US1963778A - Transfer sheet and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1934. H. Q, R, CROWDER 1,963,778

TRANSFER SHEET AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed June 1, 1931 2 Sheet s-Sheet l A TTORNE Y.

June 19, 1934. Q, R CROWDER 1,963,778

TRANSFER SHEET AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed June 1, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

Patented June 1c, 1934 1,963,778

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRANSFER SIEET AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Havy Q. R. Crowder, Chicago, Ill. Application June 1, 1931, Serial No. 541,469

8 Claims. (01. 41-33) g The present invention relatesto a transfer sheet mentary views of a device constructed according adapted particularly for the use of commercial to my invention used with and without a float artists in securing proper backgrounds and shadrespectively; I ings and indicating different textures of ma- Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view look- 5 terial, etc. ing in a direction perpendicular to the plane. 8,,8 63

My invention has for one of its objects the proin Fig. 1; vision of a novel method by which my improved Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing a transfer sheet can be made. One form of the straight-edged wiper barin place of the wiper bar transfer sheet which may be made by this invenshown in Fig. 8;

10 tion is disclosed in my Patent No. 1,820,867, Fig. 10 illustrates a modified form of wiper bar '65 granted August 25, 1931, on Transfer sheet and which I find practical for most purposes; and method of making same. The process is also dis- Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the manner in which closed in a general way in that patent. This apmy improved sheet is used in practice. plication, however, is concerned with the process The transfer sheet which I wish to form is 15 of making the transfer sheet and also has to do one which can be used to transfer any suitable with an improved form of transfer sheet not distype of marking bodily to a sheet of drawings or closed in my aforementioned patent. the like and which sheet comprises only three ele- Another object of this invention resides in ments. These three elements are wax, ink and the new form of transfer sheet which has cera transparent layer of fiexible material of greater 2o tain advantages over the transfer sheet disclosed tensile strength than wax, or the equivalents of in my prior application, but which embodies these elements. Thesheet comprises a thin layer some of the principles involved in that transfer of wax which carries any suitable ink marksheet. In other words, the transfer sheet disings and the inked markings are covered over closed in this application is a specific improvebyalayer of shellac, lacquer or the like. My prin- 25 ment over that disclosed inmy co-pending applicipal feature is to provide a thin transparent so cation. sheet or film as a body to hold the adhesive mate- A very important object of this invention is to rial such as wax and the ink in proper relation distribute the wax which forms a portion of the with each other to permit the same to be handled transfer sheet, uniformly over the entire surface readily, the material forming the sheet or film,

30 of the sheet and over only one surface of the sheet. however, not preventing the scraping or cutting If the wax is permitted to form a layer on the away of undesired portions thereof after it has opposite side of the sheet than that intended, been applied, and which is transparent so as the result is that I am unable to practice my not to obstruct portions of the drawing. I will method and for reasons which will appear preshereafter refer to the material being used as lacently. quer although it is to be understood that the term Other objects of this invention will appear is intended to include all equivalent materials hereafter as the description thereof proceeds, the such as shellac and other film forming comnovel features, combinations and arrangements pounds and transparent binders for holding the being clearly set forth in the appended claims. wax and ink. Thus the markings of ink or the In the drawingslike are protected both by the wax layer and the Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus layer of flexible transparent material such as lacused for arryin ut my invention h wing a quer, so that the markings cannot be smeared. transfe Sh in the process of formation; In accordance with a preferred method of prac- Fig.2 is a cross section through my transfer ticing my invention, I first take a piece of very 45 S eet Show the arrangement of the d eren thin tissue paper which should be fairly porous layers thereof during 0119 Stage of s fOTmatiOn, and also quite transparent, as well as being relthe cross Sec being greatly magnified; atively tough. The tissue paper in the drawings Fig. 3 illustrates an enlarged cross sectional is represented by the reference numeral 1. This V ew through y transfer sheet as sold on the is first moistened and laid on the flat japanned 50 market; surface of the plate 2, or on any relatively smooth Fig. 4 illustrates a preliminary step in the forsurface. A rubber squeegee 3 having the metal mation of my transfer sheet; portion 4 is used for the purpose of pressing the Fig. 5 is an isometric view of the wiper bar sheet of paper firmly against the smooth surface used in carrying out my process; of the plate 2 and for removing the excess wa- 55 Figs. 6 and 7 are cross sectional, fragter from beneath the paper and from the surface thereof. When the paper has been spread smoothly over the surface of the plate, the same is permitted to dry, but before being completely dry the surface thereof is coated with a layer of glue 4' and the plate and coated sheet of paper are then set aside until the paper and glue have dried.

The glue which I have found most desirable for the purpose of this invention consists of a mixture of glycerin, gum arabic and soft soap. These substances are mixed in approximately the following proportions:

Per cent by weight Glycerin 30 Gum arabic 35 Soft soap 35 This glue has a very uniform-consistency and is free from small lumps, which, of course, are very undesirable in a glue to be used in carrying out my invention. At the same time, such a glue will flow uniformly over the surface upon which it is applied and will not leave small openings on the surface, as often occur with other forms of glue. For instance, little glue bubbles will not form and later break to expose a portion of the sheet of paper therebeneath.

After the glue has been prepared, I add thereto enough distilled water to reduce the glue to the desired consistency for spreading on the surface of the sheet of paper. The glue is thereafter spread on the surface of the paper in a very thin coat or film either by a brush or by means of a spray or any other desired means.

It takes approximately one hour for the glue to dry after being applied to the paper, and when I refer to the glue drying, I do not in any sense intend to convey the idea that the glue forms a hard surface on the paper, because it does not. The glue, on the other hand, is relatively pliable and after the glue is dried the sheet of paper can be folded without cracking the glue, for the glue forms a very very thin layer and thetissue paper is very thin. Therefore the bending of the paper does not have a tendency to distort either the paper or the glue. After the glue is dry I spray or brush lacquer over the surface of the glue to form a thin layer 32 upon which the inked markings are impressed.

When the lacquer is dry, the sheet of paper is stripped from the plate 2 and put through the printing press which prints on the surface of the lacquer the desired configurations which are to be transferred to a selected surface. In the present instance the configuration assumes the form of straight parallel lines 5, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, in view of the fact that in that figure the lines are on the exposed side of the paper. It will be understood, however, that any suitable type of printing may be placed on the surface of the lacquer.

The next and perhaps most important step of my process resides in the forming of a thin layer of wax over the surface of the printing which appears on the lacquer, as well as covering any exposed portions of the lacquer. This process in general consists of making a bath of the wax and flowing the sheet of material on the top of the wax with the printed side thereof facing the surface of the wax. Means is provided for heating the bath of wax and it is kept at a very fluid consistency so that only a thin layer of the wax remains on the sheet of paper when the same is withdrawn therefrom. This sheet of wax dries substantially as quickly as the same is withdrawn from the bath and this enables one to stack the finished sheets, one upon the other.

The apparatus for applying the wax is best illustrated in Figs. 1, 6 and 8. An electric heater 6, having the electric cord 7 leading therefrom to a suitable source of electrical energy, is used for vention is not limited to using this form of wax,

but this particular compound has been found quite desirable, as it is relatively uniform in consistency and flows readily over the surface of the sheet.

Near one end of the pan 8 there is arranged a wiper bar 10 rotatably supported by the brackets 11 on the opposite sides of the pan. This wiper bar is substantially square in cross section and has each of the longitudinal edges thereof provided with a series of notches designated by the reference numerals 12, 13, 14 and 15. These notches are substantially V-shaped and are of different depths and widths. The purpose of these notches will appear hereinafter. A spring 16 secured by means of the rivets 17 to the inside vertical side of the pan 8, is adapted to engage the adjacent fiat side of the wiper bar 10 and prevent its rotation under ordinary circumstances. However, the bar may be grasped and rotated by hand to present any one of the desired edges at the operative position for accomplishing the result hereinafter to be more clearly pointed out.

I also place a rectangular float 18 on the surface of the wax. vThis float can readily be constructed of thin pieces of wood or can be con-' structed in any other manner desired. Even metal with hollow chambers may be used for this purpose. I also provide a rest bar 19 which is merely laid across the pan and supported by the upper opposite edges thereof, as quite clearly illustrated in Fig. 1.

I next select the notched edge of the bar 10 which I desire to use in this process and I will assume that in Fig. 1 I will use the edge 12 for this purpose. This edge should therefore be positioned at the position illustrated therefor in Fig. 1, as this is the only operative edge of the bar. The sheet of paper with the glue, lacquer and the inked markings thereon is held with the ink facing downward. I support one end 20 of thepaper 1 by the bar 19 while I hold the other end 21 of the paper in my hands. The paper is therefore supported at opposite ends thereof. but not in the middle and this middle portion is permitted to drop down into engagement with the surface of the wax, beginning with that end of the paper being held in my hands. I next draw the paper over the surface of the wax and then over the surface of the bar, the wax clinging to the surface of the paper and being carried into engagement with the scraping edge 12 of the bar, which scraping edge removes a certain percentage of the wax and leaves only the desired thickness of the wax the surface of the wax for too great a period of hold this bar in place, although such a means could be used, if desired.

The reason for providing the float is quite obvious from an inspection of Figs. 6 and 7 in which I have shown the bath with and without the float. If the float lS provided, as in Fig. 6, the edge of the pap r is held out of contact withthe wax, or if there is wax on the surface of the float, the same is not of sufficient depth to run over the edge of the sheet and onto the upper surface thereof. It is very important that the upper surface of the sheet does not have wax thereon, at least over that portion of the sheet which contains the markings. Therefore, if the float were not used, the edge of the sheet might sink below the surface of the wax, as seen in Fig. '7, and portions of the wax, such as 22, may run over the upper surface of the sheet and form a coating of wax, which will prevent the penetration of water through the sheet for a purpose to be pointed out hereinafter in connection with the use of the sheet. Therefore, by using the float, I am enabled to keep the upper surface of the sheet free from wax and thereby produce a better transfer sheet.

The notched bar 10.performs a very important part in the process, for this notched bar insures a uniform distribution of the wax over the surface of the sheet and can be used as a gauge for gauging the thickness of the wax and also prevents any portions of the sheet from having less than the required amount of wax thereon. In Fig. 8 I have shown a notched bar and in Fig. 9 I have shown a bar without notches and having a straight scraping edge thereon. If the sheet of paper is drawn over the edge of the bar 23 having the straight edge 24 thereon, a great proportion of the wax is scraped off the surface of the sheet and ordinarily with a skilled operator and with other conditions just right, it is possible to form a uniform layer on the sheet as the paper is drawn over the edge 24, but occasionally the sheet being prepared is pressed against the edge 24 with a greater pressure at certain points than at others. The result is that at certain points such as at 25, only a thin layer of wax is provided or in a great many instances, substantially no wax will adhere to the surface of the sheet. This exposes a portion of the inked markings, or in many instances, does not provide a sufficient quantity of wax over the inked markings to enable one to use the sheet for the purpose intended. This will appear hereinafter in the description of the manner of using the sheet.

With the notched bar 10, however, the notches will permit a certain quantity of the wax to pass the scraping edge and only the portions of the sheet which contact directly with the points can have the wax scraped therefrom. Therefore, as the sheet is drawn over the edge of the bar, there are a series of raised portions of melted wax which quickly spread and unite with each other to form a uniform film or sheet of wax over the surfaces of the inked markings and lacquer. By using notches of different depths I am enabled to vary the thickness of the sheet of wax which is formed over the inked markings.

Instead of using a bar such as illustrated in Figs. 1, 5 and 8, I may use instead a square bar about which there is wound a wire 27, the

adjacent turns of the wire being in abutting relationship to each other. This is a very easy way to form notches of uniform depths throughout the entire length of the bar although it does not provide a bar having notches of different depths. Ordinarily, in carrying out my process, however, it is not necessary to have grooves of different depths.

In using the type of sheet described in my aforementioned application, it is necessary to moisten the-back of the sheet when using the same. This hasbeen found to be objectionable in some instances and therefore I have devised a means for preparing a sheet of material which does not have to be wetted in order to use the same.

I take the sheet of paper produced in the manner which has just been described, lay the same with the waxed surface down and there'- after apply water to the upper surface of the sheet to soften the layer of glue. I then strip the paper from the sheet of lacquer so that all that remains is a sheet comprising layers of wax and lacquer with the markings carried therebetween. While it is not absolutely necessary to wash the remaining portions of the glue from the surface of the lacquer, I prefer to do this before placing the same on the market. If desired, and the paper is sufficiently transparent, it may be left on the transfer sheet, in which case it takes the place of the layer of lacquer with or without the layer of glue. The sheet is then ready for the artist who is to use the same. Therefore when thesheet is burnished down as hereinafter described, the burnishing does no\ cause the ink to smear.

This sheet is applied in substantially the same I manner as described for the sheet disclosed in my aforementioned application. However, it is unnecessary for the artist to use water to soften the glue, as in the use of the former sheet. The sheet of wax, or portions thereof, may be laid on the surface and an additional sheet 31 of plain paper, transparent or otherwise, may be (but need not be) laid over the sheet of wax with the wax surface thereof against the surface 30 and the back of the paper 31 pressed against the sheet, with a bone stylus 28 or the like over and throughout a predetermined area of the surface 30 indicated by the large letter E in Figs. 11 and 12. This causes the wax to adhere to the surface 30 and the paper 31 can be removed without wetting the same. The artist then merely tears or cuts away the portions of the sheet which do not adhere to the surface 30 and then trims or scrapes away portions of the wax (with its superimposed layer or layers) for shading or scrapes away those portions which adhere to the paper and which extend beyond the area desired to be covered, as in my aforementioned patent.

In using my process to form a transfer sheet which has a tissue paper backing such as described in my aforementioned patent, I do not use the lacquer, but instead I print directly on the surface of the glue and then coat the sheet with wax as described in connection with the preparation of the sheet shown in Fig. 3. When using the tissue paper backing, it is not necessary that a heavy coating of wax be applied to the sheet as where the tissue paper backing is not used. It will be understood that my process is substantially the same for the formation of either sheet described but in forming the sheet shown in Fig. 3, it is desirableto add a layer of lacquer which acts as a binder to hold the sheet together after it is formed. I Wish to have it understood that the lacquer, while acting as a binder and as a protecting coating for the ink, is not sufliciently thick to prevent the tearof wax 9, a layer of lacquer 32, and inked markings 5 arranged between the two layers, themarkings being visible'through the layer'of lacquer, and the markings and the layer of lacquer being adhered to the drawing or other surface to which the background isapplied, through the inter mediation of the wax which provides an adhesive operative solely by relatively light pressure and which can be readily removed without marring the surface. (See Fig. 12).

Due to the fact that the ink is entirely closed within aprotecting cover of wax and lacquer, it is possible for me to use dry or moist ink in carrying out my process but even a dry ink has some tendency to smear if exposed. The ink is transferred bodily and does not rely upon the characteristics of the ink for its usefulness in being transferred to the desired surface. In former methods, ink has been mixed with wax and applied to a sheet in a printing process, but the wax in those processes was merely mixed with the ink to keep the same moist and to prevent the same from drying out or to render the ink moist under the application of heat so that when the sheet is used the ink itself may be impressed upon the surface to which the same is to be transferred. In other words, with former devices it has been necessary to maintain the ink in a moist state so that it could be transferred. With applicants device, however, the transfer is accomplished by means of the wax, and the ink, therefore, may be dry ink instead of the ordinary non-drying ink.

Obviously other changes may be made in the particular construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of this invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of preparing a transfer sheet comprising the steps of moistening a sheet of relatively thin paper, pressing it down firmly on a smooth surface, applying a coating of glue thereto while said sheet is wet, applying lacquer to'the surface of said glue, applying markings to the surface of said lacquer after it is dry, and covering said lacquer and markings with a compound of wax and paraffin.

2. The method of preparing a transfer sheet comprising the steps of moistening a sheet of relatively thin paper, pressing it down firmly on a smooth surface, applying a coating of glue thereto, applying lacquer to said glue, applying markings to the surface of said lacquer after it is dry, and covering said glue and markings with a compound of wax and paraffin.

3. A transfer sheet comprising a layer of lacquer, an exposed layer of wax, and markings carried between said layers, said markings being protected by both layers and visible through the layer of lacquer.

4. The method of preparing a transfer sheet comprising the steps of moistening a sheet of relatively thin paper, pressing the same firmly down on a smooth surface, applying a coating of glue thereto while said sheet is wet, applying a thin coating of liquid to the surface of said glue which liquid is of a, character which dries in a thin film having appreciable tenacity, applying markings to the surface of said film, and covering the film and markings with a compound of wax and paraffin, said film having greater tensile strength than said paraffin.

5. The method of forming a transfer sheet which comprises the steps of applying a coating of glue to a sheet of material on one side thereof,

forming a th n film of lacquer on the surface of said glue, applying ink markings, to the surface of said lacquer after the latter has dried, and covering the markings and exposed portions of the lacquer with a coating of wax.

6. A sheet of the class described comprising a thin transparent layer of wax having one exposed surface, a continuous exposed layer of thin transparent friable material of greater tensile strength than said wax to reenforce said layer of wax, and markings carried by said combined layerstherebetween, said markings being visible from both sides of the sheet and being protected by both layers.

'7. In a transfer adapted to provide an artists background, the combination with a drawing surface to be covered, of a layer of slightly adhesive material adhered to a predetermined area of said surface by the application of pressure but readily removable therefrom without marring the surface, a superimposed continuous layer of transparent flexible material of greater tensile strength than the adhesive material substantially coterminous with said area and adhered to said surface through the intermediation of the adhesive material, and markings of ink or the like between said layers in direct contact with each layer and protected by both layers, said transfer being thereby rendered substantially integral with said surface and said markings being visible thereon through the layer of transparent mate-' rial.

8. In a transfer adapted to provide an artist's background, the combination with a drawing surface to be covered, of a layer of solidified wax adhered to a predetermined area of said surface by the application of pressure but readily removable therefrom without marring the surface, a superimposed continuous layer of transparent flexible material of greater tensile strength than the solidified wax substantially co-terminous with said area and adhered to said surface through the intermediation of the solidified wax, and markings of ink or the like between said layers in direct contact with the wax and protected by both layers, said transfer being thereby rendered substantially integral with said surface and said markings being visible thereon through the layer of transparent material.

HAVY Q. R. CHOWDER.

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