US923799A - Process of making pictures. - Google Patents

Description

" wi t musse s: v v I v G. W. SAALBURG.

PROGESS OF MAKING PICTURES.

APPLICATION rum) 1w ov.1e, 1908.

923,799. Patented June 1,1909.

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adapted to be manufactured by printin and especially such a picture having a big degree of artistic merit; and to such ends picture in monochrome.

' arge enough to cover all four positives at the same time. I also preferably cut the paper so that the length of the paper in the strip Specification of Letters Patent.

CHARLES W. SAALBURG, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF MAKING PICTURES.

Patented June 1, 1909.

Application filed November 16, 1908. Serial No. 463,155.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. SAAL- BURG, of East Orange, in the county of Essex and in the State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Making Pictures, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact desci'i tion thereof. a

. The object of my mvention has been to produce a picture which shall be especially my invention consists in the process of making the same hereinafter described. As my picture will be best understood by describing one process of making the same, I shall first describe such a process. In the accompanying drawing Figurel is a plan view of a plate adapted for printing my said icture according to my said process; and ig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 The said process is capable of embodiment in a number of forms, and in selecting a specific example, it is only to be regarded as an illustration of the inventive idea.

The said picture may be either a monochrome or a polychrome. As both the highest form of the icture and of the rocess are illustrated in t 1e polychrome, shall describe such a picture and the process of making it, but it is to be understood that my invention also includes the process of making a In the making of a picture by my said process, I first make a negative or negatives direct from the picture to be reproduced. In color work, I ordinarily make one negative of the blacks and whites, and the three usual primary color negatives, the color negatives eing made through color screens. 1 next make a positive from each of the said negatives, and'preferably do any necessary retouching upon the positives. So far, no printing screens or other devices for breaking up the surface into printing divisions have been used. Next, ordinary commercial carbon paper is sensitized and squeegeed on a smooth surface, such as a glass plate. The carbon aper is manufactured in a roll, and I refera ly cut a single sheet of carbon paper runs the long way of the positives. This single sheet of paper is sensitized, and all operations performed on it at the same time, so as to keep the stretch and shrinkage the same throughout. This working upon the four prints as a single rint insures that the conditions under whic each .rint is sensitized, developed, etc. shall be identically the same, so that the stretch and shrinkage (which are large enough to revent perfect register of the superposed co or impressions if they are not properly cared for) shallbe the same on each print, and thus do no harm.

After the carbon paper is sensitized, it is exposed under a line screen, preferably-onequarter of the time which it will re uire under the positives. The screens re erred to are the usual glass screens ruled with parallel lines. After the paper has been exposed under the screens with the lines running in one direction, the screens are turned at right angles to print lines running in-a corresponding direction, and the paper, again exposed 1 for about one-quarter the exposure tobe given under the positives.

lines have been rinted on the paper, as

above indicated, t e paper is exposed under tive, whichlines are afterward to be used in positioning the paper on the cylinders'later referred to. The exposed carbon aper is then squeegeed on a carefully cleane copper roller, the aforesaidlines being used to osition the paper on the roller, so that the orizon'tal axis of the picture shall be exactly parallel to the axis of the cylinder. Blotters are pressed around the cylinder by inclosing them in a cover in the form of the sheet and drawing the cover u around the cylinder as by stra s and buc es, the cover being substantia like an ordinary shawl strap in practice. After the film has had time to take a good hold of the cylinder, the cover is removed, and very hot water is applied to the cylinder to loosen the aper, and the paper is stripped off leaving t e gelatin film of the carbon aper adhering to the cylinder. The expose their bio romate of potash rendered insoluble by the action of the light, while the remaining portions of the gelatin are soluble.

After the screen ortions of the carbon film have had the application of hot Water, the soluble gelatin is washed off, leaving the negative of the picture on the cylinder in gelat1n.. The

c linder is now read for etching, except fiat the portionsof t e cylinder which it is desired to protect from the etching fluidare to be covered with asphaltum. The cylinlowed by the washing with hot water, leaves a film on the surface to be etched, which is of varying degrees of permeability, being less ermeable over the screen lines and the high lights of the picture than over the darker portions. The etching agent thus striking through the film more quickly at the darker )ortions of the picture, eats away the metal efore the agent can penetrate through the less permeable portions of the film over the screen lines and the high lights. No resist however, is used, and if the etching action were permitted to continue long enough, the etching agent would strike through and etch the screen lines and the high lights. It is by stopping the etching action at the right oint to preserve the screen lines and high iights, while giving time enough to etch the darker portions, that the proper effect is obtained, The film is not hardened to produce a resist. The cells preferably cover a much larger portion of the area of the cylinderthan do the screen lines. The gelatin is then removed from the cylinder, and the cylinder is ready for printing.

The cylinder is placed in a rotary printing press, such, for instance, as that illustrated purpose is plication in the application of Charles Van Middlesworth, Serial No. 464,096, filed November 23, 1908. In printing the picture, ink is mechanically applied to the cylinder in a sufficient quantity to fill all the cells between the screen lines. The ink is then scraped off by the revolution of the cylinder a ainst a preferably sharp steel blade,whic fits closely against the cylinder, and which is referably moved back and forth across the ace of the c li'nder in a direction parallel to the axis of title cylinder, the length of the blade running parallel to the said axis.

An ink which I find'very effective for my one which is the subject of an apfor patent executed by me the 7th day of November, 1908, Serial No. 464,192, filed Nov. 23, 1908 to which reference is made. The scraper or doctor removes the ink from the cylindrical surface of the cylinder wherever such surface remains, namely, from all the screenlines-and from all These cells not having the height of t the blank portions of the cylinder which are to represent white in the picture, and the white margin around the cylinder, and this operation leaves the cells or the screen lines completely illed with ink.

In the accompanying drawings, the formation of the printing surface is illustrated as applied to a plate. The metal which was protected by the screen lines "is not eaten away and forms a series of rectilinear walls A, which, crossing each-other form inclosed wells B. The wells B are of varying depths,

ockets between according to the depth of color to be repro-" I duced, although in the illustrated embodiment they are of uniform area. It is not essential that the area of the ink wells be uniform, but only that they be sufliciently large so that the walls between them may be of sufficient thickness to prevent their being eaten away and undercut by the etching 'fiuid. In other words, the walls between the wells must be of sufficient thickness sothat the wells can be etched deep enough to hold a sufficient quantity of ink to make the desired result, especially when this ink is thin enought so as not to be dragged out of the wells in scraping the late.

As it is exceeding y difficult to perfectly clean'the surface of the cylinder outside of the picture where it is desired to have the paper in its natural condition, and without aving any ink on it, I have invented the expedient of covering the impression cylinder with paper, and then making the press revolve the cylinder once so that the picture is printed on the said paper covering. I then cut away all the covering outside of the picture where it is desired to leave the aper clean upon which the picture is to be printed, thus leaving a relief or raised surface on the impression cylinder exactly corres onding to the picture, but not extending lieyond it, and in fact, depressing or removing the remaining portions of the impression cylinder surface. In this manner, when the printing takes place, the paper on which the icture is to be rinted is not pressed against t e portions 0 the surface of the rinting cylinder which are not engraved, and thus any slight film of ink which may remain there is not transferred to the paper. In order that the impression and printing cylinders may not come in contact where they are not held apart by the portion of the covering of the impression cylinder corresponding to the picture, I preferably leave or form a ring on each end of the impression cylinder, which is of-substantially the same height as the said printing cylinder, so that the printing cylindercan have the two said revolutionsbetween each printing operation. By the use of the said arrangement of cylinders and the said ink, I find that a single colorcan be' printed upon a dry sheet of paper of dull or matte surface at a high rate of speed, so that from etched cy inders asabove-described, are

'superim osed one upon another in the usual order such prmtmg. Of course, 1t'1s obvious that the same effect could-be produced by etching a plate instead of a cylinder, and that the said plate could be wiped off instead of scraped clean.

The nature of my picture can now be understood. Each cell in the etched cylinder depositsits ink upon the paper like an inverted cup, so that the ink is piled up in relief upon the paper. It is entirely different from printing where the plate is etched away around the points which are to print upon the paper, for in the latter case a film of ink is deposited upon a plane surface, and that surface crushes the ink into the paper, and often forms a depression in the paper where the imprint is made, With my icture, however, the paper is not'depresse where the ink is deposited, but theink is de osited on the surface of the paper and p1 ed up thereon (where the color is heavy), and the impression of the printing surface on the paper tends to increase rather than decrease such relief, for the screen lines which in my printing surface are in relief and do not carry any ink, tend to depress the paper around the portions which receive the ink.

The entire surface of my picture is covered.

with ink, except only that the surface is crossed by the screen lines. Every )ortion of the imprint of my picture, except t whites, is covered by complete rectangles of ink. The differences in shade are not obtained by making. the rectangles larger 'or smaller, or more or less complete, but they are obtained by the differences in depths of the cells, and consequently the differences in thickness of the deposit of ink. It is in precisely the same Way that differences in color are produced in a pastel. In a pastel,

the color is put on in varying thicknesses, according to the depth of color desired. I On the contrary, with a half tone engraving, the

different degrees of color are obtained by making the dots of color which are rinted larger or smaller, and often of dlfferent shapes. In my icture, the entire paper is fully covered wit ink, except for the screen e pu re lines, but the ink is of varying degrees of thickness. In ahalf tone, on the other hand. the ink is of uniform thickness wherever appears, but the natural surface of the paper is eft uncoveredwhere it is desired to produce a lighter effect. This, as before stated, is owin to making the dots of'color of larger or sma ler area. In other words, the engraving in the surface of my cylinder is a cast of the picture to be produced, while with half tones, the engraving is never filled with ink, the ink'being applied only to the ortions of the original surface which stil remain, so that the engraving represents the white ortions of the picture. In my picture, t e picture is made. up by ink running from transparency to opacity, while with all other printed pictures, the-picture is made up by dots or isolated specks of ink of different sizes. Inmy picture the effect is produced in an ideal way of varying the densities of the ink as an artist would do by hand. With my picture, the effect of the lighter tones is produced by the white of the paper showing through the ink, something in the same way as the light shows through a stained glass window.- This is a highly artistic effect. My picture can be printed on soft'paper, while. a half tone must be printed on paper having a hard surface, to prevent the ink from sinking in and sepa-' rating-and covering the little white interstices between the specks of ink. This piling up of the ink in effect produces the rich velvety appearance so much prized in etchings or in intaglio engravings. The reproduction of pastels by my process produces a pictureremarkably like the pastel in appearance. .As my colors are rinted in varying degrees of thickness, the ower colors shine through the up )er' colors, and thus combine the colors, because they are transparent, while the usual colors do not combine in this way.

l/Vith half tone work, great care has to be. taken to place the screen lines of the. successive colors at angles where they willnot pro- .duce objectionablepatterns, such as a tesselated floor, or a plaid effect, and much difficulty and expense are involved in producing this kind of work to avoid this objectionable effect; I find that with my process I need pay no attention to the angle of the screen lines, but can print the screen lines of the successive pictures all 1n substantially the same direction, and without care, as no pattern effect is produced under. I suppose thls to be any circumstances. due to the fact that the screen lines are but a smallportion of the entire area of my picture, while with the half tones, they form a considerable portion of the lighter portions of the picture.

I preferably print upon sheets of paper instead of upon paper in a roll, and position the sheet .for each of the superimposed impressions by placing it against gages. laper in a roll will stretch so as to prevent perfect registry of: one impression upon another, as its surface having a length changes under different conditions of humidity, tension, electrlcity, pressure, etc. By the use are elnmnated and I obtain perfept registry. The picture which I have clescrlbed herein is not claimed in the present applic-atiombut the light sensitive coating, and then etching the surface so treated, thereby producing relatively large color receiving cavities of uniform area and varying depth, according to the depth of color desired. v

The process of printing pictures, comprising forming a carbon tissue negative of the picture to be reproduced, which negative is crossed by screen lines, transferring said tissue to a plate and etching saidplate, developing the image produced without hardening the light sensitive coating, the depth of the various portions varying according to the depth of color desired, and then filling the cavities thus formed with ink, removing the ink from the screen lines and high portions of the plate, and printing the picture.

3. The process of printing pictures, consistingin forming an intaglio positive in a printing surface, said positive being divided into small cavities of substantially equal area by walls correspondingto the screen lines, the depths of said cavities varying, according to the depth of color desired, filling said cavities with ink, removing the ink from said walls, and printing.

4. The process of printing multicolor pictures, coniprlsing etching intaglio positives,

one for each color to be printed, said positives being broken screen lines, according to up into cells of uniform area by the depth of said cells varying, the depth of color desired, filling of sheets, all of these objections.

each of said positives with its respective color, removing the ink from said screen lines and the high portions of the printing surface,

.leaving sa1d cells filled with ink, and printing, first one color and then another, the colors being superimposed upon each other.

5. The process of printing pictures, which comprises forming an intaglio printing surface for each of the several colors to be printed, said intaglio surface being brokennp into ink-receiving wells of considerable area and 'of depth varying according to the depth of color desired, filling said printing surfaces with thin ink of the proper color, scraping the surplus ink from the surfaces of said plates, and superimposmg said colors upon a sheet of paper.

6. The process of printing a picture, com prising forming an intaglio printing surface divided into cells of uniform area, the depths of said cells varying according to the depth of color desired, applying ink to said surface, removing the ink from the unetched portions of said printing surface while leaving the ink in said cells, and impressing said printing surface upon dry paper.

7. The process of printing pictures, comrisin formin an inta lio rintin surface having large ink-receivin wells separated by continuous walls, said we ls being of varying depth, according to the depth of color required, filling said intaglio with thin ink, removing the excess, and printing from said surface while cold.

8. The process of printing pictures upon dry paper, comprising forming an intaglio printing surface, said surface consisting of relatively large ink-receiving wells separated by continuous walls, said wells varying in depth, according to the depth of color desired, filling said intaglio with ink, removing the excess, and printing from said surface while cold, said impression being made upon dry paper.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

, CHARLES W. SAALBURG.

WVitnesses:

An'rnUR \Nmen'r, A. NEWCOMB.

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