A MACHINE OR INSTRUMENT ON A NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRINTING ON PAPER, LINEN, COTTON, WOOLLEN AND OTHER ARTICLES IN A MORE NEAT, CHEAP, AND ACCURATE MANNER THAN IS EFFECTED BY THE MACHINES NOW IN USE
Year: 1790

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
NICHOLSON, of New North Street, Red Lyon Square, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by his
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date the
Twenty-ninth day of April, in the thirtieth year of His reign, give and grant
unto me, the said William Nicholson, His special licence that I, the said
William Nicholson, during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MACHINE OR INSTRUMENT ON A
NEW CONSTRUCTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PRINTING ON PAPER, LINEN, COTTON,
WOOLLEN AND OTHER ARTICLES IN A MORE NEAT, CHEAP, AND ACCURATE MANNER
THAN IS EFFECTED BY THE MACHINES NOW IN USE;" in which said Letters Patent
there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William Nicholson, under
my hand and seal, to cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in
His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within one calendar month after the
date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, relation being
thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Nicholson, do hereby declare that my said Invention is described in
the Plan hereunto annexed, and the description thereof hereunder written, and
in manner following, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in three parts or particulars, namely, first, the manner
or method of making, preparing, or placing the original model, models, casts,
types, engravings, carvings, or sculptures from which the impression is to be
made; secondly, in applying the ink or colouring matter to such models, casts,
types, engravings, carvings, or sculptures; and, thirdly, in taking off the impres-
sion, or transferring the ink or colouring matter from such models, casts, types,
engravings, carvings, or sculptures to the paper, cloth, or other material upon
which it is intended it should remain.
1. In the first place, then, I not only avail myself of all the methods of
making, preparing, and placing the original models, casts, types, engravings,
carvings, or sculptures which have hitherto been known or used in printing,
and do myself make use of them in conjunction with my newly invented method
of applying the ink or colouring matter to such original models, casts, types,
engravings, carvings, or sculptures, and also with my newly invented method
of taking off the impressions, but I do likewise make, put together, and arrango
them in a new manner, as occasion may require; that is to say,-
2. I make my moulds, punches, and matrices for casting of letters in the
same manner and of the same materials as other letter founders do, excepting
that instead of leaving a space in the mould for the stem of one letter only,
I leave spaces for two, three, or more letters to be cast at one pouring of
the metal; and at the lower extremity of each of those spaces (which com-
municate by a common groove at top) I place a matrix or piece of copper, with
the letter punched upon its face, in the usual way. And, moreover, I bring
the stem of my letters to a due form, and finish not only by rubbing it upon a
stone and scraping it when arranged in the finishing stick, but likewise by
scraping it on one or more sides in a finishing stick whose hollowed part is less
deep at the inner than the outer side; I call that side of the groove which is
nearest the face of the disposed letter the outer side; and the purpose
accomplished by this method of scraping is, that of rendering the tail of the
letter gradually smaller the more remote it is or farther from the face. Such
letter may be firmly imposed upon a cylindrical surface, in the same manner as
common letter is imposed upon a flat stone. And I specify and affirm, that the
above-described methods of casting two or more letters at once, and of
chamfering or sloping their tails, are parts of my new Invention.
3. I impose or dispose my letter for printing in the common manner, to be

page_text: used in conjunction with my newly invented improvements; and I likewise
impose it in frames or chases, adapted to the surface of a cylinder of wood or
metal, and fasten it to the said surface by screws or wedges, or in grooves, or
by other methods well known to workmen. And this improving letter upon a
cylinder I state and affirm to be part of my new Invention.
4. I cut, carve, engrave, shase, cast, model, or make (in the usual manner of
performing those operations) blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals to be
used for printing, either of wood, metal, or other materials, and these I use in
conjunction with my other newly invented improvements. I likewise, for other
kinds of work, do fasten with glue, cement, screws, wedges, or by other known
methods, such blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals, as aforesaid, to the
surface of a cylinder. I likewise, for other kinds of work, do cut, carve,
engrave, chase, cast, model, or make blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals,
as aforesaid, of a cylindrical form, of wood, metal, or other materials; and
I state and affirm, that this disposition of blocks, forms, plates, types, or
originals upon a cylinder, and also that the cutting, carving, engraving, chasing,
and casting, modelling, or making blocks, plates, types, or originals of a
cylindrical form, as aforesaid, are parts of my new Invention.
5. In the second place, I distribute or apply the ink or colouring matter
upon the surface or in the interstices of the blocks, forms, plates, types, or
originals, aforesaid, by causing the surface of a cylinder, smeared or wetted
with the colouring matter, to roll over or successively apply itself to the
surfaces of the said blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals, of whatever
figure or construction such blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals may be;
or else I cause the said blocks, forms, plates, types, or originals successively
to apply themselves to the said cylinder. I call the said smeared or wetted
cylinder the colouring cylinder; its surface is covered with leather, or the
dressed skins which printers, call pelts; or else it is covered with woollen or
linen or cotton cloth when the colour to be used is thin, as in callico printing;
and in almost every case the covering is supported by a firm elastic stuffing,
consisting of hair or wool, or woollen cloth, wrapped one or more folds round
the cylinder; when the covering consists of woollen cloth, the stuffing must be
defended by leather or oilskin, to prevent its imbibing too much colour, and by
that means loosing its elasticity. It is absolutely necessary that the colouring
matter be evenly distributed over the surface of the cylinder; for this purpose,
when the colour is thick and stiff, as in letter-press printing, I apply two, three,
or more small cylinders, called distributing rollers, longitudinally against the
colouring cylinder, so that they may be turned by the motion of the latter;
and the effect of this application is, that every lump or mass of colour which

page_text: may be redundant, or irregularly placed upon the face of the colouring cylinder,
will be pressed, spread, and partly taken up and carried by the small rollers
to the other parts of the colouring cylinder, so that this last will very speedily
acquire and preserve an even face of colour; but if the colouring matter be
thinner, I do not apply more than one or two of these distributing rollers; and
if it be very thin, I apply an even blunt edge of metal or wood or other materials,
or a strait brush, or both of these last, against the colouring cylinder, for the
purpose of rendering its colour uniform.
6. When I apply colour to an engraved plate or cylinder, or apply the
colour thro' the interstices of a perforated pattern (or cylinder), as in the manu-
facturing of some kinds of paper hangings and floor cloths, I use a cylinder
entirely covered with hair or bristles, in the manner of a brush.
7. The whole of the manipulations or practices described in the two pre-
ceeding paragraphs (number 5 & 6) are parts of my new Invention.
8. In the third place, I perform all my impressions by the action of a
cylinder or cylindrical surface, (that is to say,) I cause the paper or cloth or
other material intended to be printed upon (and previously damped if neces-
sary) to pass between two cylinders or segments of cylinders in equal motion,
one of which has the block, form, plate, assemblage of types, or original
attached to or forming part of its surface, and the other is faced with cloth or
leather, and serve to press the paper, cloth, or other material as aforesaid, so
as to take off an impression of the colour previously applied; or otherwise I
cause the block, form, plate, assemblage of types, or original, previously
coloured, to pass in close and successive pressure or contract with the paper or
cloth or other material wrapped round a cylinder with woollen; or otherwise
I cause the last-mentioned cylinder with the paper or cloth or other material
wrapped round it to roll along the face of the block, form, plate, assemblage of
types, or original, previously coloured; or otherwise I cause a cylinder having
the block, form, plate, assemblage of types, or original attached to or forming
part of its surface, to roll along the surface of the paper, cloth, or other mate-
rial intended to be printed, and previously spread out upon an even plane
covered with cloth or leather, the said cylinder being supplied with colour by
means of a colouring cylinder, herein-before described, and herein-after more
particularly to be noticed.
9. The foregoing description shews the nature of my Invention, which may
be applied to a great variety of uses, and constructed or put together in a great
variety of forms. Its uses consist in the printing of books in general, the
printing of paper hangings, floor cloths, cottons, linens, woollens, silks, rib-
bands, laces, leather, skin, and every other flexible material whatever; and

page_text: its form or construction being no essential part of the Invention, may without
difficulty be obtained and carried into effect by any workman possessed of
common skill and ability. Nevertheless, as there may be some artists of such
a moderate capacity as to find the foregoing instructions not sufficient to enable
them to construct my machines, I shall proceed to exhibit Drawings and
describe several methods of constructing them; but at the same time I think it
pertinent to take notice, that as the following constructions cannot be exclu-
sively claimed by me by virtue of His Majesty's Letters Patent granted unto me,
excepting so far as the same include or contain my new improvements and
Inventions, so, on the other hand, I do not exhibit the same as the only prac-
ticable methods of carrying my Invention into effect; but I claim the general
and universal application of the principles discovered and brought into practice
by me, as before described, and do here proceed to exhibit and describe
certain specific applications of those principles, chiefly from a conviction that it
is my duty to render this present Specification clear and intelligible by every
means in my power. And, moreover, since in the following applications or
particular methods there are and may be found several contrivances resulting
from a considerable share of deliberation, labour, and expence, and tending to
facilitate the practice of my said Invention, I do not by any means hereby
exclude the following descriptions and Drawings from my present Specification,
for I do not consider them as being merely illustrative of the general principles
herein-before described and explained, but do hereby assert and maintain that
all and every parts and part of the machines herein-after described, which have
not hitherto been used as parts of some other machine, or in combination,
directed to the accomplishment of the like purpose of printing, are stated and
claimed by me as parts of my said Invention, for the exclusive enjoyment of
which, as well as of every other part of the said Invention hereby specified by
I claim all protection and every advantage which by His Majesty's Letters
Patent I may lawfully be entitled to.
me,
EXPLANATION OF THE ANNEXED DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a printing press, more especially applicable to the printing
of sheets of paper or books. A and E represent two cylinders running or
turning in a strong frame of wood or metal, or both. The cylinder A is faced
with woollen cloth, and is capable of being pressed with more or less force
upon H, I, by means of the lever M. H, I, is a long table, which is capable of
moving endways, backwards, and forwards upon the rollers E and K. The
roller A acts upon this table by means of a cog wheel or by straps, so as to
draw it backwards and forwards by the motion of its handle L. The table is

page_text: kept in the same line
grooves on its sides, which contain the cylinder A.
D is a chase containing letter set up and imposed; B is a box containing a
colouring roller, with its distributing rollers C, C; it is supported by the arm N.
O is a cylinder, faced with leather, and lying across an ink block; this cylin-
der is fixed by the middle to a bended lever moveable on the joint Q. The
action when D or the letter is drawn beneath the cylinder B, it receives ink,
and when it has passed into the position R, a workman places or turns down
a tympan with paper upon it. This tympan differs in no respect from the
usual one, except that its hinge opens sideways. It then proceeds to pass under
the cylinder A, which presses it successively thro' its whole surface; on the
other side at S, the workman takes off the paper and leaves the tympan up.
This motion causes the cylinder B to revolve continually, and consequently
renders its inked surface very uniform by the action of its distributing rollers
C, C, and when the table has passed to its extreme distance in the direction
now spoken of, the arm G touches the lever P, and raises the cylinder O off
the ink block, by which means it dabbs against one of the distributing rollers,
and gives it a small quantity of ink. The returning motion of the table
carries the letter again under the roller B, which again inks it, and the pro-
cess of printing another sheet goes on as before. N.B.-The table in this
Drawing is not quite long enough in its dimensions compared with the inking
roller.
Fig. 2 is another printing press. In this, B is the inking roller; A is a
cylinder, having the letter imposed upon its surface; and E is a cylinder, having
its uniform surface covered with woollen cloth. These three cylinders are
connected either by cogs or straps at the edges of each. The machine is
uniformly turned in one direction by the handle L. The workman applies a
sheet of paper to the surface of E, where it is retained either by points, in the
usual manner, or by the apparatus to be described in treating of Fig. 4. The
paper passes between E and A, and receives an impression, after which the
workman takes it off and applies another sheet, and in the mean time the
letter on the surface of A passes round against the surface of B, and receives
ink during the rotation of B. The distributing rollers C, C, do their office as
in the machine Fig. 1; and once in every revolution, the tail F, affixed to B,
raises the inking piece G, so as to cause it to touch one of the distributing
rollers and supply it with ink. In this way, therefore, the repeated printing
of sheet after sheet goes on.
Fig. 3 is a printing press more particularly adapted to print cottons, silks,
paper hangings, or other articles which run of a considerable length. A is a
cylinder, covered with woollen cloth or other soft substance. The web or piece

page_text: of cotton or other goods is passed round this cylinder from the web, carrying
the roller F to the receiving rollers G, H, which are connected by a piece of
linen, woollen, or hair cloth, in the manner of a jack towel, sewed round them.
The rotation of this towel carries away the printed stuff or goods, and deposits
at I. K, L, is a moveable box containing three rollers, which move against
each other in rotation. The lowest roller C revolves in a mass of colour con-
tained in a trough or vessel in the bottom part of the box K, L. The surface
of this colour is represented by the line M, N. The next roller B is stuffed
and covered, as described in paragraph 5. The pressure of B against C prevents
the cylinder B from receiving too much colour. D is the carved or cut cylinder,
mentioned in paragraph 4, or any other of the cylindrical contrivances there
mentioned. It receives colour during the rotation from the roller B, and
impresses it upon the web as it passes round the cylinder A. In this way the
constant and effectual action of the machine is sufficiently obvious. It must
be observed, that the cylinders A, D, B, and G are connected together by cog
wheels, straps, or other well-known equivalent contrivances, so that the handle
P drives the whole without their necessarily depending on any adhesion or
friction at their surfaces. The pressure of B against D is governed by an
adjustment of the axis of D, whose sockets are capable of a small motion, and
the pressure of D against A is governed by the position of the whole box K, L.
There are many other well-known ways of thus communicating the motions
and of regulating the pressures, but as they are in general use in mills, and
other rotary machines of various kinds, I do not consider it to be necessary in
this place to say more than that I also use them in the construction of my new
machines. When it is required to print more than one colour upon the piece I
cause it to pass two or more times thro' the machine; or in those cases where
the materials are liable to change their dimensions, I apply at one and the
same time two or more such boxes, as K, L, with their respective cylinders, so
that the pattern cylinder of each may make its impression upon the web or
material to be printed on. In this operation I am particularly careful to
adjust the respective pattern cylinders to each other by trials on a waste piece
of the material before I proceed to operate upon goods for sale, and in this way
a variety of colours are impressed at one and the same time.
Fig. 4 is a printing press chiefly of use for books and papers. 1, 2, 3, 4, repre-
sents a long table with ledges on each side, so that the two cylinders A and B
can run backwards and forwards without any side shake. In one of these
ledges is placed a strip or plate of metal cut into teeth, which lock into corre-
spondent teeth in each cylinder, by which means the two cylinders roll along
without the possibility of changing the relative positions of their surfaces at

page_text: any determinate part of the table. This may also be effected by straps, and
may indeed be accomplished with tolerable accuracy by the mere rolling of the
cylinders on the smooth or flat ledges without any provision. A is the printing
cylinder covered with woollen cloth, and B is the inking cylinder with its
distributing rollers. The table may be divided into four compartments,
marked with a thicker bounding line than the rest, and numbered 1, 2, 3, 4.
At 1 is placed a sheet of paper; at 2 is the form or chase containing
letter sett and imposed; at 3 is an apparatus for receiving the printed sheet;
and 4 is employed in no other use than as a place of standing for the carriage E
after it has passed thro' one operation, and when it takes ink at F. Its action
is as follows: The carriage is thrust forward by the workman, and as the
roller A passes over the space, numbered 1, it takes up the sheet of paper pre-
viously laid there, while the roller B runs over the form and inks the letter.
The sheet of paper being wrapped round the cylinder A is pressed against the
form as that cylinder proceeds, and consequently it receives an impression.
When A arrives at the space numbered 3 it lets go of the sheet of paper, while
the prominent part of the carriage G strikes the lever P, and raises the inking
piece, which applies itself against one of the distributing rollers. In this manner,
therefore, the cylinder A returns empty and the cylinder B inked, and in the
meantime the workman places another sheet of paper ready in the space
numbered 1; thus it is that the operation proceeds in the printing of one sheet
after another. The preceding description is not encumbered with an account
of the apparatus by which the paper is taken up and laid down; this may be
done in several ways.
Fig. 9 and 10 represent one of the methods. D, E, is a lever moving
on the centre pin C, and having its end D pressed upwards by the action
of the spring G. The shoulder, which contains the pin C, is fixed in another
piece F, which is inserted in a groove in the surface of the cylinder A (Fig. 4),
so that it is capable of moving in and out in a direction parrallel to the
axis of that cylinder; as that cylinder proceeds it meets a pin in the table,
which (letter P, Fig. 9,) acting on the inclined plane at the other end of the
lever, throws the whole inwards in the position represented in Fig. 10, in
which case the extremity D shoots inwards, and applies itself against the side
of the cylinder. In Fig. 11 is a representation of part of the table. The dotted
square represents a sheet of paper, and the four small shaded squares denote
holes in the board, with pins standing beside them. When the lever D, E,
Fig. 10, shoots forward, it is situated in one of these holes, and advances under
he edge of the paper, which consequently it presses and retains against the
cylinder with its extremity D. Nothing more remains to be said respecting the

page_text: taking up, but that the cylinder is provided with two pair of these clasps or levers,
which are so fixed as to correspond with the four holes represented in Fig. 11.
It will be easy to understand how the paper is deposited in the compartment
No. 3 (Fig. 4). A pin P, Fig. 10, rising out of the platform or table, acts
against a pin E, projecting sideways out of the lever, and must of course draw
the slider and its lever to the original position. The paper, consequently, will
be let go, and its disengagement is rendered certain by an apparatus fixed in
the compartment numbered 3 (Fig. 4), of exactly the same kind as that upon
the cylinder, and which, by the action of a pin duly placed in the surface of the
cylinder A, takes the paper from the cylinder in precisely the same manner as
that cylinder originally took it up in the compartment numbered 1 (Fig. 4).
Figs. 5, 6, & 7 represent a simpler apparatus for accomplishing the same
purpose. If A, a, B, 6, (Fig. 7,) be supposed to represent a thick plate of metal
of a circular form, with two pins A and B proceeding sideways or perpendicu-
larly out of its plane and diamatrically opposite to each other, and G another
pin proceeding in the direction of that plane, then it is obvious that any force
applied to the pin A, so as to press it into the position (a by turning the plate
on its axis or centre X), will at the same time cause the pin G to acquire the
position g. And, on the other hand, when B is at b, or the dotted representation
of the side pin, if any pressure be applied to restore its original position at B,
the ping will return back to G. Now, the Figures 5 and 6 exhibit an apparatus
of this kind applied to the cylinder A, and that cylinder by rolling over the pins
P and p properly fixed in the table, to react upon the apparatus, will cause its
prominent part G either to apply to the cylinder and clasp the paper, or to rise
up and let it go. The compartment numbered 3, Fig. 4, must of course have an
apparatus of the same kind to be acted upon by pins from A, in order that it
may take the paper from that cylinder. There is one other circumstance
belonging to this machine which remains to be explained. When the carriage E
(Fig. 4) goes out in the direction of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, both rollers A and
B press the form of letter in their passage; but in their return back again, the
the roller A, having no paper upon it, would itself become soiled by taking a
faint impression from the letter, if it were not prevented from touching it.
The manner of effecting this may be understood from Fig. 12. The apparatus
there represented is fixed upon the outside of the carriage E, near the lower
corner, in the vicinity of the roller A. The whole of this projects sideways
beyond the ledge of the table except the small truck or wheel B. The
irregularly triangular piece, which is shaded by the stroke of the pen, carries
this wheel and also a catch moveable on the axis or pin E. The whole piece
is moveable on the pin A, which connects it to the carriage C, D; or the part

page_text: which is shaded by dotting is a detent, which serves to hold the piece down in
a certain position. It may be observed, that both the detent and the triangu-
lar piece are furnished each with a claw, which holds in one direction, but trips
or yields in the other, like the jacks of an harpsichord, or resembling certain
pieces used in clock and watch making, as is clearly represented in the Draw-
ing. These claws overhang the side of the table, and their effect is as follows:
There is a pin C (Fig. 4) between the compartments of the table numbered
2 and 3, but which is marked F in Fig. 12, where G, H, represents the table.
In the outward run of the carriage these claws strike that pin, but with no
other effect than that they yield for the instant, and as instantly resume their
original position by the action of their respective slender back springs. When
the carriage returns, the claw of the detent indeed strikes the pin, but with as
little effect as before, because its derangement is instantly removed by the
action of the back spring of the detent itself; but when the claw of the
triangular piece takes the pin, the whole piece is made to revolve on its axis or
pin A, the wheel B is forced down, so as to lift that end of the carriage, and
the detent, catching on the piece at C, prevents the former position from being
recovered. The consequence of this is, that the carriage runs upon the truck B
(and its correspondent truck on the opposite side) instead of the cylinder A,
which is too much raised to take the letter and soil itself; but as soon as the
end of the carriage has passed clear of the letter, another pin R, Fig. 4, takes
the claw of the detent and draws it off the triangular piece, at which instant
the cylinder A subsides to its usual place, and performs its functions as before;
this last pin D does not effect the claw of the triangular piece, because it is
placed too low, and the claw of the detent is made the longest on purpose
that it may strike this pin.
Fig. 8 represents an instrument for printing floor cloths, paper hangings,
and the like, with stiff paint and a brush; D is a copper or metallic cylinder,
fixed in a frame A, like a garden roller; its carved part is thin, and is cut
thro' in various places, according to the desired pattern. A strong axis passes
thro' the cylinder, and its extremities are firmly attached to the frame A. To
this axis is fixed a vessel or box, of the same kind and answering the same
purpose as the box K, L, in Fig. 3. It carries a cylinder P, which revolves in
the colour; another cylinder E, which revolves in contract with P, and a third
cylinder B, whose exterior surface is covered with hair, after the manner of à.
brush, and revolves in contract with E. This cylinder B is adjusted by its axis
in such a manner that its brush part sweeps in the perforated parts of the
metallic cylinder D. The circle C represents a cog wheel fixed concentric to
the cylinder D, and revolving with it. This wheel takes another wheel con-

page_text: centric to and fixed to B, hence the action is as follows:-When the metallic
cylinder is wheeled or rolled along any surface, its cog wheel C drives the
brush B in the contrary direction; and this brush cylinder, being connected by
cogs or otherwise with E and P, causes those also to revolve and supply it
with colour. As the successive openings of the cylinder D, therefore, come in
contact with the ground, the several parts of the brush will traverse the un-
covered part of that ground and paint the pattern upon it. The wheel G being
kept lightly on the ground, serves to determine the line of contact, that it shall
be the part opposite to B, and no other.
Lastly, I must take notice, that in these and every other of my machines, as
well as in every machine whatever, the power may be wind, water, steam,
animal strength, or any other natural change capable of producing motion, and
that the mechanism by which such powers may be applied to produce a regular
unceasing or an intermittent motion, as circumstances may require, may be
used with these machines, tho' I have held it totally unnecessary either to
specify or annex those methods. The materials, the adjustments, the fittings,
and that degree of accuracy necessary to the perfection of every machine, have
likewise made no part of my Specification, because every workman must know
that no mechanism can be completed without a due attention to these well-
known particulars.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Nicholson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of May, One thousand seven