172 



PRINTING MACHINERY. 



Printing 

 Machinery, 



Elastic 



rollers. 



Steam 



printing 



machinery, 



PLATE 

 CCCCI.XIX. 

 F'g. 1. 



upon the end of s, and by forcing it either way, will 

 adjust the wheel with respect to the plattin, till they 

 exactly correspond. 



The manner of forming the inking and distributing 

 rollers with an elastic substance, is worthy of notice. 

 After many trials, a composition of glue, mixed with 

 treacle, was found to answer. The roller is made of a 

 copper tube, covered with canvass, and placed in a 

 mould, which is a cylindrical metal tube, accurately 

 bored, and oiled inside ; the melted composition is then 

 poured into the space of the mould, and when cold, 

 the whole is drawn out of it, with the glue adhering 

 to the .copper tube, and forming an accurate cylin- 

 der. The composition will not harden by exposure to 

 air, nor does it dissolve by the oil contained in the 

 ink.* 



Steam Printing Machine. 



M. Koenig, from Saxony, seems to have been the first 

 person who conceived the idea of constructing a steam 

 printing machine. Having failed in interesting the 

 continental printers in his views, he came to London 

 about 1 804 ; and after many years of experiment and 

 disappointment, he at last succeeded in erecting two 

 machines for printing the Times newspaper, which was 

 first printed by them on the 20th Nov. 181 4-. He 

 afterwards erected another for Mr. R. Taylor, in 

 Shoe Lane ; one for Messrs. Bensley, which printed 

 both sides of the sheet in succession, and another for 

 the same house, which printed both sides of the sheet 

 at once. 



As this machine, however, was very complicated, 

 many mechanics attempted to simplify it. This great 

 object was soon accomplished by Mr. Dryden, who, 

 under the direction of Messrs. Applegath and Cowptr, 

 constructed two machines for Messrs. Bensley, one 

 double and the other single. The double machine 

 throws off' from 800 to 1000 sheets, printed on both 

 sides, in an hour ; and the single one from 1500 to 

 1600 printed on one side. 



One of these double machines is represented in Plate 

 CCCCLXIX. Fig. 1. The machine receives its mo- 

 tion from an axle, on which there is a pinion which 

 works into the teeth of the wheelC. The sheets of paper 

 lying on the t-ible A are laid by a boy, one by one, on 

 the table B, which has a number of narrow linen tapes 

 extended over its surface. The action of a lever fixed 

 on the cog wheel of the main cylinder F, gives motion 

 to a lever on the axis of the roller D, which causes the 

 roller C and D to move round part of a revolution, 

 by which motion the sheet of paper is advanced be- 

 tween the rollers h and E, where the two systems of 

 endless tapes meet. When the sheet is thus taken oft' 

 the table B, the rollers C and D are carried back by a 

 weight W, attached to the cord a, so as to be ready to 

 deliver the next sheet into the tapes. The first sheet 

 of paper is now carried along between the systems of 

 tapes to the circumference of the main cylinder F, 

 mounted on a strong axis, and covered with a blanket, 

 and by the revolution of this cylinder, the paper is 

 pressed against the form of types lying below F. While 

 one of the sides of the sheet is thus receiving its im- 

 pression, the other form of types below G is receiving 

 its ink from the inking cylinders. By the motion of 

 the machine the sheet, one of whose sides was printed 

 by the cylinder F, advances between the tapes and round 

 the cylinders H and I, by which it is inverted and 

 applied in this inverted position to the blanket on the 



surface of the second cylinder G, by which the other Printing 

 side of the sheet is printed by the form of types below Machinery- 

 G, The sheet is now at the point I, where the two sys- v -^~v~"*-' 

 terns of tapes separate, and it is delivered on the board 

 Z, from which it is removed by a boy. 



As the operation of this machine depends upon the 

 system of tapes, it will be necessary to explain their 

 construction at greater length. The tapes are so com- 

 bined, that they always fall either between the pages 

 in the form of types, or near the margin of the sheet 

 of paper. When the paper is therefore taken in be- 

 tween the tapes, it must move along with them till it 

 is brought exactly above the form of types to receive 

 the impression. 



If we suppose one system of tapes to begin above 

 the cylinder E, they then follow the under circum- 

 ference of the roller F ; and passing over the upper part 

 of the roller H, and then below the roller I, they sur- 

 round a considerable portion of the main cylinder G ; 

 and after passing along so as to touch the cylinders a, 

 b, c, d, and e, they arrive again at the roller E, from 

 which they started, thus forming an endless system. The 

 second system of tapes beginning at h, pass on to E, 

 where they come into coincidence with the first system, 

 each tape in the one system corresponding to each tape 

 in the other. In this state of coincidence, they ad- 

 vance under F, above H, under I, and round G, sepa- 

 rating at the roller i, where they descend to h, and 

 passing in contact with the rollers m, , o, they return 

 to the roller h. These two systems of tapes revolve 

 without interfering with each other, and all sliding or 

 displacement of the tapes is prevented by the uniform 

 motion produced by the toothed wheels which connect 

 the cylinders F, G, H, I, and E. The reciprocating 

 motion of the carriage which holds the forms of types, 

 is produced by a pinion on the upright axis K, which 

 works in the rack LL, connected with the carriage by 

 a system of levers. 



The types of each form are inked by two separate 

 inking apparatuses, shown at N and O. A roller 

 at N, driven by a band from the axis of G removes 

 slowly a film cf ink from a mass of ink on a horizontal 

 plate, nearly in contact with its circumference. An 

 elastic roller O, which moves round an axis p, is con- 

 nected with the axis of G by an excentric circle, which 

 causes it to rise into contact with N ; and after taking 

 a little ink from it, to descend upon the metallic table 

 T, fixed to the type carriage, so as to receive ink from 

 O during the reciprocating motion of .the carriage. 

 The supply of ink on the table T is finely regulated by 

 the elastic rollers R, and it is afterwards taken up by 

 the rollers S, which lay it uniformly upon the types 

 while they pass under these rollers. 



Various improvements on printing machines have Mr. Apple- 

 been lately made by Mr. Augustus Applegath, who g atn ' s im- 

 has secured the exclusive right to them by patent in P rovemems 

 1823. His improvements relate to five points. ' 



. 1. Fie passes the distributing ink rollers diagonally 

 instead of directly across the ink table. 



2. He makes the ink table, which was formerly me- 

 tallic, of flexible materials, such as linen, woollen, can- 

 vaes, carpeting, leather, &c. covered with a smooth 

 coating of varnish paint, or the elastic composition of 

 glue and treacle. ,,,* u Ls>5 



3. He inks the form of types by a system of rollers 

 attached to endless chains or bands. 



4. He makes the plattin or pressing surface in the 



* The sugar contained in this composition attracts moisture from the air, and this prevents the glue from getting hard. 



