Printing – Intaglio – Bed-and-cylinder machines
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-01
2001-04-17
Colilla, Daniel J. (Department: 2854)
Printing
Intaglio
Bed-and-cylinder machines
C101S250000, C101S252000, C101S269000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216590
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printing press, and in particular to a press for intaglio printing, including printing of etchings and engravings.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
The art of intaglio printing dates back at least to the 15th century, where it was practiced by such well known artists as Rembrandt and Durer. It has developed over time and continues as a method of graphic artistic expression to the present.
The forms of intaglio printing are characterized by having the art work incised on a flat plate (i.e., a printing block plate); either into a ground layer covering the plate or into the surface of the plate itself. The plate surface used, and the means of forming the lines of the print determine the actual classification of the work. However, all intaglio processes involve filling the incised lines of the plate's finished drawing with ink, and carefully removing all remnants of ink from the flat, uncut surfaces of the plate. The plate is then covered with an appropriately wetted print paper (i.e., print fabricating material) which is in turn covered with resilient layers of material such as felt, and then run through a press which applies pressure to the felt and paper forcing it down into the inscribed lines of the plate so that ink is picked up and transferred to the paper.
Because paper fibers must be forced down into the lines and grooves of the inked plate to effect the ink transfer, large forces, uniform across the width of the plate, must be applied to the felt/paper layers as they traverse the press. Presses of the prior art utilize a fixed structure on which is mounted a massive movable bed onto which the plate is laid for printing. The bed is generally propelled by a lower driven roller which causes the plate to move on auxiliary rollers along the length of the table carrying the plate beneath the fixed print roller. The print roller, supported on end bearings fixed in heavy brackets secured to the table, is pressed down onto the felt/paper layers with pressure sufficient to effect the ink/paper transfer as the bed is rolled along the table in a plane parallel to, and at a fixed distance from, the print roller axis, by an appropriate motive means. In the prior art, the print rollers have been substantial steel cylinders with diameters of from 4″ and up, and the lower rollers consisting of steel cylinders with diameters of from 3″ and up. These heavy rollers are used to provide uniform pressure and to maintain straightness and parallelism over their full widths of the bed from 12″ to several feet, and require heavy, rigid support structures. The bed itself must be weighty to resist flexing under the printing forces. Thus the intaglio press of the prior art is a heavy and unwieldy structure. The present invention provides performance equivalent to that obtainable by the presses of the prior art, but with a substantial reduction in complexity and weight.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Rather than using a heavy bed to support an intaglio plate and moving the bed and plate under a fixed print roller, the present invention teaches using a lighter weight fixed bed to support the intaglio plate and mounting the print roller on a movable trolley which is advanced across the intaglio plate causing the pressure of the print roller to effect the printing. The trolley is fabricated from light weight beams substantially forming the sides of a hollow box beam, and the print roller is stiffened by support of rollers tied to a trolley beam and in contact with the print roller at several intermediate points. These intermediate rollers, fixed to the upper beam, preclude the print roller from flexing under the load presented by the intaglio plate and the associated paper and felt material as the print roller under pressure traverses the plate. This allows the use of a lighter, smaller diameter print roller, and further reduces the weight and complexity of the print roller support assembly. Handwheels attached to the trolley provide spring loaded pressure to control the pressure of the print roller on the intaglio plate assembly. The trolley is driven across the bed and plate either by a manually operated external drive wheel or a geared motor, which causes the print roller to rotate under pressure across the plate effecting printing as it rolls. Below the bed of the table is a lower roller attached to the trolley and circumfirentially in contact with the lower bed face. This roller provides support to the underside of the fixed bed to prevent its flexure under the pressure of the print wheel pressing on the plate assembly at the upper surface of the bed. Also supporting this lower roller are intermediate rollers secured to the horizontal lower trolley beam to further provide uniform pressure and structural support during the printing process.
REFERENCES:
patent: 358857 (1887-03-01), Henry
patent: 404058 (1889-05-01), Snow
patent: 1824211 (1931-09-01), Jobke
patent: 3577917 (1971-05-01), Nantz
patent: 3633505 (1972-01-01), Ferrari
patent: 4704962 (1987-11-01), Healey
patent: 5325637 (1994-07-01), Yasuda et al.
patent: 5346199 (1994-09-01), Martin et al.
patent: 5609054 (1997-03-01), Ogawa et al.
Colilla Daniel J.
Robbins Daniel
LandOfFree
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