US1978405A

US1978405A - Apparatus for producing and finishing prints

Info

Publication number: US1978405A
Application number: US545827A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles M Boyce
Original assignee: JOHN R DITMARS
Current assignee: JOHN R DITMARS
Priority date: 1931-06-20
Filing date: 1931-06-20
Publication date: 1934-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 1951-10-30

Description

Oct. 30, 1934.- c. M. BOYCE 1,978,405

' APPARATUS r'oa'raonucmc AND FIN-ISHING PRINTS Filed June 20. 1931 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 30, M. B-OYCE' 7 5 mmm ron PRODUCING nn FINISHING PRINTS Filed June 20. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 30, 1934 1,918,405- APPARATUS FOR rnonuoms e FINISHING PRINTS Charles M. Boyce, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assignor to John B. Ditmars, New York, N. Y.

Application June 1931, Serial No. 545,827 7 7 Glaims. (01. 91-55) My invention relates to improvements inmeans for producing prints having accentuated depth of tone, detail and brilliance, and more particularlyv to coating and finishing apparatus which may ba 5 co-ordinated with a printing machine, wherebyan ink image produced upon a suitable base material, such as a sheet of paper, by the printing machine is altered by successive operations to.

effectively accentuate its depth of tone,. detail 1 and brilliance, and further to impart surface finishes of matte,,semi-matte or gloss to the imprinted surface of the material.

Another object of this invention is to provide mechanism whereby prints of the desired character may be made upon a suitable pressyandthe...

image transferred to the paper or suitable base. which is passed continuously through the treating mechanisms for finishing as a continuous operation.

These and other objects as will hereinafterappear are accomplished by this invention, which is fully described in the followingspecification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in

which- I Figure 1 is a side elevation of my printing and finishing machine illustrating the relation of the 1 several mechanisms to one-another whereby continuous operation of printing, treating with a film-forming solution, and finishing are effected;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the treating and drying mechanism for the material as it emerges from the printing mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the fin-.

ishing drum which receives the material from the treating and drying mechanism shown in 'lhe printing machine indicated broadly'as' A comprises a frame or other suitable support 1 on whicha printing and inking mechanism 2 is operatively supported. This printing mechanism 2 may take the form particularly referred to in my Patent No. 1,719,796, but it will be understood that this invention is not limited to the use of the apparatus therein shown as other printing machines adapted to produce ink imprinted images on paper sheets or other base stock may be employed.

On the frame 1 is shown a suitable support 3 for a roll of sheet material which is adapted to be fed from the roll through the mechanism. The sheet designated as E, emerging from the printing machine, is fed directly into the finish- 'ing mechanism now to be described, where the freshly imprinted image is treated and the im-' is printed base or sheet surfaced and dried.

The finishing mechanism comprises a frame 5 to which is attached av drying frame or housing 6 of sheet metal, or the like, having a surface 7 over which the sheet E passes. .The surface 7 as shown is curved to prevent the edges of the 60 sheet curling up as it .dries, should it have any such tendency. A gas burner or other heating element 8 is placed within the sheet metal housing 6, and the .heating of the frame may be controlled by any suitable means such as for instance the valve X.

,1; :The frame 5 carries a suitably heated pan 9 in which a film-forming solution is maintained at a desired temperature, and which is to be applied to .the imprinted face of the sheet E to affect 7 the appearance. of the image and produce the desired surface finish as will later be described. Solutions particularly adapted for this purpose are described. and claimed in my PatentNo.

7 The sheet E which has been imprinted during its travel through the printing machine is passed up under the roller .10, over the roller 11, and

.down under an adjustable roller 12, which submerges the entire width of the sheet in the solutionin .the pan 9. For this purpose the roller 12 may be considerably narrower than the width of the sheet E, and the solution, due to capillary attraction, will permit the sheet to be submerged some distance beneath its surface without overflowing upon the back thereof.

As the treated imprinted sheet E with its surfacefilm emerges from the pan 9, it passes up over the roller 13 and slides around the back 7 of the drier G emerging at the bottom as a dried 9o -or partially dried sheet E which passes over a series'of rollers and eventually reaches the finishing drum J, shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This drum is mounted upon a frame 14, and is driven, preflerably by means of worms and worm wheels within the housings 15 and 16. The worm shaft 17 connectswith a motor or other suitable source of power (not shown). It is obvious that the mechanisms Just described should be operated at a speed corresponding to that of the printing machine with which such mechanisms are coordinated.- Ordinarily such printing machines, as are referred to herein, are run at a constant speed. To'reach the drum J, the treated and dried sheet E passes under the roller 18, thence 1 5 up over the roller 19, and down under spaced

rollers

20 and 21. As the sheet passes under the latter rollers'from one to the other, its coated surface, but preferably not the base to which the coating is applied, is brought into contact with 110.

alcohol and water, or some other suitable treating medium, which conditions the coated surface for finishing on the drum. This result may be brought about by utilizing rollers somewhat less in length than the width of the sheet, so that the treating solution, because of capillary attraction, will affect only the coated surface of the sheet andnot the reverse side thereof.

As the sheet emerges from the bath of the treating medium H it passes up over the roller 22, and over the roller 23 which forces the treated surface of the coating into an intimate or optical contact with the cylindrical surface of the finishing drum J. The speed of sheet travel, plus the distance between the two

rollers

20 and 21, is

intimate contact with the highly polished surface, whereby a high gloss finish is imparted to the coated surface of the base.

2. A machine for coating 9. base with a glossed transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating substance to the surface of the base in the form of a thin uniform film, means for drying the coating on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the filmon the base including a rotatably mounted cylinder having a highly polished surface and a pressure roller cooperating therewith for forcibly pressing the coated surface into intimate contact with the surface of the cylinder, whereby a high gloss finish is imparted to the coated surface of the such that the liquid in the bath H may permeate base the film on the sheet sufilciently to render it susceptible to a. high gloss after being brought intc contact with the polished surface of the drum J. In this operation the roller 23 acts as a squeegee roller to force the treated surface into optical contact with the polished surface of the drum, the coating being thereby evened over its base and glossed to a high degree.

For some purposes it is desired to provide the sheet with a backing of cloth, or the like. Such a backing of gummed cloth K may be provided by taking it from the roll of cloth 2i and passing it up over the roller25, down under the roller 26 which dips the cloth into a bath of liquid 2'7, thence up over the roller 28 which forces it firmly against the back of the sheet. The

rollers

23 and 28 are provided'with adjusting means whereby the pressure applied thereon may be varied to suit conditions.

The finishing drum J revolves in a clockwise direction and the coating of the sheet E which has been previously treated to make intimate contact with the surface of the drum, has time to thoroughly dry in smoothed out condition by the time the drum revolves to carry the sheet beneath the stripping roller 29. This roller 29 leads the sheet off the face of the drum, after which the finished dried sheet E passes up over the roller 30, and out between the

rollers

31 and 32. From here the sheet passes on to a trimmer, or the like.

On this highly specialized type of printing and finishing machine the imprinted sheet or sheets may be fed directly from the printing means into the treating means where the imprinted image thereon is treated. Assuming that the imprinted image is as complete as it is possible to produce from a printing plate, it may nevertheless be further enhanced as to depth of tone, detail and brilliance. By treating the imprinted image as herein described the image is materially altered in appearance as the darker portions take on an added depth of tone and solidity and the high lights are brightened, increasing detail with depth of tone, and added brilliance comparable only with a true photograph, regardless of the kind of surface finish produced by the process which is more fully described and claimed in my Patent No. 1,725,699, August 20, 1929.

I claim:

1. A machine for coating a base with a glossed transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating substance to the surface of the base in the form of a thin uniform film, means for drying the coating on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the film on the base including a highly polished surface and means for forcibly pressing the coated surface into 3. A machine for coating a base with a glossed transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating substance to the surface of the base in the form of athin uniform film, means for drying the coating on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the film on the base including a rotatably mounted cylinder having a smooth polished surface, means for rotating the cylinder, means for feeding the coated base on to the cylinder, means for wetting the coated surface before it contacts with the cylinder, and a pressure roller cooperating with the cylinder for forcibly pressing the coated surface into contact with the surface of the cylinder.

4. A machine for coating a base with a glossed transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating substance to the surface of the base in the form of a thin uniform film, means for coagulating the coating on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the film on the base including a rotatably mounted cylinder having a smooth polished surface, means for heating the surface of the cylinder, feeding means for feeding the base on to the cylinder with the coated surface in contact with the surface of the cylinder, means for wetting the coated surface before it contacts with the cylinder, and a pressure roller cooperating with the cylinder for forcibly pressing the coated surface into contact with the surface of the cylinder.

5. A machine for coating a flexible base with a transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating to the surface of the base in the form of a thin uniform film, means for partially removing the liquid content from the film on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the partially dried film on the base including a rotatably mounted drying cylinder having ahighly polished surface, means for forcibly, pressing the coated surface of the base into intimate contact with the surface of the cylinder, means for maintaining the base with its coated surface in contact with a substantial portion of the periphery of the cylinder, and means for subsequently removing the base from the cylinder.

6. A machine for coating a flexible base with a transparent coating comprising means for applying a liquid coating to the surface of the base in the form of a thin uniform film, means for partially removing the liquid content from the film on the surface of the base, and means for glossing the partially dried film on the base including a rotatably mounted cylinder having a highly polished surface, means for heating the cylinder, and means for forcibly pressing the coated surface into intimate contact with the surface of the cylinder to cause the coated surface to adhere to the surface of the cylinder during a partial rotation of the cylinder, whereby a highgloesisimnartedtothecoated surface base ofthe on the surface of the thepartialiydried base, and means for glossing film on the base including a ished surface,

. '3 rotatably mm cylinder mm a highly p01;

means for forcibly pressing the coated surface into intimate contact with the surface of the cylinder. and means positioned about the cylinder and spaced from saidpressing means for 8111 the cylinder.

ding the base from the surface of CHARLES H. BOYCE?