IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED PATTERN BLOCKS, APPLICABLE FOR SURFACE PRINTING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Banks, of No. 11, Lavender Road,
Battersea, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED PATTERN BLOCKS, APPLICABLE FOR
SURFACE PRINTING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Banks at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th August 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY BANKS, of No. 11, Lavender Road, Battersea, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED PATTERN BLOCKS, APPLICABLE FOR
SURFACE PRINTING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the production of
raised pattern blocks applicable for surface printing and for other
purposes.
I take a lithographic or similar stone and produce on the surface of
the same in a strong resinous ink the design required; I then saturate

page_text: the stone with a gummy solution to prevent the ink spreading, and
afterwards I heat the stone so that the ink of the design may sink into
it. This being done I remove the gum and dissolve away by means of
acid the unprotected parts of the stone. More in detail.
the stone with a gummy solution to prevent the ink spreading, and
afterwards I heat the stone so that the ink of the design may sink into
it. This being done I remove the gum and dissolve away by means of
acid the unprotected parts of the stone. More in detail.
I prefer to conduct the process as follows:-
1st. I polish a lithographic stone or any other kind of limestone
smooth.
5
2nd. I lay upon the same a transfer drawing or impression pro-
duced upon transfer paper such as is used by lithographic printers.
The ink I prefer to use in this operation is composed of the following 1
ingredients:-
Shellac
Black pitch
Asphaltum
Copal gum
Mastic
Litho printing ink
Castile soap
-
Burnt linseed oil
-
-
4 parts
2 parts
-
1 part
1 part
These to be boiled
1
-
2 parts
for one hour.
->
1 part
-
3 parts
-
1 part
3rd. I damp and impress the design upon the stone, after which I 2
wash off the transfer paper.
4th. I lay a gummy solution over the surface of the stone. The
composition I prefer consists of the following ingredients :-
Gum
-
1
ounce.

page_text: required.
7th. I dry the stone and dust it over with peroxide of tin, powdered
resin, talc, asphaltum, or gum, or other powder capable of resisting the
action of acid.
8th. I wash the surface of the stone with a solution of borax, alum,
and water. I prepare the solution as follows:―
Borax
Alum
Water
·
1 ounce.
1 ounce.
1 quart.
9th. I place the stone in a bath containing weak acid, nitrous by
preference, until the unprotected stone dissolves away, leaving the parts
protected with the inks standing up high enough to print from in the
typé press.
If, after the first operation .it is not high enough, I repeat the
operations 6, 7, 8, and 9, until the desired height of work is obtained.
When a block capable of sustaining a very heavy pressure is required, in
place of using the stone block I cast a block from it in stereotype metal,
or I electrotype it, and use the block so obtained; it can be used either
for printing by the type press or for embossing upon leather, book covers,
or other surfaces.
I sometimes vary the process as follows:-After the stone has been
baked I wash the work out with turps or spirit, then I roll up the stone
and gild it by laying on gold, silver, or copper leaf, which the ink causes
to adhere. I then wash the stone with the solution of borax and alum
and place it in a bath of weak acid as described.
. I can produce a similar result but less perfectly upon zinc plates. I
lay the design upon the zinc in the same way that zincographers usually
do, and I prepare the plate as for printing. Then I wash the plate clean
with turps and roll up the work with ink such as before described for
rolling up the stone. I gild it or coat it with leaf metal, which adheres
to the ink line, and then I place the plate in a bath of acid. I use
dilute nitrous acid by preference. In this process in place of leaf metal
powdered talc or peroxide of tin may be employed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Banks in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY BANKS, of No. 11, Lavender Road, Battersea, in the County of
Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Banks, Her special licence
that I, the said John Henry Banks, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Banks, 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE PRODUCTION OF RAISED PATTERN BLOCKS, APPLICABLE FOR SURFACE PRINTING
. AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Banks, my executers or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Banks, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the production
of raised pattern blocks applicable for surface printing and for other
purposes.
I take a lithographic or similar stone and produce on the surface of
the same in a strong resinous ink the design required, I then saturate

page_text: it. This being done I remove the gum and 'dissolve away by means of
acid the unprotected parts of the stone. More in detail.
I prefer to conduct the process as follows:
-
1. I polish a lithographic stone, or other kind of limestone, smooth,
and the finer the polish the better. Either a grey or a yellow lithographic
stone is very suitable, of the two I prefer the grey stone.
2. I lay upon the stone a transfer drawing or impression produced
upon transfer paper such as is used by lithographic printers. The
ink I prefer to use in this operation is composed of the following.
ingredients.
Shellac
Blach pitch
Asphaltum
Copal gum
Mastic
4 parts,
2
I
دو
"
1
وو.
2
"
Litho printing ink
Castile soap
"
3
"
Burnt linseed oil
1
These to be boiled for one hour.
To burn the linseed oil the oil is heated in a pot over a fire and when
sufficiently hot is ignited, it is allowed to burn quietly until a drop
placed on a plate and touched with the finger commences to draw out
in strings. In making the ink the materials are heated and well stirred
together in a pot over a fire, only so much heat is applied as is necessary
to melt the ingredients. The mastic need not be added until the other
substances are mixed. The ink is poured from the pot into water and
made up whilst plastic into pieces of a convenient size for use.
If the transfer drawing or writing is to be made by hand, the ink is
rendered sufficiently fluid with spirits of wine or with turpentine.
If
the ink is to be used for printing a transfer impression from a wooden
or other block, the ink is reduced to the proper consistency by mixing
it with litho varnish. To ink an engraved plate, the plate is heated on
a hot plate and the ink is rubbed into the lines and wiped off, the plate
is then cooled and cleaned off with whitening. The engraved plate and

page_text: Alum
Water.
1
وو
1 quart.
I pour on to the stone as much of this solution as will stand upon it,
I let it stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it off and wash
the stone well by allowing a stream of water to run upon it.
9. I place the stone in a bath containing weak acid, nitrous by
preference, until the unprotected stone dissolves away, leaving the
parts protected with the inks standing up high enough to print from in
the type press. The acid I use is a mixture of about half a wine glass
full of the commercial nitrous acid, specific gravity 1.450 with a pint
of water, but I vary this more or less according to the nature of the
stone. The hand or a short haired camel hair flat brush should be
passed repeatedly over the work whilst in the acid bath and if the work
rises very rapidly I at once take the stone out, wash it and replace it in
weaker acid. On the other hand if the work takes some time to rise, I
strengthen the acid. In the course of from one to three minutes the
work should be raised to the thickness of a stout card. When the work
is raised the stone is washed and dried, and it is then ready for printing
in the same way that wood and other surface blocks are commonly
employed. If after the first operation it is not high enough I repeat
the operations 6, 7, 8, and 9, until the desired height of work is
obtained.
When a block capable of sustaining a very heavy pressure is required,
in place of using the stone block, I cast a block from it in stereotype
metal, or I electrotype it and use the block so obtained; it can be used
either for printing by the type press or for embossing upon leather,
book covers, calico printing, or other surfaces. To produce the electro
type I press on to the moist stone with hydraulic pressure a sheet of
wax, the pressure is put on several times to ensure a sharp impression,
and the wax is then removed from the stone, the blank surface is
mounted up, it is coated with black lead, and copper is deposited on it
in the usual manner, the shell of copper thus obtained is stiffened with
a more fusible metal in the ordinary way.
"
I sometimes vary the process as follows:-After the stone has been
baked I wash the work out with turps or spirit, then I roll up the stone

page_text: and gild it by laying on gold, silver, or copper leaf, which the ink causes
to adhere, I then wash the stone with the solution of borax and alum,
and place it in the bath of weak acid as described.
I can produce a similar result, but less perfectly, upon zinc plates, I
lay the design upon the zinc in the same way that zincographers usually
do, and I prepare the plate as for printing, then I wash the plate clean
with turps and roll up the work with ink such as before described for
rolling up the stone. I gild it or coat it with leaf metal which adheres to
the ink lines, and then I place the plate in a bath of acid; I use dilute
nitrous acid by preference. In this process in place of leaf metal
powdered talc or peroxide of tin may be employed.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner
of performing the same I would have it understood that what I claim
is the production of raised pattern blocks substantially as described.
I also claim the submitting the stone to heat to cause the design to
sink into the stone substantially as described.
I also claim the use of borax and alum solution to remove the gum
from the stone substantially as described.
I also claim applying peroxide of tin, powdered resin, tale, asphaltum -
or gum, resin or other powder capable of resisting the action of acid or
metal leaf to a stone with a design in adhesive ink thereon and afterwards
biting the stone with acid substantially as described.
I also claim applying gold or metal leaf, peroxide of tin, or powdered
talc, to a zinc plate with a design in adhesive ink thereon and afterwards
biting the leaf with acid, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Banks, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.