US375125A - Manufacture of books and pamphlets - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 4-'Sheets-Sheet 3. D. S. GLARK.

MANUFACTURE OF BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS.

No. 375,125. Patented Dec. '20, 1887.

Atto rin-y. v

UNITED STATES DWIGHT S. CLARK, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

ICAMBRIDGEPORT, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM H. FOBBES,

or BOSTON, MASSAOHUSETTS.

MANUFCTURE OFBOOKS AND PAMPHLETS.

SPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375.125, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed October 26, 1886. Serial No. 217,249. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DWIG-HT S. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oambridgeport, in t-he county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Iuprovements in the Manufacture of Books and Pamphlets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the nvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This inventiou has reference to the process of book-making, its object being to acomplsh the necessary operations in an economic way, saving both labor and material and tine as well. a

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figures 1 to 26, inclusive, illustrate the manner in which the imposing and folding are done in practically carrying out my invention. Fg. 27 shows onfa larger scale the binding of three connected and folded books by means of sewing. Fig. 28 represents the same covered before trimming. Fig. 29 is a single book or pamphlet cut apart after trimming. Fig. 30 is an end elevation of the same.

In producinga book, pamphlet,or signature according to the method I have inventedl begin by inposing the pages of matter by usingin the form at least two, and more frequently several, repetitions of each page of compositiou;

The sheets may be printed as whole sheets, and therefore from two different forms,

-one for each side, and then folded; orthey may be printed from one large forn, turned I over, printed on the back, and then cut into two half 77 sheets,in the well-known way,and each half folded in the manner to be hereinafter described. In the whole sheet and in each of the half-sheets, however, at least two each of all of the pages which are required to complete thebook or pamphlet must be included, as has been already explained.

The imposition of the pages of composition is accomplished in such accordance with the way in which the sheet is to be subsequently folded that when that step in the process has been completed each book, though joined to the others, forming a group, can be sepasignature in the ordinary way-that is, the

entire sheet containing a series of books is treated as a single signature or pamphlet, the separation of the books or si gnatures from each other being the last step in the process. Consequently, although the lines of foldage may be longer, there will be,as a rule,uo more folds in a sheet which forms two, three, four, or eight, or other number of completed pamphlets than'in a single pamphlet printedfrom a single form imposed for the same number of pages.

In Fig. 1 a diagram is given representing the "inside face of a printed sheet arranged for the production of three pamphlets of thirtytwo pages each. Fig. 2 shows the outside of the same sheet. In both these figures the numerals indicate the positions of the pages, and it will be found that three of every folio appear upon the two sides taken together, the object being to produce three books. Assuming Fig. l to lie fiat upon the table, the first fold is made upon the dottcdline z z-that is, between the fronts of the pages to the right and left of it and not at the foot, as is usual where four folds are required. In doing this the edge of the sheet marked A is lifted and brought down upon the edge B, and the folded edge C creased down, as represented in Fig. The second fold is on the dotted line y y, the edge D being lifted and made to coincide with E, giving the result shown in Fig. 4, F being the creased edge. Then on the dotted line a: x the third fold is made, giving Fig. 5 with the folded edge at G, and fiually the last fold on w w gives the three books connected together, as in Fig. 6, with the folded edge at H, together formiug a group.

In the foregoing figures-namely, Figs. 1, 3, 4, and -l'ittle arrows are introduced to indicate the way in which the paper is folded on the dotted lines. In thecase cited they co'n- ICQ a somewhat increased cost.

Verge for every fold, showing that the dotted lines are, as it were, depressed, and that the bending of the paper, as regarded from above, is concave-that is, the two sides of the paper are tui-ned toward the observer or forward. This is not always the case, as 'will be seen hereinafter. It will also be observed in this case that the order in which the four folds follow each other is first between the fronts, then between the heads/ then between the fronts again, and lastly through the baeks, differing in this respect, essen-tially, from the well-known orderfollowed by printers in folding single signaturcs.

In Fig. 27 the next step in my process is illustrated for the sane book of thirty-two pages, three on asheet. This consistsin binding all three books at once by running a row ofsewing down the three backs, as shown at a b. This line of stitching or staples is a straight line through the sheets, which may run from the inside through the backs, as shown, or from side to side after the last fold has been made in the well-known way. It is always on the line of thelast fold, and may be made with any of theusual sewing or stapling inachines. As the line of fastenings is continuous through all the books, it follows that the number of liandlings in feeding to themachine is reduced in the same proportion that the number of books on the sheet is increased. If a cover is desired on the book or pamphlet, it maybe sewed at the same time, in which case thethread or wire will appear on the back, as in Fig. 28; or a suitable cover may be pasted on over the thread, so as to hide it, as in Fig. 29, giving a neater appearance to the pamphlet at In any case, after the book has been closed, having then the appearance shown in Fig. 28, the top, side, and botton edges are to be trimmed by a papercutter', the dotted lines c to d, to e, and to f indicating the paper which is to be removed. Lastly, the three books are cut asunder by two cuts, one on the dotted line o o and one on u u, each one of the three then presenting the appearance delineated in Figs. 29 and 30. The successive steps in the production of a thirtytwo page pamphlet, such as has been just described, may be modified without departing from the principle involved. It is, for instanee, possible to change the order and the direction in Which the folds are made, and when that is done it immediately becomes necessary to change the arrangement of the pages as well, so as to be in harmony therewith, and give as the final result a number of connected books, in each of which the folios follow in regular sequence.

Figs. 7 to 14, inclusive, will serve to illustrate the way in which modifications may be made. Fig. 7 represents the inside face of a sheet the form for which was imposed so as to produce six thirty-two-page books as the result of the printing, folding, &c., of every perfected sheet, Fig. 8 shows part of the outside of the same sheet from which the arrangement of pages can be. deduced. In this case the lines on which the folds are made are all parallel to each other. They areindicated by the dotted lines marked with the four last letters of the alphabet, as in the preceding case, and appear upon Figs. 9, 10, and 11, sad figures representing the successive steps in the process of folding. The arrows, as before, indicate the direction in which the sheet is turned, the first, third, and fourth being forward and the second backward, assumng that the sheet lies all the time upon the folding-table with its face up, which of course need not be the case. Figs. 13 and 14 show still another modification of this same form, in which the imposition is so modified as to admit of all the folds being parallel and at the same time in the same direction-namely, inward-as indicated by the dotted lines and arrows which appear in Fig. 13, the former being marked, as before, with the same letters, z being the first fold, y the second, and so on backward. In Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12 the capital letters I, J, K, and L indicate, after each fold, the creased edge of the paper. The final separation of the six pamphlets is effected by single cuts upon the dotted lines o, a, s, t, and r of Fig. 12, the work being of course first trimmed on the three sides, as before deseribed, after sewing or otherwise bindin'g, as shown and explained in connection with Figs. 27 to 30, inclusive.

Figs. 15 and 16 show the two sides of asheet arranged to furnisl three pamphlets of sixteen pages each. As in the previous case, the dotted lines and arrows indicate the way of folding, the same letters being used, and the folded edges are represented by M, N, and 0, respectively.

Figs. 20 and 21 represent the two sides of a sheet printed from forms imposed for the Simultaneous production of two copies of a sixty-four-page book. As in the preceding cases, the dotted lines and arrows indicate the manner of folding, and the letters P, Q, R, S, and T mark the creased edges in Figs. 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26. The two books are separated by cutting the dotted line 'v o.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when it is desired to intermix two or more repetitions of each page of a book or pamphlet embracing any of the usual numbers of pages it is always possible to so adapt the imposing of the form to the particular manner and sequence of the folds that the result shall be the production o f a certain number of perfectly-arranged books, the folio-numbers of which follow in regular succession, joined together at the ends, so as to be separable from each other by a single cut. I have found, so far as my experiments have extended, that a sheet of paper upon which any multiple of eight pages of matter are to follow each other, forming eight-page books, can be folded in two legitimate ways only, which require a different imposition of the forms arranged to cover both sides of the paper with the desired number of IXO multiples of said eight pages.

p pages of matter the number of changes under like conditions will, I belieye, prove to be four; for thirty-two, the number willbe eight, and for sixty-four, sixteen, &c.

The advantages which accrue from my method are obvious when pointed out. They may be briefly cited as follows: p

First. The economic use of large forms, for which many presses are now fitted.

Second. The folder, dealing with large sheets, makes only the same number of movements hehas to make in folding a single book.

Third. In trimmiug, material and labor are both saved. If we compare the loss of paper in trimming a single book with the loss incurred upon the six books shown in Figs. 7 to 12, inclusive, it will be seen that to trim the six books in the ordinary way requires eighteen cuts, while when my method is followed eight are sufficient. In the former case, too, paper is lost on three sides, whereas I waste on each v book paper from two and one-sixth sides only;

or, to put it differently, in trimming the six books I save a strip of paper as long as the lenth of the sheet and at least one and onefourth inch wide.

Fifth. In stitching or otherwise binding the books and attaching the covers the num- 0 ber of movements is greatly diminished and convenience in handling increased.

I am aware that it is'a common thing to print simultaneously two or more impositions For sixteen of the same series of pages required for a book or pamphlet in the same press and at the same time, each series to be cut asunder while fiat and folded separately; andIdo not claim, broadly, any such proceeding.

hat I do claim, and desire to secure by Lettersv Patent, is-

1. The improvement in the art of making books, which consists, first, in imposing a plurality of all the pages required to make a single book, then printing a sheet from said imposed pages, then folding the sheet into a group of books, then binding the group along asingle line, then trimming the group as a whole along its unbound margins, and finally I separating the books forming the group by a number 'of cuts less by one than the whole number of books, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The step in the method of book-making hereinbefore described, which consists in folding aprinted sheet which contains a group of suitablymposed books upon aline coincident with the back fold com mon to all books of the group, then secnring the leaves of the whole group together' along the common back fold, and then severing the books from each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DWIGHT S. CLARK.

Witnesses:

SELwYN Z. BOWMAN, CHARLES S. ENSIGN.

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