US2419918A - Decalcomania - Google Patents

Description

April 1947' H. F. SCHEETZ, JR 9,918

DECALCOMANIA 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1945 Aprii 29, 1947. SCHEETZ, JR 2,419,918

DECALCOMANIA- Filed June 15, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 29, 1947 umrizo STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 DECALCOMANIA Henry F. Scheetz, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application June 15, 1945, Serial No. 599,636

(or. 41-33) I 6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to decalcomanias and has particular reference to what are known as ceramic decalcomania sheets for use in decorating any ceramic product such as pottery, glass, ceramic enamels, semi-porcelain, china and the like, and constitutes acontinuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 535,146, filed May 11,

A prime desideratum is to reduce the cost of production and at the same time improve the appearance and quality of the finished product. Through my invention this important objective is attained by substantially reducing the time and labor heretofore necessary to carrying out the various operations involved and by substantially eliminating the waste of material and effort which has heretofore of necessity attended the performance of these operations.

For purposes of illustration and discussion the invention may well be described with reference to chinaware or pottery, and more particularly in connection with the decoration of sets of such ware, such as breakfast, luncheon, and dinner sets, the various pieces of which are usually decorated with the same basic design.

The majority of ceramic decal sheets, frequently known as transfer papers, are made on what is commonly termed duplex paper. This is a thin sheet of tissue laminated with starch, or other suitable adhesive, to a heavier sheet of paper, called the backing. Such a laminated sheet provides sufiicient body to the stock for color application and press work. For purposes of illustration I am disclosing my invention with particular reference to duplex paper, but it should be understood that it is applicable to all commonly known transfer papers suitable for transferring ceramic oxides or colors. Simplex paper and what is known to the trade as Fulcal are among other types of transfer sheets with which my invention in its broadest phases may be used.

Various other objects and meritorious features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several figures, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a decal sheet madein accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a corner of such sheet;

Fig. 3 is a section along 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating only one of the decorative designs and enlarged to show certain structure details;

Fig. 4a. is a section similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a somewhat modified construction;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the designs appearing in Fig. 1 and illustrating one stage in the sequence of operations;

Fig. 6 illustrates the step of applying the stripped decal in accordance with my invention to a piece of pottery;

Fig. 7 Ba section along l! of Fig. 6;

Fig. .8 illustrates the product after fusion of the color during firing;

Fig. 9 is a section along 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 illustrates the finished product, and

Fig. 11 is a section along ll-ll of Fig. 10.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a single decal sheet made of duplex paper and comprising in the single sheet a plurality of decorative designs applied with ceramic coloring material. The sheet illustrated is designed particularly for a set of tableware. Each design or ornamentation is carefully predetermined as to proportion and dimensions in accordance with the size and shape of the particular pieces to which the design is to be applied. In the form illustrated the sheet, broadly indicated by the numeral It), includes a number of individual decals comprising circular designs such as l2 and i l for application around the marginal portion of dishes. .Also included are arcuate design configurations such as l6, l8 and 2|! adapted to be positioned around the margins or lips of various cup-shaped or bowlshaped pieces of ware. The sheet may include designs adapted to be afiixed to the handles of cups, as indicated at 22.

As already described broadly, and more particularly illustrated in Fig. 4, such a sheet comprises a relatively heavy backing sheet 24 to which is adhered or laminated, as by means of a starch lamination 26, a relatively thin sheet of tissue 28 upon which the designs such as 22 are imprinted in ceramic or oxide coloring material. Various well known means and methods, such as lithography, offset, gravure, silk or metal screening and letter press printing, may be used for printing or printing and dusting the configurations or designs on the laminated sheets.

In the absence of certain aspects of my invention, it is necessary for the pottery manufacturer using such sheets to first separate the tissue 28 from the backing 24, whereupon the decals or designs may be cut individually from each tissue sheet or a number of tissue sheets or design to the ware itself in such manner asto obtain any degree of uniformity in the final product is extremely diflicult, a laborious and tedious procedure carried on .to a large extent by guesswork in the matter of spacing and accuracy of positioning. Furthermore, because of faulty alignment of the superposed sheets prior to cutting out individual designs, many of the individual designs become mutilated during the cutting operation and for thatreason incapable of further use. Because of the spoilage and waste resulting from such unavoidable mutilation, and because of the time and labor necessary to obtain even an approximate degree of uniformity in the final product, the results of such procedure as a whole are not satisfactory.

The difliculties inherent in the above described procedure, and the consequent waste of time and material together with the questionable satisfaction offered by the result, as to appearance and uniformity, have been eliminated by my invention, according to certain aspects of which each individual design or configuration is at least partially segregated from the body of the sheet I8 along a weakened marginal line 30 spaced from the margin of the color design to provide a marginal portion or border predetermined as to area and contour extending along the edge of each design. This weakened linemay be in the form of perforations or a full die out except for spaced uncut nicks or joinder portions such as are indicated at 3| in Fi 1, .full segregation being indicated at 32 in the modification disclosed in Fig.

4. In one phase ofithe invention it may also' comprise a score line =3lextending through the tissue sheet 28 and partially through the backing sheet 24, as illustrated in Fig. 4a. The important is uch that. when each design portion has been removed from the body of sheet l0 and the tissue supporting the color removed in the customary manner from the paper backing, the margin of the tissue functions as a guide by means of whichv each individual design or decal may be applied uniformly and in proper position to the article for which it i intended. I

Referring now more particularly to Figs, 5-11, Fig. 5 illustrates the co or bearing tissue 28 partially stripped from the backing 24 associated with design portion it after the latter has been removed from the body of main sheet In. This particular design i for application around the margin of a cup 36, the manner of doing so being illustrated clearly in Figs. 6-11.

Using the margin of the tissue as a guide, and in this instance more particularly the arcuate marginal portion which extends around a portion 39 of the design which happens to be of reater lateral dimension than the remainder thereof, such margin is accurately aligned with lip 40 of the cup and the design strip adhered vtion of the design on the supporting surface and to the cup by means of a coating of varnish or other suitable adhesive 42 previously applied to that. portion of the ware which is to be decorated.

The tissue carrying the decoration is then wet or moistened and easily removed from the ware, as the moisture penetrates, leaving the decoration on the ware. During an initial firing, in the case of underglazing, the adhesive 42 is expelled in gaseou form, leaving the colored design as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 ready for glazing and firing of the glaze to obtain the finished product illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11. In overglazing the firing burns off the varnish and also fires the colorinto the glaze, which has been fired on previously.

A further important aspect of the improvement resides in the discovery that hitherto unobtainable results are possible where the die cut is made from the rear or backing face of the laminated sheet 10. It has been found that when following the usual practice of cutting from the front or tissue face of the sheet there is a distinct likelihood of tearing the tissue during the stripping operation. This is because the cutting edge of the die has a tendency to force the tissue lamination down into the adhesive securing it to the backing and down into the stock of the backing sheet itself. As a result considerable care must be taken in stripping the tissue 28 from the backing 24 to avoidtearing the tissue. It was found that where the force of the die is exerted from the backing face of the sheet, not only is this hazard eliminated but there is a slight tendency to loosen the tissue from it backing along the line of die cut, thus actually facilitating the stripping operation.

Due to the fact that the risk of tearing the tissue during the stripping operation is eliminated by this important departure from the customary practice in the art, an additional saving in time of considerable proportions is made possible. After removal of the decal design as a whole from the sheet In it may be positioned directly and in its entirety, including both backing sheet and tissue, upon the ware. Of course the free marginal portion provided by the die cut is identical .onboth tissue and backing and the margin of the laminated decal as a whole may be used as a guide in positioning the design on the ware in .exactly the manner heretofore explained when describing that operation where the tissue is first stripped from the backing before application to the ware.

Since the surface to which the decal is applied has been first lubricated, so to speak, by a coating of varnish as hitherto described, the entire decal may be manipulated readily after application to the ware to position it exactly in its predetermined location. Preferably one corner of the tissue of the decal is first loosened before application of the decal as a whole to the varnished surface of the ware. When the decal is properly positioned the loosened end of the backing sheet is grasped and the same is stripped from the tissue adhering to the ware. Thereafter the design is fused as hitherto described.

Application of the design without need for first stripping the entire color design bearing tissue from the backing eliminates a time consuming step in the operations involved and effects a decided economy without in any way impairing the results obtained. Of course it will be understood that the die cut when made from the backing face of the laminated sheet ill will extend completely through the laminations and that a partial die cut, such as that illustrated in Fig. 4a, is possible only when the cut is made from the front or tissue face of the sheet.

Having'described various important features of the invention and illustrated the same in conjunction with specific modiiications disclosed in the drawings, it will be apparent that theinventive concepts underlying the invention are manifold. One is that of removing each decal design directly from a large sheet containing a plurality of the same in such manner that a marginal portion of predetermined area and contour extends along the edges of the color application forming the design, Another is that of providinga guide margin predetermined with reference to the ware for use in positioning the color design On the ware. Die cutting the sheet from the rearor backing face of thelaminatedassembly to obviate tearing of the tissue and make it possible to apply the decal without first removing the tissue from the backing is a very important phase of the invention. Still others reside in the means whereby these concepts are carried out and in the operation itself.

As suggested heretofore, the width x of the marginal portion, the edge of which functions as a guide in applying the design to the ware, is predetermined in accordance with the position the design is intended to occupy on the ware and in relation to some uniformly fixed portion of the ware, such as the rim of the cup as illustrated in the drawings or the outer rim of a dish. In some instances the width of the margin extending along the edges of designs such as those illustrated herein may be predetermined with reference to the margin of the inner or bowl portion of a dish.

In view of these basic concepts it is clear that the improvements derived therefrom may be obtained in various waysother than by the specific structure illustrated in the drawings and described above with reference thereto. For instance, the design portions may be die cut completely from sheets such as that illustrated in Fig. l, or from any other sheet, prior to delivery k to the pottery manufacturer. The use of weakened lines delineating the guide margins has, however, many advantages in that the pottery manufacturer is never certain of the exact number of decal designs required for any given period of time and it is sometimes more feasible to store and ship them in sheet form delineated by weakened lines of the type described heretofore so that the design portions may be removed at will from the sheets and applied in themanner hitherto described.

Furthermore, the guide margin associated with each design portion and formed by the weakened lines, or by a full die out under the circumstances outlined above, need not and in many instances could not be of uniform width throughout all portions of the design. For instance, the circular designs illustrated herein include what may be regarded as medallion interruptions 39 at spaced intervals, each of which is of greater Width than the main circular portion of the design. It is not essential that the weakened line or die out line conform exactly to the contour of each of these medallion portions in all instances. If the desired position of the design upon the ware is such as to permit, an uninterrupted circular weakened or full die out line extending completely around both edges of the entire decal design it, for instance, would be sufficient for the intended purpose. The use of uninterrupted die contours in forming the weakened lines or die cut lines in spaced relation to the edges of the design simplifies the procedure.

The particular carrier used for the color material is also immaterial to certain phases of the invention. While I have illustrated and described the use of a tissue carrier for ceramic or oxide pigments, various other color carriers for use in laminated constructions or otherwise are available. Among these are various cellulose and acetate films frequently used as color carriers in the manufacture of labels. Transfers within the scope of this invention and using such films as color carriers may be applied by labeling machines, in which case the margin of the border positions the design in the labeling machine for accurate deposit on the ware. The film dissipates as a, gas when the ware, such as a bottle, is fired to fuse the color thereto.

Machines such as those used for the cutting of the box board to make folding boxes are eminently suitable for my purpose. These usually comprise a steel cutting rule placed in a wooden formand frequently run on a cylinder press. Such forms can be made up in other ways and placed on fiat bed presses. It will be appreciated that the particular manner of forming the weakened or die cut lines extending along the design portions and constituting guide, lines for application of the designs to the were constitutes no part of my present invention.

Having described specific forms of my invention, various modifications thereof lying within the inventive concepts disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art and for that reason I wish to limit myself only within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. .That step in a process of decorating vitreous ware such as glass, enamel, semi-porcelain and the like by the use of any of a plurality of individual ceramic decalcomanias included in a single sheet comprising backing and color support layers with individual color designs on the exposed face of the latter which consists in partially segregating the individual design from the sheet by full die cut lines impressed from the backing side of the sheet in such location as to provide a border of waste material so predetermined as to size and shape with reference to a given line on the ware that the margin of said border when aligned with the predetermined line on the were positions the design on the latter in a predetermined location.

2. A laminated sheet including a relatively heavy backing and an exposed ceramic color supporting surface with individual color designs thereon, and spaced full die cuts impressed from the backing face of the lamination partially segregating each design from the sheet and iorming adjacent the design a border of waste material of such area and contour in relation to a predetermined line on the article to which the design is to be transferred that the margin of said border functions in conjunction with said line on the ware to position the color design accurately in a predetermined location on the ware.

3. The arrangement set forth in claim 2 wherein the color support layer is tissue.

4. That process of decorating vitreous ware such as glass, enamel, semi-porcelain and the like with designs by the use of ceramic decalcomanias 7 free border of such dimensions and contour that when the margin thereof is aligned with the given line on the ware the color design is properly positioned thereon, adhering such a bordereddecalcomania to the ware with its border margin aligned with the given line on the ware, and. tiring the same to fuse the colorto the ware.

5. That step in a process of decorating vitreous ware such as glass, enamel, semi-porcelain and v 6. A process of decorating vitreous ware such 20 as glass, enamel, semi-porcelain and the like which comprises predetermining the desired position of a specific color design upon the ware,

forming a decalcomania bearing such design and including a support with a marginal waste portion corresponding in area and contour to that portion of the were between a margin of the design in said predetermined position and a line of reference on the ware, positioning the deca1c0- mania on the ware so that the appropriate marginal contour of the waste portion coincides with said line of reference, removing the support including saidwaste portion from the ware, and

fusing the color design thereto.

' HENRY F. SCHEETZ, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,800,136 Driess Apr. 1'7, 1931 2,089,779 Adair Aug. 10, 1937 2,115,345 Stillweil Apr. 26, 1938 2,265,659 Wittnebel Dec. 9, 1941

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