IMPROVE MENTS IN PRINTING WARPS, & IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry, of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, N.B., Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN PRINTING WARPS, & IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME."
Sealed the 14th May 1861, and dated the 22nd November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd November 1860.
I, JOHN HENRY, of Buchanan Street, Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
N.B., Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRINTING WARPS, & IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," to be
as follows:-
My Invention relates to the printing of cotton and other warps before
weaving them into fabrics, which has hitherto been performed by hand, by
means of blocks engraved with the patterns desired to be printed.. The warps,
as is well known, are the longitudinal threads of a fabric, which are arranged
in the positions they are to occupy in the woven fabric, and in which they are
held and retained while printing and afterwards while being woven.
My Invention consists in printing warps by means of a cylinder or cylin-
ders by which I apply one or more colours; these cylinders have the surfaces
engraved or otherwise formed to produce the pattern desired to be printed,

page_text: and I pass the warp first through a reed and then through betweeu such
printing cylinder or cylinders, and another cylinder over which an endless
blanket or apron travels. The warp to be printed is previously wound on a beam
or roller in the proper order, whose axis is placed in bearings in the machine
in which it is free to revolve; it passes thence over the blanket, along which it
travels, andonwhose surface it is printed; from the blanket it passes on to a beam
or roller, on which it is wound up & afterwards placed in the loom to be woven.
The printed warp in its passage over the blanket and on to the winding-up
beam may be passed over or in close proximity to steam-heated drying rollers
or chambers, in order to dry the printed colours before it is wound up, or the
drying may be effected by traversing it in a heated room in an extended state
before being wound up. The printing cylinder is supplied with colour by an
endless web or apron passing over rollers, and one of which keeps it in contact
with the printing cylinder, while the other dips it in a trough of colour, which
may be partially scraped off or distributed by a doctor, as well understood in
cylinder printing; suitable arrangements are made to regulate the pressure of
the printing cylinder on the blanket cylinder, also of the inking apparatus on
the printing cylinder, as also for the tension of the printing blanket or apron.
I give motion to the cylinder of the blanket that receives the pressure, it may
be by power, but generally I do so by a winch handle, as the machine is prin-
cipally applicable for temporary manufactures; motionlis communicated to the
several parts of the machine by straps or otherwise, it may be by frictional
contact of some of the parts, so that all the parts work at a uniform or
suitable rate, the one in relation to the other. By this means I am enabled
to print warps with any patterns or devices in a uniform and regular manner
throughout, the blanket on which they are traversed & printed keeping the
threads of a warp always properly distributed, and maintaining their proper
position before and after printing and until wound up on the beam, and there-
fore preserving the device or pattern intact until woven. I sometimes print
both sides of the warps, in order to properly impregnate the threads of the
warp with colour. To effect this I apply two printing cylinders bearing the
same design and working & registering together, the one cylinderbeing placed
above and the other below the warp, and which offer the necessary resistance
to each other for the printing.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY, of Buchanan St., Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, N.B., Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty,in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry, Her special licence that I, the said John Henry
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Henry, 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, aud vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRINTING WARPS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry, my executors or administra
tors, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hauds 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, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference been had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say:-
My Invention relates to the printing of cotton and other warps before
weaving them into fabrics, which has hitherto been performed by hand; by
means of blocks engraved with the patterns desired to be printed, or in
cylinder printing machines after the warp has been interwoven, with weft
threads at intervals, such weft threads being afterwards removed so that the
warp may be woven to produce the fabric desired. Warps, as is well known,
are the longitudinal threads of the fabric as previously combined and arranged
in the parallel positions they are to occupy in the woven fabrics, and in which
positious they are held & retained while being printed and afterwards while

page_text: being woven. I print warps by means of a cylinder or cylinders, by which I
apply one or more colours; these cylinders have their surfaces engraved or
otherwise formed to produce the pattern desired to be printed, as understood
in printing woven fabrics. I pass the warp through between such printing
cylinder and another cylinder over which an endless blanket or apron travels.
The warp to be printed is wound on a heam or roller in proper order for the
loom, and in same manner & with same care as observed in beaming warps;
the axis of this warp beam is placed in bearings in the machine in which it is
free to revolve, the warp passes thence over the blanket, along which it travels
and on whose surface it is printed; from the blanket it passes on a beam or
roller on which it is wound up, and afterwards placed in the loom to be woven.
The printed warp in its progress through or from the machine to the winding-
up beam may be passed over or in close proximity to steam-heated drying
rollers, in order to dry the printed colors before it is wound upon the beam, or
the drying may be effected by traversing a heated room in an extended state
before being wound up. The printing cylinder is supplied with colour by an
endless web or apron passing over rollers, and one of which keeps it in contact
with the printing cylinder while the other dips it in a trough of color, which
may be partially scraped off or distributed by a doctor, as well understood in
printing machines; suitable arrangements are made to regulate the pressure
of the printing cylinder on the blanket cylinder; also of the coloring apparatus
on the printing cylinder, as also for the tension of the blanket or apron. I
give motion to the cylinder of the blanket that receives the pressure, it may
be by hand or other power, but generally I do so by a winch handle, (the ma-
chine shown in the Drawing, Figs. 1 & 2, annexed, being principally applicable
to temporary manufactures,) motioniscommunicated tothe several parts of the
machine by straps, or otherwise, it may be by frictional contact of some of the
parts, so that all the parts work at a uniform or suitable rate, the one in rela-
tion to the other. By this means I am enabled to print warps with any
patterns or devices in a uniform and regular manner throughout their length,
keeping the threads of a warp always properly distributed & maintaining their
proper position before & after printing, and until wound up on the beam, which
I effect by passing them through a reed or reeds or other suitable guides,
whereby the warp is caused to receive & preserve theprinted device or pattern
with the exactitude required. I sometimes priut both sides of the warps, in
order to properly imprèguate the threads of the warps with color. To effect
this I apply two printing cylinders bearing the same design, and working and
registering together, the one cylinder being placed above and the other below
the warp,& which offer the necessary resistance to each other for the printing;

page_text: In this case the endless blanket or apron must return over a foner before
arrives at the printing cylinders, as will be readily understood.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation, & Fig. 2 a plan, of a machine arranged
for printing warps according to my Invention; this machine has motion com-
municated to it by hand, & is therefore principally adapted for temporary pur-
poses; but I also adaptand apply ordinary cylinder printing machines used to
print fabrics actuated by power, to print warps by making certain alterations
and additions thereto, which will be readily understood by the description of
the machine operated by hand.
a, a, are the side frames of the machine, which are placed at a distance
apart suitable for the widths of the fabrics, the warps of which are to be
printed; b, b, 62, are three rollers, carrying the endless blanket or apron c
marked by the red line. The axis of the roller b is mounted in sliding bear-
ings d, d, operated on by screws e, whereby to regulate the tension of the
endless apron c. The lower roller 6' keeps down in its bearings simply by its
own weight, and prevents any excess of tension on the apron c, while the roller
bis immovable,in its bearings, and receives the direct pressure of the printing
cylinder A. The printing cylinder A is an engraved surface either of wood or
metal, prepared as for ordinarycylinder printing purposes; it is fitted in bear-
ings adjustable and sliding in the uprights f, and pressed down with more or
less force by a screw g, in order to regulate the pressure of the cylinder on the
warp. The screws gare carried by weighted levers o, which can be altogether
raised for the purpose of removing or changing the printing cylinder, or
receding & giving wayaccording to the thickness of substance passed between
the rollers; h, h, is an endless web or apron, for the application of the coloring
matter to the printing cylinder; & i, a trough or vessel containing color, in
whichtheweb h is caused to dip by passing under its roller k, revolving therein.
The roller sliding in its bearing, and being pressed against the printing
cylinder by screws m, causes the coloring matter ou the apron h to be trans.
ferred, or a portion thereof, to the printing cylinder, the friction of contact.
effecting which, also imparts motion to the apron. Instead of the color being
simply taken up by the apron,distributing rollers and a doctor or scraper may
be caused to operate on the under side between the trough and the printing
cylinder for the purpose of regulating the quantity and distributing the color
on the web h before it transfers it to the printing cylinder, as well understood
in printing machines; p is a large hollow metal cylinder, mounted in
suitable bearings q,q,aud furnished with stuffing boxes at either end,in which

page_text: pipes r,r, enter and admit of a circulation of steam in the cylinder for the
purpose of drying the warp after printing preparatory to beaming for the loom,.
which is all continuous and conducted at one and the same time; s is the
beam or roller, on which the warp is wound preparatory to printing, which
winding is conducted exactly as in beaming the yarns or threads of a warp for
weaving. The beam s so charged is placed in its bearings and the warps con-
ducted along the blanket c, and entering through a reed placed at t, just in
front of the printing cylinder, and in which the threads of the warp are pro-
perly distributed; it may be two, three, or more through each opening of the
reed, but better still if passed singly through the openings thereof. The warp
passes thence through between the printing roller and the blanket,and receives
the impression, theblanket keeping and delivering the warp evenlydistributed,
while & after receiving the impression. The printed warp passes thence
over the turning rollers u & v, and round the steam drying roller P, thence
under and over turning rollers x & y, and on to the beam z, on which it is to
bewound preparatory to being introduced into the loom; in its course the warp
mayfurther pass through one or more reeds disposed at intervals, as indicated
in, red lines j,j, in order to keep it properly distributed after printing and
while undergoing the operation of drying & being wound on the beam z,
whereby the threads of the warp will be duly retained in their proper relative
positions,& the designs or patterns duly preserved. The beam z when full may
be removed to the loom and the warp woven into a fabric precisely as other
printed warps are woven. I fix a winch haudle on the blanket roller 62, by
which the apparatus is driven; this roller drives the apron c & the printing
roller bythe frictional contact and pressure exerted in printing, whiletheapron
for supplying the color is represented in the plan as driven bytoothed gearing
on its upper roller and axis of the printing cylinder. I also place a winch
handle on the roller or beam z,which the same attendant can drive who drives
the other & attends to the machine, or another attendant may actuate it. In
this way
the warp is drawn through the printing rollers, thence round the
drying cylinder and on to the beam z, being kept in tension during the whole
time by the proper speeds imparted to the winch handles. Instead of winch
handles the whole may be geared with straps or toothed gear & driven at the
proper relative speeds by one main shaft. The threads of a warp may be
drawn through by being attached to the threads of a warp which has been
previously printed, or by part of the length being carried through the machine
unprinted and attached to the roller z.
In printing several colors the warp may be passed through the machine
once for each color, or if the different colors are disposed at different parts of

page_text: the breadth of the warp, coloring aprons of narrow widths may be adapted to
apply the different colors, as desired. To apply different colors at the same
time it will be necessary to employ two or more engraved printing cylinders in
one machine, & that the several motious of the machine may be geared toge
ther & so conducted that the colors register properly with each other, as will
be readily understood, & as in the machine known as the "surface printing
machine," see section, Fig. 3. In arranging and adapting cylinder calico-
printing machines to print warps according to my Invention, it is simply
necessary to apply a reed, as at t, & to keep the warp properly distributed
before & after printing both in the breadth & in the direction of the length of
the threads, drying, beaming, & otherwise conducting the operation so as to
ensure the necessary accuracy & effect of the printing.
Having described the nature of my Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, printing
warps in the inauuer & by machinery or apparatus arranged as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred & sixty-one.
JOHN HENRY. (L.S.)

page_text: Cylinder covered with cotton cloth,
Endless blanket.
Threads constituting the warps.
Reed through which the threads pass.
c. Engraved rollers as in ordinary printing machine
Endless coloring apron.
a-Color traohs.