US3679302A - Method and means for reproducing printed material - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of reproducing printed material such as old and rare books, manuscripts and the like whereby a considerable savings in cost over known reprint methods is achieved. The reprints are of outstanding quality and are produced at a significantly higher rate than known methods. The process involves the use of an electrostatic copying machine utilizing roll paper, the copying machine having two fusing steps and a brushing step. The latter results in the virtual elimination of the random toner particles on the paper after the first fusing step has been achieved. Thus, a high contrast reproduction print is the result of the present process.

Description

0 United States Patent [151 3,679,302 Ludwig 51 July 25, 1972 54] METHOD AND MEANS FOR 3,049,968 8/1962 Johanson ..355/3 x REPRODUCING PRINTED MATERIAL 3,402,636 9/1968 Gemmer et al. .....355/68 3,437,020 4 1969 W ht tal. ..355 3 X [72] 1mm: wmdbfidge, 3 536 39s 10i1970 Bh aiat ..355/2 6 x [73] Assignees: Albert C. Nelle, Jr,; Gavin Gale Borden, 3,547,533 11/1965 Stokes etal ..355/l8 X New York, N.Y. a part interest to each Primary Examiner-John M. Horan [22] 1970 Assistant Examiner-Alan A. Mathews [21] Appl. No.: 14,473 Attorney-Nolte and Nolte 52 us. Cl .355/17, 355/3, 355/25, [57] ABSTRACT R A method of reproducing printed material such as old and rare [51] Int. Cl. ..G03g 13/00 books, manuscripts and the like whereby a considerable Field of Search 17, savings in cost over known reprint methods is achieved. The R, l reprints are of outstanding quality and are produced at a sig- 219/216, 388 nificantly higher rate than known methods. The process involves the use of an electrostatic copying machine utilizing [56] References cued roll paper, the copying machine having two fusing steps and a UNITED STATES PATENTS brushing step. The latter results in the virtual elimination of the random toner particles on the paper after the first fuslng ElllS tep has been achieved Thus a contrast reproduction 1 ,580,1 1 Brewster X print is the result ofthe present process 2,652,744 9/1953 Goldberg ..355/25 2,816,493 12/1957 Lewis et al... ......355/l5 X 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJULZSIBYZ BEST AVAILABLE O 3.679.302

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR fi'Psase/cf z yaw/g X/ 4% ZTTORNZ minimum BEST AVAILABLE COPY 3,679,302

SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR fi pse/a A yaw/g:

1/ ATTORNEYS METHOD AND MEANS FOR REPRODUCING PRINTED MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There has been a great interest in reproducing books such as rare volumes for use by libraries, colleges and universities all over the world. The number of rare books available are steadily dwindling and at the same time, more and more co]- leges, universities and libraries are being established throughout the world. Hence, there is a great demand for the reproduction of books, manuscripts and documents which are rare and only housed in a few places in the world. Previously, the reproduction or reprinting of books was accomplished by one of two ways as follows:

I. The book was photographed, that is, each page of the book was separately photographed with a separate photomechanical negative being made of each page. Then an offset plate was made for each of the photomechanical negatives. Then these films were stripped together in an appropriate arrangement according to the size of the off-set press and from this group of negatives an image was impressed on the offset plate. Finally, the offset plates were put in the press and the reproductions of the books were made. It should be apparent that the foregoing method is not only slow but also expensive.

2. The second method of reproducing books, etc., is as follows: the original pages of a book were taken out and laid out individually. The individual pages were exposed to a large process camera in which photomechanical negatives were made. From the photomechanical negatives, offset plates were processed and the plates were put in the press in order to reprint the book. Finally, the original pages were all assembled and rebound. The foregoing method has been objected to by librarians as destructive of books: In fact, this particular method has been ruled out completely in the case of rare books. In addition, the method was also slow and costly as in method l.

The present method overcomes the objections of methods 1 and 2 and reproduces books in a rapid, efficient and inexpensive manner, and moreover, makes the print of the book more legible than the original. Thus, the process of the present invention involves the microfilming of the book page by page through a suitable filter. Thereafter, the microfilm is placed in an improved Xerox Copy-Flo Machine. A first heat fusing step is performed thereon whereby the reproduced image is placed on a selected portion of the print roller paper at a radiant energy level just high enough to fuse the image but not high enough to fuse the random toner particles present in the Xerox Copy Flo Machine. Thereafter, the background toner clinging to the print paper roll is removed by means of rotating brushes. Finally, a second heat fusing step is performed on the print paper roll by raising the radiant energy level higher than that employed in the first heat fusing step. Thus, the image is set on the paper and cannot be removed under ordinary circumstances.

An advantage of the present structure and process is that the microfilm can be made anywhere in the world where the original material is located by means of portable microfilm equipment. Thereafter, the exposed negative microfilm is brought to the location where the Xerox Copy-Flo Machine is housed, and the reprint is made on said machine. Moreover, the prints that are produced by the Copy-Flo equipment may be sent to one or more offset lithographers for further reproduction.

It is an object of the present invention to substitute the present novel method of reproducing printed material for the known process which is both time-consuming and expensive.

Another object of the present invention is not only to reproduce old books, manuscripts and the like, but to increase the contrast between the printing and the background thereby making the books, manuscripts and the like more legible.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for reproducing reprints of old and very valuable books and manuscripts at a considerable savings in cost over known reprint systems.

Still another object of the present invention is a system to reproduce old books, manuscripts and the like in which bound volumes can be reproduced without damaging or removing the binding or the pages, and in which the pages may be copied without distorting the printing in the gutter areas.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an exposure probe which measures the light reflecting from a background area of the publication that is approximately one eighth of an inch in diameter, instead of taking a reading from a general area, the latter often being inaccurate.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a microfilming assembly and lighting arrangement for use in connection with the new method and apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic showing of a strip of microfilm produced in said assembly;

' FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the electrostatic continuous roll copying machine used in the second step in the present process;

FIG. 4a is a perspective view of rolls, with the lower roll thereof being scribed;

FIG. 4b is a partial view of a detail of FIG. 3 in which an additional pressure roller is shown;

FIG. Sis an enlarged partial sectional and partial elevational view of the book and manuscript jig shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the object to be reproduced, for example, is the rare book B that is placed in a jig 10 having a transparent top plate 11. As seen in FIG. 5, the book is maintained in the proper position for microfilming by means of a plate 13 adapted to press against the book B as a result of rods 15 and 17, each connected at one end of the plate 13. The other end of each of the rods 15 and 17 project through the openings 19 and 21 of the mounting plate 23 for the jig l0 and the lighting fixture 25 and 27. Captured between the mounting plate 23 and the undersurface of plate 13 are helical springs 29 and 31 which function to bias the plate 13 and the book B into firm engagement with the undersurface of the transparent top plate 11 of the jig 10. In this manner the gutter areas of the book are also pushed up against the undersurface of plate 11 and held thereagainst, resulting in the elimination of distortion in the reproducing of the pages of a book including the gutter areas thereof.

, In order to permit the operators hands to be free, a footoperated treadle 37 is operatively connected to the plate 13 by means of a connecting rod 33 passing through a hole 35 in the mounting plate 23.

In the foregoing manner, the pages of the book may be copied without distortion in the gutter areas of the book. It should also be noted that the jig l0 maintains the subject material at a constant distance from the lens of the microfilm camera 22. An inflatable plastic cushion 9 is supported by the plate 13. With this arrangement, the book or other material to be copied, is self-levelling against the top plate or glass 11. The cushion 9 therefore produces uniform pressure on the book, and also protects the book binding from scratches and other damage.

In order to eliminate stains and foxing, a Wratten A filter 14 is used in the camera 22. This filter not only removes the stains but also eliminates the yellow and brown of aging paper. Consequently, a good contrast is achieved between the printing and the background of the reproduction. A microfilm is therefore produced which is a good black and white copy. As seen in FIG. 1, the lighting fixtures 25 and 27 are located on either side of the jig l0 and even though they are relatively close to the jig 10, the transparent plate 11 thereof protects the material reproduced against the heat generated by the lighting system.

Referring now to FIG. 3 in which the electrostatic copying machine of the type utilized in the present system is shown, a paper web supply roll 36 is illustrated in which the web W is a form of a one-sided coated paper stock and is fed from the bottom of the supply roll 36 in a counterclockwise direction between drag roller 38 and lower engagement roller 40. The web then passes adjacent to the cylinder or selenium drum C and past the transfer grid 42 and the upper guide roller 44. Thereafter, the web is conducted to the first fuser 46 and thence through the paper drive or feedout rolls 48. After the paper isfed through the rolls 48 a rotating brush 50 brushes the paper web to thereby clean off the unfused toner particles that may be present on the paper web. Thereafter, the paper moves through the afterfuser 52 which is set to a higher radiant energy level than that employed in the first fuser 46. Thus, the image is completely fixed after the paper passes through the afterfuser 52. The resultant reprinted paper is finally wound upon take-up roll 54, or may be fed directly into an automatic cutter. The drive rollers 48 are constituted of an upper roller covered with a yieldable material, such as rubber, and a lower roller of stainless steel being scribed at 49 (FIG. 4a). Thus, the lower roller 48 synchronizes the travel of the paper web W with the image forming selenium drum C. It should be apparent that there is a marked increase in resolution of the image which is brought about by the use of paper engagement roller 40 and the scribed lower roller 48. Moreover, the use of cooled rollers 48 avoids the significant difficulty of the prior art structures of offsetting of the image on the copy paper, and especially on glossy, clay-coated papers. Mounted adjacent to the rollers 48 is a blower fan 56 for maintaining the rollers 48 at a constant cool temperature.

As seen in FIG. 4b, another rubber pressure roller 70 is shown for providing positive traction to the paper web W.

It should be apparent that the first fuser 46 is set at a radiant energy level which is just high enough to fuse the image but does not supply enough heat of radiation to fuse the random toner particles in the machine. A very high contrast reproduction of the original printing is reproduced by the present arrangement.

It should be noted that the micro-film camera 22 may be adjusted for film advance to produce a uniform overlap of exposures on the microfilm. Thus, with no spacing between the exposures a cutting target could be photographed together with each book page. Consequently, the prints produced by the electrostatic copying machine could be indexed to be cut up by an automatic film pring cutter, such as the Kodak K-l 2.

What is claimed is: I

l. A method of reproducing pages of bound books comprising holding substantially complete pages, including gutter portions thereof, flat for uniform illumination of their surfaces, microfilming the flat surfaces with illumination and light filtration selected for proper light contrast on the flat surfaces, electrostatically photocopying the resulting microfilm to produce images of the flat surfaces on print paper, heat fusing the so produced images at a radiant energy level just, high enough to fuse the images but not high enough to fuse the random toner particles, removing such random'toner particles, and finally heat fusing said images on said paper by raising the radiant energy level higher than that employed in the first heat fusing step.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising measuring the exposure required for said microfilming.

. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paper is a clay coated paper that is heat resistant and remains white after being exposed to the amount of radiant heat necessary to fuse the image.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including circulating air onto the print paper while producing said images, for maintaining the paper cool.

5. In a photocopy device working on the Xerographic principle and using a paper supply, a first fuser having its radiant energy level set high enough to fuse the image on the paper but not high enough to fuse the random toner particles, a pair of paper drive rollers for driving said paper, a rotatable brush located in the device after the path of movement of the paper through said first fuser and said drive rollers to clean off the unfused random toner particles, and a second fuser having a higher radiant energy level than said first fuser in order to complletely fix said image on said pa er.

6. he combination set forth in c arm 5 wherem one of said drive rollers has an exterior surface of rubber while the other drive roller has an exterior surface of stainless steel.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 further including a fan blower located adjacent to said paper drive rollers whereby said rollers are cooled.

Claims (7)

1. A method of reproducing pages of bound books comprising holding substantially complete pages, including gutter portions thereof, flat for uniform illumination of their surfaces, microfilming the flat surfaces with illumination and light filtration selected for proper light contrast on the flat surfaces, electrostatically photocopying the resulting microfilm to produce images of the flat surfaces on print paper, heat fusing the so produced images at a radiant energy level just high enough to fuse the images but not high enough to fuse the random toner particles, removing such random toner particles, and finally heat fusing said images on said paper by raising the radiant energy level higher than that employed in the first heat fusing step.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising measuring the exposure required for said microfilming.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said paper is a clay coated paper that is heat resistant and remains white after being exposed to the amount of radiant heat necessary to fuse the image.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including circulating air onto the print paper while producing said images, for maintaining the paper cool.

5. In a photocopy device working on the Xerographic principle and using a paper supply, a first fuser having its radiant energy level set high enough to fuse the image on the paper but not high enough to fuse the random toner particles, a pair of paper drive rollers for driving said paper, a rotatable brush located in the device after the path of movement of the paper through said first fuser and said drive rollers to clean off the unfused random toner particles, and a second fuser having a higher radiant energy level than said first fuser in order to completely fix said image on said paper.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 wherein one of said drive rollers has an exterior surface of rubber while the other drive roller has an exterior surface of stainless steel.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 further including a fan blower located adjacent to said paper drive rollers whereby said rollers are cooled.

Images