US2377110A

US2377110A - Printing roll inking device

Info

Publication number: US2377110A
Application number: US502436A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herman A Smith
Original assignee: Rice Barton Corp
Current assignee: Rice Barton Corp
Priority date: 1943-09-15
Filing date: 1943-09-15
Publication date: 1945-05-29
Anticipated expiration: 1962-05-29

Description

May, 29, 1945. H. A. SMITH PRINTING ROLL INKING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 15, 1943 Juventor Sm h ,HermnA lag @gaf n Gttorncg May 291, 1945.

H. A. SMITH PRINTING ROLL INKINGDEVICE Filed sept. 15,I 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Herbert Cove H. A. SMITH PRINTING ROLL INKING DEVICE yMay 29, 1945.

4 sheetsheet s' Suventor Filed Sept. l5, 1945 dan.. K

HemmA. 5mi h B @mima cf? LUN; ne ss G ttorneg v witness May 29, 1945. H, A sM|TH Y 2,377,110

PRINTING ROLL INKING DEVICE Filed Sep. l5, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Herman A. Smi h m, QQMK:

Herben C. Covey -to the operators of the machine. ticularly objectionable where only a short run Patented May 29, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PRINTING ROLL INKING DEVICE Herman A. Smith, Holden,` Mass., assignor to Rice Barton Corporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 15, 1943, Serial No. 502,436 17 claims. (Crm1- 157) This invention relates to printing presses, and more particularly to mechanism for inking the printing roll.

Textiles, wall paper and other web material are commonly printed by means of a printing roll having an intaglio engraving on its surface Which carries the color for printing the web. Heretofore, this print roll has had the color fed to it by means of a supplemental furnisher roll which dips` into the color or ink held in a large pan therebeneath. The excess of color is removed from the print roll' by means of a doctor blade which is substantially tangential to the surface and extends in the` direction of rotation of the roll. This doctor blade is customarily located on the under side of the roll and the excess of color removed thereby drips back into the color pan. The` doctor bladezis` customarily color need be used and thus eliminate waste thereof. p Afurther object is to provide a construction of this general type which i s so made that the y, blades may be used and are so arranged that by oscillated through a short distance to minimize jure the blade or the roll. The oscillation of the blade tends to keep the lint or hard bodies in rmotion and make them less likely to damage the roll and affect the printing detrimentally.

Hence it is important that the doctor blade reiciproeate. Y

,The color pan holds a considerable quantity of the ink,'and each time that the color of the pattern is changed, it is necessary to remove all of the inkwand to clean the pan thoroughly before new ink may be placed therein. This causes a material wastage of the color. This operation, moreover, requires a considerable expenditure of time and effort, as well as. inconvenience This is parof cloth or paper is to be printed.v y, A primary object of this invention is toreliminate the color pan and the furnisher roll and "to provide a constructionwhich will serve satisiactorily for applying color to the printing roll a' simple reversal of a doctor blade support a second blade may be broughtinto operative use.

A further object, ofthe invention is to provide an entirely enclosed space adjacent to the printing roll' and to which the color or ink may besupplied for the printing` operation and there held out of contact with the outside atmosphere, and thus minimize the detrimental effects caused by oxidation of the color or the accumulation of dust or other foreign bodies therein.

A further object Yis to provide a construction in which `a lint removing doctor blade may be employed in association with the inking doctor blade so that the roll may be kept clean and in proper. shapev for therprintng operation, and wherein the accumulated lint is prevented from access to the color that contacts with the roll. lAnother object is to provide a construction which provides for ready adjustment of the angle of contact of the doctor blade with the roll and which permits moving the blade vertically or tangentially and thus change its point of Acontact with the roll and the angle which it makes relative tota radius of the roll. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawingswhich illustrate my preferred embodiments of this invention:

Fig. `1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of ay printing roll and two associated doctor `blades for inking the roll and removing lint therefrom, thelower lportion of the gure being a section on the line A--A of Fig. 3 and the upper portion being a section through the central part of the doctor blade and the clamp support therefor; l p i Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic elevation showing the mechanism for reciprocating the doctor blades;

Fig. 3 is a view taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, but with the left hand portion or the figure, shown as a section through the doctor blade supporting mechanism;

4 is a View taken approximately on `the line 4 14 of Fig; 3 but with parts broken away to show the strap `locking device;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an elevation, partly in section, of a modified form of inking doctor blade and its support arranged for vertical and angular adjustment of the doctor blade;

Fig. '1 is a fragmentary elevation of the device of Fig. 6, the view being taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a detail showing a part of the doctor blade operating mechanism.

In accordance with this invention, I supply ink or color to the periphery I of an engraved or other suitably prepared printing roll of a printing machine, and particularly a continuous printer of textiles, wall paper or other web material, by supporting a small pool of color in a shallow trough formed by the upper surfaces of a doctor blade I2 and the adjacent surface of the printing roll. Vertical end walls I3 and I4 close the ends of this trough. The color may be supplied to the trough through a pipe I5 connected with any suitable outside source of the fluid. As shown particularly in Fig. 1, the doctor blade I2 contacts with the under side of the printing roll and lies at a desired angle to the roll, and which may be nearly tangential thereto as shown. The printing roll rotates downwardly in contact with the doctor blade, so that the blade drags over the roll in the direction of rotation and does not scrape detrimentally against the engraved surface.

Since the size of the printing roll varies from time to time, a problem is involved in making the ends of the trough fluid tight. I propose to have the ends of the color trough contact with that portion of the printing roll which does not vary in shape. That is, I make use of the flat ends I6 of the roll which lie in parallel planes outside of the mandrel that forms the support for the roll. As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, each of the end plates I3 and I4 is so shaped that a narrow arcuate section I8 overlaps the adjacent end of the roll and makes a sliding contact therewith. These two end surfaces of the printing roll and the adjacent surfaces of the end walls are ground to lie in parallel planes and to make a sliding contact so that the ink or color may not escape past the ends of the roll.

This construction, insofar as described, would be satisfactory for a stationary doctor blade, but for the reasons above explained it is desirable to reciprocate the blade, which is made longer than the engraved surface of the roll. To permit this, I form each of the end walls I3 and I4 with an outwardly projecting recessed portion into which the two ends of the doctor blade may extend as they reciprocate in contact with the full length of the printing roll. A further problem is presented in the necessity for removing the doctor blade at periodic intervals for the purposes of replacement. 'I'hese two objects are accomplished by making the recess in each of the end walls an open-ended slot which extends in the direction of inclination of the doctor blade I2. This slot 20 is made sufficiently wide for the removal of the doctor blade assembly, as will be described.

As shown in Fig. 3, which is a View looking down the two slots 20 shown in Fig, 1, each slot has an upper wall 2I and a lower wall 22. The upper wall forms a guideway for the blade and it provides a sealing surface lying in the plane.

of the upper surface of the doctor blade. This prevents the escape of the color fluid past the end walls as the blade I2 reciprocates in the direction of the double arrow shown in Fig. 3. The ink is held on the upper surface of the blade in that gure.

Since various lengths of printing roll may be used in the printing machine, and it' is desirable that this inking device be universally adaptable for these different rolls, the two end walls I3r and I4 are connected together by intermediate members forming the back wall of the color compartment which permit contraction or extension of the device, so that the two end walls I3 and I4 may always be given a snug sliding engagement with the ends of the printing roll. To this end, as shown in Figs. l and 5, each of the end walls I3 and I4 has an L-shaped wall member 24 suitably secured thereto and extending at right angles to the planes of the roll ends. Each member 24 has a strengthening flange 25. These.

two back wall members 24 are made suiiiciently short so that the plates I3 and I4 may be moved toward each other to fit the smallest length of printing roll. In order to close the gap between these two spaced parts of the back wall of the color compartment, a connecting wall member 21 is provided. This member 21 is suiciently long so as to connect the two parts 24 when the plates I3 and I4 are separated to the maximum extent. A key 28 rides in a slot in the associated members and holds them in alignment. Screws 29 are threaded into sockets in the back plate 21 and are arranged to ride in slots in the wall members 24, these slots being of such length as to permit separation of the end walls I3 and I4 as required.

As shown particularly in Fig. l, the construction above described is duplicated at the upper half 0f the apparatus so as to provide a lint removing doctor blade 30 if desired. The upper doctor blade 30 is so arranged that the lint removed from the top of the roll cannot get into the color pool but must remain outside of the color compartment. The parts are preferably so constructed and arranged that the apparatus may be reversed in position so as to use the upper doctor blade 30 in the lower position to hold the color pool. In order to provide for this reversal of parts, the entire device is symmetrically constructed relative to a central horizontal plane, and it is slidably mounted on four horizontal rods 3l, 32, 33 and 34-which extend parallel with the axis of the printing roll and are suitably secured to the end frames of the printing press. The end plates I3 and I4 are slidable on these rods so that they may be shoved toward and from each other as required to fit the different lengths of printing roll. The angle of Contact of the doctor blade with the roll may be varied somewhat by suitably re-locating these supporting rods.

The end plates I3 and I4 are shaped to form the upwardly sloping groove or recess 36 and the lower slide face 31 corresponding in shape and arrangement with the groove 20 and the surface 2|. The face 31 is adapted to bear against the lower surface of the doctor blade 3l] and form a seal for that portion of the color compartment. The doctor blade 30 is likewise arranged to extend at a desired angle relative to the surface of the printing roll, such as almost tangential to the roll, as illustrated.

A further feature of the invention involves the provision of pairs of doctor blades which are symmetricaly shaped and arranged so that they may be interchanged with one another. As

.association with the printing roll.

shown in Fig. l, two supplementary blades 40 and 4I :are arranged in alignment respectively with theblades I2 and30. The two pairs of blades are' each mounted on a doctor blade holder 42 by-means of a clamp block 43' held thereto by m'eans of suitable screws 44. The clamp block 43 is preferably hollowed out at its central portion, and its surfaces are so arranged as to hold each pair of blades and I2 or 3|] and 4I in alignment. The

wall members

24 and 21 bear against the outer doctor blades 4U and 4I and thus provide slide surfaces which insure sealing the ink compartment at the back wall. That is, the upper blade 4I slides on the top of the

members

24 and 21, while the lower blade 40 makes a sliding contact with the under faces of these same wallmembers.

The doctor blade assemblies are freely oating in the planes of. the blades. Each of the pair of blades is held in position by means of two block 46 and hold itin position. Two threaded nuts' 5I on the outer end ofthe screw 48 serve to hold the screw 48 in a desired adjustment. This screw 48 has a reduced end 52, the inner end of which is pinned to a collar 53 riding within a recess in the block 46, so that the screw may serve to push and pull the slide block 46 as required,

Provision is made for releasing the two pairs of doctorblades from association with the printing roll and their removal through the slots 2i) 'f or 36 as required. To this end7 the left-hand end of the strap 49 (Fig.` 4) is provided with a spring pressed pin 56l arranged to be seated in a hole 5T in the vertical wall I4.' The pin is held in place by means of a spring 58 located between a flange on the pin and the wall of a recess 59 within the strap.I By pulling on the. enlarged head B0. the pin may be'removed from contact with the supportin'giwall and the strap 49 may f.

be swung` about the pivot 34 and thus remove the slide block'll@ from contact with the end 4l of the doctor blade support 42. This lets the doctor blade assembly fall from its operative position and permits the doctor blade clamp block 43 to clear the corner of the wall member 2'I. Then the doctor blade assembly may be moved'up through the slot 29, or downwardly through `slot 36. and the parts thereby removed from the apparatus. yThe slot walls 22 (Fig. 3) are short so that the doctor blade holder may be centered between the two end walls I3 and I4 and then readily removed.

Since the doctor blade assembly is freely floating. except as confined by the pressure blocks, provision is made to hold the blades in operative Thismay be done, asshown diagrammatically in Fig. 2 and in the upper half of Fig. l, by means of weights 64 carried by cords 65 which pass over suitably located pulleys and are connected to bent wire clips 66 engagingthe rear face of each of the doctor blade holders 42.. These weights provide a gentle pressure for holding the doctor blades 3l) and I2 in proper contact with the printing roll. I

Reciprocation of each of the doctor blades may be effected b'ysuitable mechanism, as shown in' Fig."2.` This'comprises' an eccentric 'I0 fixed on asuitably located rotating shaft .'II; A 'cylin' i dri'cal sleeve 'I2 surrounding and moved by the eccentric is fixed to a yoke'13 attached to one end ofY a push and pull rod14 The other end of the rod`I4 is pivotally connected to a rock lever I5 (Fig. 8) fixed on theshaft 'I6 mounted in suitable bearings onv the' framework of the press. Two rocking levers' 'I8 and 19 aresuitably secured to the shaft`16, and the outer ends of these two levers carry universal bearings which connect through pivoted links 8I (Fig. 3) with a ball and socket joint 83 on the end of a post 82 screwed into the doctor blade holder 42. Suitable arrangements are made for disassembling these parts, so that vtlfiedoctor blade holder may be removed.

The entire device m-ay be removed from the supporting rods 3I-, 32, 33 and 34 and then reversed in position so that the upperhalf of the assembly may be used as the lower half. Also, each of `the doctor blade holders may be reversed end for end, so that the blade 4D or 4I may take the place of the other blade I2 or 30. This makesit possible to use each of the four blades in any one of the required positions and thus minimize wear and give the device a much longer life and useful service.

A simplied construction is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 which will serve either as a color supporting doctor or as a lint doctor; or two of these doctor mechanisms may be employed, one for the color onefor removing the lint. This construction is so made that the doctor blade may be adjusted toany desired anglerelative to a radius of the printing roll' I6, or ittmay be raised orlowered relative to the surface of the roll'and at the same time change its angle of contact therewith.

To accomplish" these purposes, each `doctor vblade supporting mechanism, which is of the i general type above described, is mounted to be rotated? about a trunnion 85 carried in a suitably constructed horizontal bearing 86 formed in"` amember 81 that is adjustably mounted fori sliding vertically on the frame 88 of the machine. Each trunnion 85 projects horizontally from the wall 89 on the doctor blade holder, this wall89 corresponding in general shape and functions with the Vwa11sI3 and I4 of the above- .described construction. A set screw 90 `passing nthrough the bearing housing serves to x the trunnion 85 in position 'and thereby hold the doctorblade 9| at any required angle relative to afradius of the print roll I0. Elongated slots 92 in the member 8'I cooperate with clamp bolts 93 and's'uitable nuts and washers to hold the bearingand4 the trunnion supported thereby in any desired vertically adjusted position. It will be lapprecie.ted'that by raising the doctor blade 9I "be effected; For example, the blade may contact with the roll either above or below a 'horizontal l radius and' be `held either radially or sloping towards either side of a radial line through the pointof Contact.

The -doctor 'blade holder 94 is held in place against'an' inner slot wall of the wall member 89 by means of a slide block '95 corresponding. in

`general arrangement and construction with the slide block 46. This slide block is held inplace by a U-shaped strap 96 lwhich is secured tothe inner face of the Wall member 89 by means of bolts 91. Thus, to permit removal of the doctor bladeassembly, it is merely necessary to remove theplate 96 and permit the parts to fall far enough so that the upper clamp plate 98 may clear the shoulder of the upper wall of the slot or recess 99, within which the end of the doctor blade and its holder reciprocate and through which they may be removed. The doctor blade mechanism is reciprocated by a post suitably secured to the holder 94 and operated the same as the constructions shown in Fig. 2. A second blade |02 may be removably secured in position by the clamp block 98. To substitute the blade |92 for the blade 9|, it is merely necessary to remove the doctor blade holder and reverse the parts. The pressure block 95 is held in place by a screw |04 threaded in the strap 96 and adjustably positioned and held by a thumb nut and a set nut |05.

The ink may be suitably supplied to the top of the reciprocating doctor blade through a suitable pipe connected with a source of supply. It will be understood that the two end plates 89 have inner flat surfaces lying in parallel planes which 'rub against the outer vertical walls of the roll l0 and thus form the ends of a trough for the ink. The ink stands as a color pool on the top of the doctor blade 9| and it is held by the two end walls 89 against the face of the rotating print roll. The doctor blade may be suitably enclosed in accordance with the above disclosure to prevent the access of dust and lint or to limit the oxidation of the color. Also, the blade may be held against the printing roll by a Weight and cord mechanism of the type shown in Fig. 2 or by any other suitable means.

The operation of each device is fully apparent in view of the above disclosure. The ink supporting doctor blade is urged by the weights into a sliding contact with the intaglio surface of the printing roll, and the blade permits only that ink which fills the intaglio depressions to escape past its edge. Thus, the blade performs its normal function of scraping off all of the excess ink, and it serves, moreover, to supply the ink to the roll. The upper blade serves the function of cleaning the roll and preventing contamination of the ink. In the preferred construction, each blade is made longer than the engraved surface of the roll, and it is reciprocated to aid in the inking and oleaning operations. This is permitted by providing recesses in the end walls of the ink trough which receive the reciprocating ends of the blades, and these recesses are preferably aligned with the blades and open to the outside so that the blades may be Withdrawn therethrough. The inking blade may be adjusted to a required position and angle of contact with the roll, and this does not interfere with its ink supporting function. Because of the use of interchangeable blades and the symmetrical arrangement of the parts, each of four blades may be moved to a color supporting position and thus materially prolong the useful lifeof the device. Various other advantages will be apparent.

It will also be appreciated that various modications may be made in the construction within the scope and purpose of this invention; hence, the above disclosure is to be interpreted as describing the principles of my invention and preferred embodiment thereof and not as imposing limitations on the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a doctor blade longer than and slidably contacting with the periphery of the printing roll, means for reciprocating the doctor blade parallel with the roll axis and means associated with said roll and blade for holding a pool of ink on top of the blade in continuous contact with the roll, said blade being arranged to scrape against the roll and limit the inking thereof to that amount which fills the intaglio depressions.

2. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a reciprocable doctor blade slidably contacting with the periphery of the roll, stationary end walls associated with the blade and slidably contacting with parallel end surfaces of the roll which form an ink trough, and means for reciprocating the blade parallel with the roll axis relative to the end walls and said roll while a pool of ink is maintained thereon, said blade being arranged to limit the inking of the roll to that amount which fills the intaglio depressions.

3. In a printing press having a printing roll, a doctor blade assembly comprising a doctor blade which is longer than the roll, means for reciprocating the blade parallel with the roll axis, and end Walls supporting said blade and slidably engaging the end walls of the roll to form an ink seal, said blade and walls providing a trough for holding a pool of ink in contact with the roll periphery, each of said walls having an outwardly projecting recess opening at its inner face and into which an end of the doctor blade reciprocates.

4. In a printing press having a printing roll, a doctor blade assembly comprising a pair of doctor blades slidably engaging the roll, a common support therefore which holds one blade in position to remove excess ink and the other to remove foreign matter from the roll surface, said support being reversible to interchange the positions and functions of the blades.

5. In a printing press having a printing roll, a doctor blade assembly comprising two pairs of doctor blades, walls supporting one of each pair of blades in peripheral contact with the printing roll, one blade being arranged to remove foreign matter from the roll and the other to hold a pool of ink in contact with the roll periphery, and means associated with said support for holding the two blades in contact with the roll which permits inter-changing the pairs of blades.

6. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters,y a printing roll inking device comprising two end walls having parallel surfaces slidably engaging the end Walls of the roll and making an ink seal therewith, each wall having an outwardly projecting recess open at its inner face, a doctor blade mounted for movement longitudinally into each recess, said recess and blade being so arranged that the blade has sliding contact with the roll periphery and forms therewith a trough for holding a supply of ink, and means for urging the doctor blade forward into sliding contact with the roll.

'7. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising end walls having parallel surfaces slidably engaging the opposite ends of the roll, a doctor blade in slidable contact with the periphery of the roll and yforming with said walls an ink trough to hold a pool of ink against the roll, and wall members whichare movable relative to each other and serve to 'connect and hold the two end walls in contact with the ends of a roll of indeterminate length,

8. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio ,printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a doctor blade arranged to hold a pool of ink in contact with the periphery of the roll, means for reciprocating the doctor blade parallel with the roll axis while the pool is maintained, a support for each end of the doctor blade having an adjustable pressure block arranged to position the blade at the required angle relative to the roll and permit reciprocation thereof, and means for releasing the pressure block without changing its adjustment so that the doctor blade may be readily removed.

9. In a printing press having a rotatableprinting roll provided with parallel end surfaces and intaglio printing characters on its periphery, a printing roll inking device comprising end walls .having parallel surfaces which slidably contact with the ends of the printing roll, a pair of doctor blades, a support connecting the same, said end Walls having parallel slide surfaces contacting with both blades, and means for holding the blades in sealing contact with said end wall surfaces so as to hold a pool of ink in contactwith the periphery of the roll, said blades being symmetrically arranged so that the blades and their support may be reversibly mounted with either blade contacting the roll.

10. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising end walls having parallel plane surfaces engaging the ends of the roll and forming a fluid seal there with, a doctor blade longer than the roll which is supported by said walls and slidably contacts with the periphery of the roll, the blade and walls forming a trough for holding a pool of ink in contact with the roll periphery, means for reciprocating the doctor blade parallel with the roll axis, said end walls being shaped so that the blade may reciprocate therebetween and maintain full contact with the intaglio surface of the roll, and means which urges the blade forward and maintains it in contact with the printing roll.

1l. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided With intaglio printing characters, a doctor blade assembly comprising two doctor blades, end walls having parallel plane to make a sliding contact therewith.

12. In a printing ypress having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a doctor blade slidably contacting with and longer than the periphery of the printing roll, end walls having parallel plane surfaces slidably contacting with the ends of the roll and forming a fluid seal therewith, said walls and doctor blade forming a trough which holds ink in contact with the roll periphery, means for adjustably supporting the blade at a variable angle relative to a radius of the printing roll, and means for reciprocating the blade parallel with the roll axis while maintaining the ink pool thereon in contact with the entire length of the roll periphery.

13. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a vhousing having two end walls provided with parallel plane surfaces engaging the ends of the roll and forming iiuid seals therewith, each end wall having an outwardly `projecting recess opening at its inner face and communicating as a slot with the outside atmosphere, a doctor blade arranged to hold an ink pool thereon which is mounted for reciprocation parallel with the roll axis and is removable through saidslot, means for reciprocating the blade while an ink pool is maintained thereon, and means for holding the blade in a iiuid sealing contact with the end walls during its reciprocation.

14. In a printing press having a frame and a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device 'comprising end Walls contacting with the ends of the roll and a doctor blade slidably contacting with the periphery of the roll which serve to hold a pool of ink in contact with the entire length of the roll, and adjustable means for movably supporting and tilting the device as a unit on the frame and holding the blade in different angular positions relative to a radius of the roll,

15. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising a doctor blade slidably contacting with the periphery of the roll, end walls slidably contacting with the ends of the roll and which have sealing surfaces, means for sealing the blade against saidA sealing surfaces and thereby serving to hold a pool of ink in contact with theperiphery of the roll, and means for adjusting the angularity of the blade relative to a radius of the roll.

16. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with intaglio printing characters, a printing roll inking device comprising end walls having two pairs of sealing surfaces, one pair slidably engaging the ends of the printing roll, a doctor blade mounted to slide against the rollperiphery and engage the other pair of sealing surfaces on the end walls, and a support for each end of the doctor blade including an adjust-` able pressure device mounted on each end wall and arranged to hold the doctor blade in sealing contact with the associated sealing surfaces of the end wall and permit removal thereof.

17. In a printing press having a rotatable printing roll provided with parallel end surfaces and intaglio printing characters on its periphery, a printing roll inking device comprising stationary end walls having parallel faces sliding against the end surfaces of the roll, a doctor blade slidably contacting with the roll periphery, and releasable means for removably sealing the ends of the, blade against the end walls to hold a pool of ink in continuous contact with the entire length of the roll periphery, said end walls being shaped to ,permit lateral movement of the blade relative thereto whereby the blade may be removed without displacing the end walls.

' HERMAN A. SMITH. l