US2381704A

US2381704A - Method of preparing printing plates

Info

Publication number: US2381704A
Application number: US463020A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bennett F Terry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1941-04-30
Filing date: 1942-10-23
Publication date: 1945-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1962-08-07
Also published as: US2384857A; FR916804A

Description

B. F, TERRY METHOD OF PREPARING PRINTING PLATES Aug; 7,- 1945 Original Filed A ril's'o, 1942.

- IN VEN TOR. EENNETTETE RY BY Patented Aug. 7, 1945 omrso srAs ()rigirial application April 30, 1941, Serial No. 391,101. Divided and this application @etober 23, 1942, Serial No. 463,020

Claims. (cl. loll-149.1)

.This invention relates to improvements in printing apparatus and methods of preparing and. using the same, and is more particularly directed toward the preparation photographically of mediums for printing with pigmented greasy inks and the like adapted to have the ink applied to the surfaces thereof; and the further.

featureof feeding a repellent to certain portions of the surfaces of said mediums through the mediums themselves. I

According to this invention, the surface of the photoimage functions both as the ink selecting and the differentiating plane upon which the ink or stain is transferred from the medium and from which the ink and stain are subsequently v transferred to the surface upon which the image is to be printed.

0 Both the ink and the stain are applied to the surface simultaneously and thereby prints are effected in two colors namely, the color of the ink and the color of the stain in the ink repellent.

by using photographic emulsion whose digestion has been so manipulated as to produce easy reversal upon controlled original exposure. Such an emulsion reverses itself during the processing.

Another means of reversal of the photographic image may be realized by a subsequent controlled exposure after the first exposure during processins.

It is another of the objects of this invention to produce direct copy images by any suitable photo reversal means on a toothed, roughened or grained brom-silver or brom-iodo photographic film surface conforming to the toothed, rough ened or grained surface of a plate or carrier or flexible sheet, whether the same be rigid, flexible flat, or curved in character, for use in and with the greasy ink and/or stain printing methods and processes to be hereinafter described.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of aniedium from which a print in greasy, transparent or opaque ink may be made =and simultaneously with this printing to print with an aqueous dye solution, both printings being in automatic registry and at a single operation. The medium referred to is the photo-image surface.

Another method for producing a colorbn the printing or front surface is by the transmission of the stain bearing vehicle through the platethat is to say, from the back surface thereof and therethrough to the front or printing surface thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for producing a superior copy in greasy ink or liquid soluble stains, or a simultaneous selective combination of both regardless of whether the user has had previousskill in the printing art or not. This means is as fully effective in the offset type of printing as it is by direct printing. Since this method eliminates the major portion of the time required for producing certain kinds of universally required copy, it is therefore more economical and expeditious.

In practicing my invention, full flexibility is realized and the copy is in no way limited to present methods; no electroplate is necessary, nor is it necessary for any other type of professional work to be done on the plate.

Since this invention employs a photographic image as the ink selective surface, the scope of the copy is equal to the range of subjectsthat can be photographed.

Copy from my method and process does not suffer by comparison with other printing processes, as the inked copy is made from the photo image.

Many attempts in the past have been made formed of a bichromate gelatine or bichromate albumen composition, These mediums are slow, and not only require special and costly light sources, but also great skill on. the part of the operator is necessary. The action of the light upon the bichromate coatings causes them to become insoluble, and the portions not acted upon by the light remain soluble. Developing consists in washing out the soluble portions with hot water or by means of steam, and a great deal of smll is necessary. Therefore it lies well be-.

yond the average unskilled operator's ability,

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a perforate carrier, carrying a photographic emulsion;

Figure 2 is a view of the arrangement shown in Figure 1, after the same has been exposed, developed, fixed, and processed to harden the portions which contain the metallic silver; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the arrangement shown in Figure 2, wherein the depressions formed by the shrinking and hardening of the .gelatine, in the areas which contain the metallic silver, contains greasy ink, and wherein the water soluble dye (greasy ink repellent) seeps through the unhardened surface of the emulsion. This arrangement permits two colors to be printed at one operation and in perfect registry with each other, one from the greasy ink selecting portions of the image and the other from the surfaces thereabout.

The above-mentioned application, of which the present application is a division, relates to a process wherein the carrier for the emulsion is toothed, roughened or grained so that when the emulsion is applied thereto, its surface conforms to the surface of the carrier and is, therefore, likewise toothed, roughened or grained. Such carriers may be formed of any suitable material, or may be in the form of a composite sheet of material.

According to the present invention, the carrier is perforate; in other words, it may be a metallic or non-metallic sheet which 'is perforated, for example, in an all-over grain so that when the emulsion is applied to the surface, the surface of the emulsion is in turn toothed or grained in conformation with the perforations.

The carrier may likewise be in the form of a mesh or screen. For example, it may be of woven wire or woven fabric material. With the carrier perforate, I am enabled to place a supply of repellent, which may or may not contain a suitable dye, behind the carrier and this repellent will permeate the less hard portions of the developed plate and form in effect a fountain feed for the repellent and/or color.

In the illustration Figure 1, which is merely given by way of example, the carrier is in the form of a fine screen or mesh 41, to which the emulsion 4B is applied. The surface of the emulsion conforms generally to the configuration of the surface of the screen or mesh.

When the emulsion 48 is exposed, developed, fixed, washed and tanned, the exposed portions 49 are shrunken and hardened, and thereby lie beneath the normal surface level 4|, just as was the case in the arrangement shown in the drawmg.

However, since the backing member is perforate and since the unexposed portions of the emulsion are softer and more porous than the hardened portions 49, I have found that they will absorb and adsorb the repellent even though it has incorporated therein a soluble dye or stain. The repellent containing the dye or stain is left un-' changed'in its nature as a repellent and acts in the dual capacity as repellent and image-forming stain.

The greasy ink, of course, 'will'adhere only to the shrunken portions 49 of the surface which I lit portions are non-absorbing and non-adsorbing with respect to the repellent and/or dye, with the result that when the plate is inked and impressed upon the material to receive the record, boththe image represented by the portions 49' carrying the greasy ink and the surfaces carrying the repellent and the dye will print at the same moment of contact in their respective colors; thereby I am able to print two colors simultaneously at one operation.

A further modification contemplates the formation of records from photographic images treated for the selective acceptance of greasy ink by using an emulsion receiving member or carrier on which the surface is substantially fiat and having an overlay of small holes formed therein in close formation throughout the entire area of said circuits.

After applying a film of photographic emulsion to this type of plate and producing a developed image thereon, the surface of the emulsion will resemble the surface of the plate since there will be shrunken points in the surface of the gelatine corresponding to the size and general shapes of the holes,

After-processing the same in the manner hereinbefore described for ink selection, the shrunken portions will be hard and relatively smooth and will therefore not absorb, adsorb or transmit the repellent, and will therefore only accept greasy ink, while the clear portions will transmit the repellent and/or stain.

With thisarrangement, I find tical to apply the repellent and/or dye from the back of the emulsion (plate) and transmit it through the relative freer liquid transmitting portions of the image in greater'or smaller proportions as the photo-image contained more or less metal after development, clearing and fixing.

Obviously, a color may be incorporated in the repellent as outlined above to make it act as a printin medium over any areas not selected by the greasy ink.

Plates made according to my process may be used at any time, unexposed or after exposure and processing for printing from the photographic image, when additions may be made by means of a typewriter, greasy ink, or any other suitable means for adding matter to supplement the image thereon, or it may be used as if it were simply a metallic plate or surfaced for greasy ink and ink repellent.

- It may be used unexposed, un-flxed, or it may when desired be fixed and hardened before use with non-photographic patterns, for example with carbon typewriter ribbon or hand drawn patterns.

It will be obvious that this process and method I contemplates the economical production of full color motion pictures and still full color reproduction for projection by reflected or transmitted light or for normal viewing by any of the above v means.-

Full color light transmitting images are produced using transparent greasy inks'while patterns for viewing in reflected light may use either opaque pigmented inks or transparent greasy colors on opaque supports.

In motion picture black and white and full color reproduction, the above-described method and process possesses novelty and invention in that the record is made by means of an ink printting instantaneously from the surface of one memher. to the surface of the other without inhibition and the subsequent absorption of the liquid dye or that it is pracstain in the receiving member as is presently the case. v

New and novel surfaces on the printing stock may be used as no gelatine or other liquid ab sorbing surface is required for the image-receiving member. This allows of much more economical production with less skill, equipment and with or without color, as also described in application Serial No. 256,608 filed February 15, 1939,

a now U. S. Patent No. 2,273,740 dated February 17,

In color motion picture reproduction, the images are registered from the required number of continuous webs bearing'images on the toothed, roughened or grained surfaces of the webs, having been exposed through the proper filters and processed for selectivelyaccepting theseverally colored inks.

These images are-then printed over one another in proper registry and printed according. to normal lithographic practice upon a single web which is used for projection viewing. i

It is obvious that in all cases, where desirable, a half tone screen may be used in taking or making the exposure, as now used in other printing processes.

It is a further object of this invention to afford a means of printing in greasy ink, by developin emulsion remaining in the perforations and disperse the same over the toothed surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions being impervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

2. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dye printing which includes the step of providing a finely perforated carrier, the perforations of which form a toothed surface, the further step of applying a thin film of photosensitive halide emulsion to saidsurface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth of the perforations in said surface, said emulsion also filling said perforations, the step of exposing said plate phtographically, the step of developing,

fixing and washing saidplate, and the final step.

of placing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the developed image below .the surface of the plate, the weaker portions of eah image remaining substantially level with the surface-of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of the perforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printing being adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via the residue of the emulsion remaining in the perforations and disperse the same over the toothed I surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions being impervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

3. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dye printing which includes the step of providing a carrier having an overall "pattern of fine perforations therethrough, said emulsion surfaces properly produced from the toothed surface of the emulsion bearing base, motion picture and sound track recorded photographically by well known methods presently used.

In my method, the tooth or grain does not inter-' fere with resolution asI have produced images of sound tracks at about 900 lines per inch.

While the invention has been described in several preferred forms, I am not limited to the precise procedure or chemical combinations given of photo-sensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth or grain of said surface, said emulsion also fillin the perforations between, the wires, the step of exposing said plate photographically, the step of developing, fixing and washing said plate, and the final step of placing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the deperforations presenting a toothed or grained surface, the further step ofapplying a thin film of photosensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth or grain of the perforations in said surface, said emulsion also filling said perforations, the step of exposing said plate photographically, the step of developing, fixing and washing said plate, and the final stepof placing'the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the developed image below'the surface of the plate, the weaker portions of said image remaining substantially level withthe surface of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of the perforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when'used for printing being adapted to receive repellent from the rear the step of providing a carrier formed of a perforate screen, the perforations therein presenting a toothed or grained surface, the further step of applying a thin film of photo-sensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby the outer surveloped image below the surface of the plate, the

. weaker portions of said image remaining substantially level with the surface of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printing being adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via the residue of the face of said emulsion substantially conforms to the tooth or grain .of the perforations in said surface, said emulsion also filling said perforations, the step of exposing said plate photographically, the step of developing, fixing and washing said plate, and the final step of placing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the developed image below the surface of the plate, the weaker portions of said image remaining substantially level with the surface of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain of the perforations, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printing being adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via the residue of the emulsion remaining in the perforations and disperse the same over the toothed surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions being impervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

5. The herein described method of producing a plate for ink and dye printing which includes the step of providing a woven or meshed carrier, the further step of applying a thin film of photosensitive halide emulsion to said surface, whereby the outer surface of said emulsion substantially conforms to the meshed surface of said carrier, said emulsion also filling the perforations or openings between the strands forming the mesh, the step of exposing the plate photographically, the step of developing fixing and washing said plate, and the final step of placing the then developed and fixed plate in a tanning solution for hardening, shrinking and smoothing the stronger portions of the developed image below the surface of the plate, the weaker portions of said image remaining substantially level with the surface of the plate and retaining the configurations of the tooth or grain, said weaker portions of said plate, when used for printing being adapted to receive repellent from the rear of the plate via the residue of the emulsion remaining in said perforations or openings and disperse the same over the toothed surfaces thereof, and said stronger portions being impervious to the repellent and readily adapted to receive greasy ink.

x "BENNETT F. TERRY.