IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING AND NUMBERING SHEETS OR ROLLS OF PAPER
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Randle Williams at the
Office of the Commissioners. of Patents,, with his Petition, on the
26th May 1868.
I, JOHN RANDLE WILLIAMS, Printer, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PRINTING AND NUMBERING SHEETS OR
ROLLS OF PAPER," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to provide machinery by which paper
can be printed in a web or a continuous roll of any length in one or more
colors of ink, and after being printed can be cut into sheets of any
convenient size as it moves forward on tapes, when as a separate sheet
it is numbered and perforated, and again cut if needful into any
necessary size and folded, so as to be made into all kinds of printed
checkwork, and particularly drapers' counter check books..
I accomplish the printing of the web, first, by taking it round a
cylinder, or as many cylinders as I may require for each additional
color of ink, the forme of types or blocks or engravings resting on. a.

page_text: section of the cylinder flattened to receive it. The cylinder is like that
commonly known as "Hoe's card printing machine cylinder," with
slight alterations, such as making the flat part larger or smaller; and,
secondly, if needful, I lift out the cylinders, on which I print from type,
blocks, stereotype plates, or electrotype plates and put in lithographic
stone cylinders, on one of which I transfer by pressing the other against
it all kinds of printing work at present done by lithographic machines.
The perforating is accomplished either by the common round hole, the
slit, or by a piece of steel wire pressed into the paper. The figures will
follow each other at fixed distances, according to the number of forms
on each sheet, and from sheet to sheet, i.e., the first sheet will be all
printed with figures of one, the second sheet with all figures of two, and
so on to any required number.
I employ sets of the common paging machine discs known as Shaw's
or Ollis's, moving by automic action; as many sets as may be required
place them on one or separate spindles, and work them as the ordinary
paging machine discs are worked; and if required in order to number in
different parts of the sheet or on any part of the sheet without stopping
or moving the sheet I use the ordinary discs, placing a series or several
series of discs on two separate shafts at a convenient distance from each
other, and connecting the two disc shafts to one 'driving shaft by a
contrivance of pulleys or rollers fixed in a slot in upright brackets for
carrying the sheet. I make the sheet between the two series of discs
to travel a greater or lesser distance as may be required, and so obtain
the stamping of the figures on any part of the sheet I may wish.
What I claim as my Invention in this Patent is,-
1st. The cutting of the sheet from the webb or roll before it is
numbered and without taking it out of the machine, but carrying it
forward and numbering it as a sheet with any number of the same
figures.
2nd. The printing of various or any number of colors on the sheet
or roll.
And, 3rdly. Another point I claim is that I make the numbering to
fall on any part of the sheet. Up to this time to obtain this the 'sheet
has had to be moved under the figure, by my plan the figure is moved
over the sheet.

page_text: And, 4thly. I claim the folding before it leaves the machine.
And, 5thly. The combination of all these methods in one machine
together with the perforating, and the combination of all these methods
together with the printing from a stone cylinder or stone cylinders.