting the colours from registering with the requisite precision, and partly be-
cause, as before stated, one single "making ready" of the plates, no matter how
elastic they may be, is not sufficient for the reproduction of all graduation of
shade, or tone.
*
In order to obviate this further inconvenience the plates, or blocks, in accord-
ance with this invention are not imprinted upon the paper direct but through
the intermediate agency of a special collecting" plate, or surface, to which the
several colours are first transferred from their respective plates by means of
elastic rollers, being thus "collected" thereon, after which all the colours, regis-
tering with strict accuracy, are printed onto the paper at once, and therefore, as
only one printing plate is eventually used, one making ready operation only
is required and is sufficient.
The collecting plate, which thus, at the same time, constitutes a printing
forme, or block, will, in most cases, have to be of hard material preferably metal,
stone, or the like. Should it, however, be desired, in printing with such a forme,
or block, to use ordinary colours, i.e. colours not prepared according to the new
process, the effect would be that the colours would in a considerable degree
become biurred and would mutually destroy their purity, as colour will not
nearly so well adhere to metal as it does to paper.
The successive operations comprised in the process described are therefore as
follows:-
First of all the order in which the colours are to be transferred
paper, or any
other material to be printed on, is determined. Say it is desired to print in three
colours in the order yellow, then red, then blue; they must accordingly be
delivered on to the collecting surface in the reverse order and therefore blue
should be of the maximum body, or strength, red of a medium body, or strength,
and yellow of the minimum body, or strength. The plates, or blocks, are properly
inked blue, red, and yellow, respectively, whereupon the transfer devices (elastic
rollers made of india rubber, roller composition or the like) take up the colour
design from the said plates, or blocks, and transfer it to the collecting surface
in the order-blue, red, yellow, the colours properly registering. Having done
this, the collecting surface is printed off on paper, or other material, at one
operation. The most perfect result will be obtained by using a special transfer-
ring roller for each colour and not putting the colours together before they are
delivered on to the collecting surface while not quite so good an effect may be
produced by using a single roller arranged to take up all the colours together.
This roller is then made to transfer the colours which it has already collected