Improvements in Printing Machines.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 10th July, 1889-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1889
[Commumicated from abroad by D
4. Passage Stanislas, Paris, France.]
Improvements in Printing Machines.
I, JULES ALBERT BERLY Civil and Electrical Engineer of 3 Deronda Road, Herne
Hill, London S.E. do hereby declare the nature of tbis invention to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is the construction of a machine by means of which an
impression in one or several colours may be obtained from a webb of paper or tissue
with a single cylinder letter press, lithographic, phototypic or copper plate printing
machine.
Colour printing from single cylinder letter press or lithographic, phototypic and
copper plate machines is becoming more and more general.
But each machine can only print a maximum dimension of sheet, being that for
which it has been constructed. The printing is therefore confined within limits which
preclude the reproduction of large subjects such as pictures, tapestries, etc.; and the
problem is the more difficult of solution that, in these cases, the printing must be most
perfectly executed and the printing most accurately done.
The impression, with single cylinder machines, is always effected with sheets ready
cut to size. These sheets are firmly held in position on the cylinder by means of
fingers placed near each other along the groove of the cylinder when they are sub-
jected to a determined strain in passing over the form, stone, piate glass or plate.
This mode of holding the sheet could not be used in this instance and it has been
necessary to find out means of holding in position, on the edge of the cylinder groove
that part of the paper reel which is going to receive the impression, and of rendering
that portion momentarily free so that a new portion may occupy the same position
and be printed in its turn.
All the parts of ordinary printing machines are included in my new machine and
they are distributed in the same manner.
The special features of my new type of machine are as follows:
A tube of rectangular section, and the top side of which is perforated with a series
of holes is laid in the cylinder groove and secured in position. It is provided with
an appendage through which it can be connected, by means of an india rubber or
The latter shaft is
other pipe, to a similar appendage attached to the cylinder shaft.
hollow from the attachment to one end and the same and terminates with a special
stuffing-box.
:
The fingers of the flyer are replaced by a straight well planed iron bar the inferior
surface of which is lined with a strip of india rubber.
When the flyer lever work in the ordinary manner, this strip of india rubber comes
into contact with the perforated surface of the rectangular tube upon which it exerts
an even pressure.
If in these conditions we suppose that the sheet of paper is
lying between the strip of india rubber and the perforated face of the rectangular
tube and that a vacuum is produced in the cylinder shaft and the rectangular tube,
etc.; there will, on the rising of the bar, be perfect adherence of the paper on the
surface of the perforated tube and this adherence will be the greater in proportion
to the number of holes and their size.
This adherence of the sheet upon the cylinder replaces that obtained by the sheet
holder fingers, and the paper or tissue is thus maintained until it receives the
impression.
By admitting the air at a given moment, the sheet will become freed so that
another portion of the webb may come in its place and receive the impression.
The successions of vacuum and admissions of the air are automatically produced by

page_text: means of a two way cock placed on the pipe connecting the machine with a vacuum
reservoir situate in some part of the works.
When the printing has to be done with a certain number of colours, the precision
of the pointing must be absolutely accurate.
This is obtained in the following manner:
If the impression is to be effected on silk or cotton material or on thin paper, 'the
reel to be printed should be maintained on an endless support; consequently, this
support has also to be made to pass through the machine.
To effect this, the edges of the support are perforated with a series of holes exactly
corresponding to two pins fixed on the cylinder, so that only one half of. the cylinder
prints. After a first impression the print is comprised between the first and second,
the third and the fourth, the fifth and the sixth, etc., spaces determined by the pairs
of holes, and so on up to the end of the webb.
This process is renewed for each of the colours required.
Then the spaces comprised between the second and third, the fourth and fifth, the
sixth and seventh, etc. pair of holes receive the impression. The impression of the
surfaces can be arranged according to any other desired combination.
Or as many
impressions can be made as there are divisions corresponding to the number of
surfaces as in the case of the reproduction of large subjects.
The endless support is placed in a coil at the top of the machine whence it feeds
the cylinder. From the cylinder, and after receiving the impression, it is made to
pass over two rollers the first of which is driven by the cylinder and at the same
speed by means of a wheel and a pinion; from the second cylinder, it is finally
wound on a third one which is also driven, by means of a strap, from the first roller,
at the same speed than the cylinder. When the paper is finally wound, the colour or
the ink has had time to dry.
The circumferential speed of the final or winding coil is controlled by a brake
which is regulated by hand by means of a small wheel.
London Eleventh Databas 1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Printing Machines.
1 JULES ALBERT BERLY Civil and Electrical Engineer of 3 Deronda Road Herne
Hill London SE. do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
following statement:-
The object of my Invention is the construction of a machine by which an impression
in one or several colours may be obtained from a webb of paper or tissue with a
single cylinder letter-press, lithographic, phototypic or copper plate printing machine.
Colour printing, from single cylinder letter-press, or lithographic, phototypic and
copper plate machines is more and more general. But each machine can only print
one maximum dimension of sheet, being that for which it has been constructed. The
printing is therefore confined within limits which preclude the reproduction of large
subjects such as pictures, tapestries etc., and the problem is the more difficult of solution
that in these cases the printing must be most perfectly and accurately executed.
The impression with single cylinder machines is always effected with sheets ready
cut to size. These sheets are firmly held in position on the cylinder when they are
subjected to a determined strain in passing over the form, the stone, the plate glass or
the engraved plate.
This mode of holding the sheet could not be used in this instance and it has been
necessary to find out means of holding in position on the edge of the cylinder
groove that part of the paper reel which is going to receive the impression and of
rendering that portion momentarily free so that a new portion may occupy the same
position and be printed in its turn.

page_text: All the parts of an ordinary lithographic or single cylinder machine are included
in my new machine and they are distributed in the same manner and the general
arrangement which is the main feature of my invention is illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings, sheets 1 & 2, figs. 1. 2. & 3.
Fig. 1 is an elevation view of the machine, with a section through the groove of
the cylinder.
Fig. 2, (sheet 2), is a section, on a larger scale, through the cylinder,, showing the
parts attached to and carried by the cylinder's spindle.
Fig. 3 shows a portion of the paper or tissue to be printed, such portion being
developed.
A tube A (Fig. 2), of rectangular section, and the top side of which is perforated
with a series of holes, is laid in the cylinder groove and secured in position. It is
provided with an appendage B, which is connected to a similar appendage B¹,
attached to the cylinder shaft, by means of an india rubber or any other pipe.
The shaft's centre is hollowed in C from B' to one end, the same end terminating
with a stuffing-box of a special construction.
The flyer's levers D are provided with a perfectly straight well planed iron bar R
(fig. 1) the inferior surface of which is lined with a strip of cloth or blanket.
The said bar R is so arranged that when the flyer's levers work in the ordinary
fashion the bar comes into perfect contact with the perforated face of the rectangular
tube A.
If in these conditions we suppose that a sheet of paper is lying between the strip
of cloth or blanket of the bar R and the perforated face of the rectangular tube A
and that a vacuum is produced in the cylinder shaft (, there will, on the rising of
the bar R, be perfect adherence of the paper on the surface of the perforated tube
and this adherence will be the greater in proportion to the number of holes and their
size.
This adherence of the sheet upon the cylinder replaces that obtained with sheet
holder fingers and the paper or tissue is so maintained until it has received the
impression.
By admitting the air at given times in the hollow shaft C, the sheet is freed so
that another portion of the web comes into its place to receive the impression.
These recurences of vacuum and admissions of air are automatically produced by
means of a two way cock V placed on the pipe connecting the shaft C with a vacuum
reservoir situate in any part of the works.
The printing having to be executed with a certain number of colours the accuracy
of the pointing must be absolute. This result is obtained in the following manner,
Fig. 3. If the printing is to be effected on silk, cotton, or thin paper or material,
the reel to be printed must be supported on an endless support. This said support
must consequently be made to pass through the. machine. To effect this, the edges
of the endless support are perforated with a series of holes a a, b b, c c, etc. (Fig. 3)
corresponding exactly to two pins x y fixed on the cylinder so that only one half of
the cylinder prints.
After a first operation the impression is comprised between the points a a bb,
ccd d, etc. until complete developement of the endless support.
This process is renewed for the printing of each of the colours required.
intermediate spaces bbc c, d de e, are then similarly printed.
-----
The
It is easily conceived that the interpositions of impressions can be combined into
any desired manner; for instance the surfaces a abb, c c d d,-
-- then b b c c,
d de e,
may be printed in turn and then reprinted in the same order as many
times as may be required; or as in the case of reproductions of large subjects the
number of impressions may be equal to the number of surfaces such as a abb, bbc c,
which may divide into the length of the subject etc.
The endless support is wound in 1; it is developed and travels on a series of small
rollers and after having passed round the cylinder to be printed as already explained
travels on another series of small rollers to be wound on roller P¹. Notwith-
standing this circuitous journey of the webb the ink has not had time to dry

page_text: sufficiently to prevent smudging when the print is being rolled over P¹. As the work
to be executed on this machine must be perfect in every respect it becomes necessary
to adapt the waste sheet. To that effect a webb of waste sheet is coiled on a roller Q¹
which is mounted parallelly to the roller P¹. As the webb of printing is getting
coiled round cylinder P' the webb of waste sheet is getting uncoiled from the
roller Q to become coiled on P¹ simultaneously to and concentrically with the webb
of printing..
When the printing of the webb is over, the coil P¹ is taken in P and as it is
uncoiled for going through the process of a new impression, the waste sheet is
uncoiled from P and coiled round the roller Q, so that the process of separating the
from the webb is automatic.
It will be seen that this arrangement necessitates the use of two rollers P and P¹
for the webb and two other rollers Q and Q for the waste sheet. This is a mere
question of plant and it is necessary to make this provision in order to obtain speedy
and uninterrupted work.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
A new system of machine for single cylinder, typographic, lithographic, phototypic
and copper plate printing in one or more colours upon webb paper or tissue as
hereinbefore described and ascertained and as illustrated.
J. A. BERLY,
Agent for the Applicant.