US7738A - Improvement in printing - Google Patents

Description

" understood by the following explanation.

tI'INIT'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BARTHOLOMEW BENrowsKr, O'LO'NDON, ENGLAND. y

| M PRov-EMENT IN. Palm-mo.'

' Specifcationwfhrming partof Letters Patent ANo. 7,738, dated OctoberQl), lS'iOl T0 all whom' tuta/y concarn.;

-B`e it known that I, BARTHOLOMEW BEN:- roWsKr, a Polish refugee, now residing in Bow first place, to a means of. facilitating the usual operations of thejcompositor-that is, distributingor arranging the types,blocks,spaees, &c., in cases, and com posing the types, Src.i 1` from thecases into words, sentences, and paragraphs, &c., and connecting the composed matfr ter after ithas been thus brought together.

These advantages are attained, first, by marking upon the four sides and lower surface of the shank of each type the same letter or character as thatY which is formed upon its upper surface, technically-called the face77 of the type,wi th this difference, however, that the letter or ligure -I propose to 'mark upon the sides and., lower surface 'of the shankof thel type is not to bev reversed, but to have the direct form or appearance lof the letter or-mark as we read it in print. This will be; better The usual appearance pf 'a number of types (suppose the lower-case alphabet) in the composing-stick is inverted and reversed, as repre sented in Sheet I of the accompanying drawings at Figure l. The appearance ofthe same line of types, with theirfaces touching thebottoni of the composing-stick, their nicks being toward 'the compositor and their lower sur` faces upward, marked with the corresponding J letters, will be, 'as shown at Fig. 2, just as we .are accustomed to read them when printed.

' For the better illustration of my invention, I have` shown at Figs. ,3 and 4 perspective views of one of my improved types, suppose letter a. The first of these gures shows the face of the type with the letter a-formed therewhateyer lpart of the typepresentsitself to the# compositor it will be readily recognized. These my additional letters 011 the lower surface and f sides of the Shanks of the type may be produced by a variety of means--viz. by writing, painting, engraving, casting, or etching. Thesimpiest way is to mark these letters with pen and ink or writing-vuidof any color.

fou'uder. Foreign alphabets-as Greek,forin f stance-are marked in like manner with the foreign letter, or they may be marked with the corresponding English letter. As the operation of marking the types by hand would, however, be a work of some time, and would consequently be expensive, I sometimes do this in a-more effectual and durable and at the same time more economical manner by either "of the following ways:Y First, by casting the lrequisite letters or marks, not only on the sides or bottom of the type, but ou the lower end thereof, in intaglio, at the same timc that the' type is made, so that when the type is removed from the mold it will be found to present, not only the proper letter in reliefon its face, but also the same letterin intaglio at its lower end and on its sides, but not reversed.Y vIn order to do .this I have made some trifiing altera-` tions in and additions to the ordinary type- `founders mold, as will be seen by referring tothe accompanyingA drawings, in which- Fig's. 1*, 2*, and 3*, Sheet II, represent three different sectional views of a type-mold with my improvements adapted thereto and -certain alterations made therein to render it more suitable for the intended purpose. Fig. l* is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the mold in the line 1 2 of Fig. 2*, which represents a horizontal section of the same,'taken in the line 3 -of Fig. 1*; and Fig.

' 3*, is a transverse vertical section taken in thc line 5 6 of Fig. 1*.

Instead of' the mouth of the mold being, as

usual, above the foot of the type, it is 'on the body of the mold.

upper side of what is technically called the 2 finas' l In Figs. l* and 2*, a a is the mouth, which,

through the grooveor channel b, communicates with the space c, in`which the shank of the type is cast, as usual, d d are registers 011l the upper end 4of vthe mold, their construction be- `ing exactly like that of the usual registers,.d*

Z*, 011 the lower end of the mold. The oiice of these upper registers yis to receive a'metal piece, e, having a matrix in relief made thereon. This upper or additional matrix in relief is shown detached and on 'an enlarged scale in Fig. 4*, and is intended to produce by casting' asunk letter at the lower end of the type, the letter not heilig inverted, but exactly like that we read in printed books., Square holes are made through the carriage of each half of the mold, `and similar square holes are' made l not protrude beyond the hole more than about A one-hundredth of an inch, and` this protruding letter will' naturally producein .casting an' intaglio letter on thecorres'ponding. side of the shank Aofthe type. The operation of vcasting and dressing the type isL'conducted in the usual way, except that first, after having poured the metal into themold, I renove the upper matrix, as well as the lower one, before I pro- Iceed to separate the two halves of the mold for thepurpose of taking out the type. The j et, or'superfluons metal, not being,- as usual, on the foot of the type, the modeI of planing off the break must consequently be conducted'in la ,somewhat di`erent'manner, viz: I arrange' the types horizontal1y,`with the breaks upward, and\ then plane them off with a plane, I the stock of which is suitably shaped for this purpose. It might at rst be-supposed'that there would be a difficulty in the delivery of the cast type on account ,of its beinghemmed .in by the fqur lateral protruding rods f f.

This, however, is'not the case, asthe type .A metal expands while solidifying, and imme' y diately after shrinks suiflciently to allow of an easy delivery. Gare must only be taken to suitably adjust the above rods, and the properY amount of .adjustment must be ascertained by a fewexperimental castings of each individualso'rt, and also according to the particular composition of the type metal employed.

Another means of marking the types on their sides with the proper letters for the purpose already explained is by the employment of the electrotype process, whereby the signs or letters may be rendered more visible on the shank ofthe type, the said letters having been rst :made thereon inintaglio, either by casting, stamping, engraving, `or in vany other suitable manner.

The process of depositing metals 4will be so well understood that it will not be necessary to give-any detailed description thereof, as it does not differ in anyway from the processes already known and in use. If, when the types are, marked by writing or printing, some non- A conducting coloringmaterial-as, forin'stance, Brunswick black-isemployed for the purpose, the type will be covered with the de` posited metals upon all parts except those protected by the coloring-matter. I also propose, under this head, to coat printing-types,

except their faces, with some innoxious material-such as varnish-or by chemical means with some metal-such as gold, silver,platinum, or copper-which will not be injurious to the health of the compositor when brought into "contact with the most delicate portions of the body, such as the organ of touchor the lungs. The types may be coated with these metals by merely throwing them into solutions of the metals, such as sulphate of copper, the chloi rides of gold, platinum, or silver, or other solutions of 'these metals. Y

My second improvement consists in employing forl 1etterpress printing (besides the usual sorts) types which are cast together with a space at their sides, as shown in Fig. 5% in Sheet II.

-These` types are usedat the end vofwjbrds or. in yother-places where they may be requiredsuch asat the kend of .a series of -igures'my object being to save a portion of the usual -labor of composing and distributing, and also to be able to put the types into the composing-stick 4 vertically, with the faces downward and the sunk letters upward, and set' up or compose from left to "right, just in the manner as letter- Q press printing is read. I It'will be evident to any practical printer that the types could not be composed or set up with theiriaces downwardif the spaces were not united to the final Ietters, as the spaces would slip down to the bottoni of the composingfsti'ck, and in printing a blotch instead of a white interval at the en`d of each wordwould be produced. It will',-

however, be necessary to .make use of la few spaces ofthe ordinary kind at the end of each line for the purpose of justifying and also ofthe usual leads,l which would ofcourse produce in printing the above-mentioned blotches. This inconvenience, however, can be 'easily remedied by pushing these few spaces andthe leads down before the form is submitted to vthe'printing operation.' This extra labor is amply counterbalanced by the economy just mentioned' but more particularly so by the facility that the improvement of casting intaglio vletters at the,lower end of type gives to obtain-v ing stereotype castings, sometimes termed polytyping. i

In reference to polytyping, I think it Aadvis- Y able, in ,order to be as intelligible as possible, to make the following extract from the seventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Type-founding,v head Polytypage, written and also published separately by Hansard in 1841: Mr. Heran (in France) hit upon was anovel and lingeniousmode of'polytyping This ,was the'formation of a`set of types the very reverse of the common-viz., insteadof the letter being in relief upon the shank, it Was in intaglio. Therefore every separate letter would be a die, and instead of the letter being reversed it would stand vas read on-the paper.

'The spaces, quadrats, leads, &c., were of the These were to be exactheight of the type. composed like types,- so that the entire page would present thev appearance of a plate of copper, into "which words, Ste., had been punched. VThe matter was to. be read in the.

metal WithoutV a proof, which, as the words `read from left to right, was a matter` of no difficulty.` Upon the matrix` thus composed-v fused metal was to be pressed, which would obviously forma complete plate fit to be printed `from,a nd the operati on could be repeated-until 'as many plates were struck ofi as were re-V quired.77

This mode succeeded and has been employed in France, but has lately been entirely neglected, as the composition thus formed by Heran could only serve the purpose of polytyp-v e ing or producing stereotypelplates, but evidently not for printing, whereas I make my types as above described, having on one en'd the usual letter for the purpose of being printed from, and

on the other end a sunk letter for the purpose of .polytyping by pressing int'oit gutta-percha or any other suitable material, or, What'IAshould prefer, by pouring upon it fused N ewtonsor i any other fusible metal, in the manner of the l consequently spoil the object of polytyping.

Bycasting the Aspaces with the final letters,.as

j above mentioned, all this is evidently remedied.`

These final letters I may put in one and the same compartments with the usual letters, as

l the compositor will easily distinguish them by their size and shape, or by their being variously colored,`from the corresponding usual ,letters v of Whiehthe `Wordsftc., are composed, and therefore the case77 will be no more complicatedthan it at present is.

In connection with this ,head of my inven- Y' tion'I propose to make the spaces and quadrats either `o'f iron or of wood, or some of iron and someof Wood. One object is torender, the' spaces cheaper and lighter, andl another is to facilitate the operation of separating 'such "spaces and quadrats` from the other types or blocks, which I do by the use of a magnet, and

by water, as will be hereinaftermore minute1-y` described Thesespaces and quadrats may b`e aint'ed of various colors,` andare to be v arnished to protect them from' vthe action of the Water'. .e y My-third improvement is -designedto facili'- tate the distribution2 of types by arranging considerable numbers of types of one kind in distinct tubes, each belonging to itsparticular letter or type. This feature consists of an apparatus which I call the type-store, formed by anumber of Vertical tubes of a square, round, or any other suitable form, about one foot long, as shown in Sheet I at Fig. 5, and several combined at Fig. 6, the lower ends of these tubes being closed. The dimensions of the horizontal or cross-sections of each of these tubes must be less -than the usual height of types in order to prevent the types tumbling over in the tubes when they are introduced therein.

proper tube, the tubes being severally marked onthe outer side with the letter indicating the sort7 it is to contain.

For the better understanding of this part of my invention I will" describe my manipulaof composed types, blocks, and spaces is unlocked and placed in a at tray a few inches deep and of convenient size. I then spread them to lie upon their long surfaces or sides ,by pressing With the hand in csuch a manner 'as that they shall-form an even layer upon the tray, taking care,L as' far as possible, that none of vthe types shall be heaped upon one another. ,I then pass either apermanentor temporary magnet of suitable powerover the Whole surface of the types. All the iron spaces will o f course be attracted by and adhere to the fmagnet. v I then remove them from the magnet and place them in their respective tubes ofthe'type-'store above described. Next Ipick up out ofthe tray, by hand, allthe logotypes and' phrasotypes (which I will describe hereinafter) andplace them upon a board in alphabetical order in vertical columns. Ithen pour Water into the tray, tothe surface of which Vthe wooden spaces and wooden quadrats will ofcourse rise all at once. These wooden spaces I remove, and, having dried them in the usualvmanner of drying types, I place them in their respective tubes of the type-store. The Water having been allowed to escape from the tray andthe types dried, I then select the several types and place them, with their faces upward,

- in their `respective tubes `of the type-store.

lThe types, asthey are introduced into their stand one upon another,` but always in the same erect position, as the width of the `tube will not admit of theirffalling over into cross positions.

At Fig. 6?, Sheet III, I have shown a per-v spective view of another apparatus vwhich is a modification of that described in Fig. 6,Sheet Land still more facilitates the sorting or disv tributing operation'. The series of tubes AA 'A composing the store are precisely similarto box'attached yto a small table, B, upon which 'xa small heap of the types intended to be sort- The respective types are delivered from the hands of the distributer, each into its tions relating to distributing. The page or form t -the types loosely, separating them and causing respective tubes, slide down and arrange themselves side by side, and as the tube fills they .those just described; but they are placed in a ward the compositor.

. fusual height of types.

ed or distributed is placed. This table is also furnished with a small dish or shallow saucer, C mounted at the upper end of a rod, D, which passes through a hole in the table B, and wh en the types are to be sorted the boy'places a few in the dish olf-saucer C, and-by taking only a few at a time ,he can quickly sort them and' place them in their proper tubes. -When sorting lthe type he holds therod l) in his left fhand, and can thereby turn the dish or saucer vC round, as Vmay be necessary, in order to A recognize lmore quickly the different letters.

My fourth improvement consists in an ap# paratus for the purpose of facilitating composition. This apparatus I call the f authoriton. A number of squaretubes equal to the number of sorts in use (one of which -is shown in Fig. 7 are to'bc combined. The length of each tube isabout one foot and a half, and in height and-width about half an inch, (a lit- .tle smaller than the usual' length technically called height of types.) The end .of the tube marked with di, Fig. 7', is Ato be turned to- Both ends areopen. At the end :t a portion o'f the 'upper side of the tube must be removedfor the distance of about half an inch; but this removed portion of the tube ,must be always shorter than the At the other end of the 'tube aportion of thel upper side is also removed to the extent of ,about one inch and a half. A' suitable number of these tubes is arV ranged and combined as shown in perspective at Fig. 8. These tubes are severally marked with a letter indicating the letter each tube is to contain. Figs. 9 and 10 are geometrical clo'se over the back part of the tubeof the authoriton. The types will thereby naturallyY lodge themselves in thisI receiving-tube, with their faces al1 in thesame direction toward the compositor. Having thus transferred a suitable number of types, I place in the back part of each tube of the authoriton a parallelopiped of wood, about three inches long, (see'Fig. 11,) -the cross-section of which is a trifle smaller than the cross-section ofthe interior ofthe tube, so that this parallelopiped may easily be pushed forward. This parallelopiped, which 1031115116 y"pusher, serves-the purpose 0f Pushing the 4types forward until their. faces reach' exactly the from; end of the tube. When the types visible at this'portioi of the tube arc @Xllalsbed b r composition, a newA supply lfl'wlded by pessing on the pusher; or, if preferred, the

' tubes may be made as shown in Fig. 5*, Sheet II, in which the end is closed up, an aperture being, however', left to take up thetypes. By

this I can, if required, dispense with the pusher, as the authoritoii may be set at an angle, so as to allow the types to slide down themselves.l I pick up the required types by means of suitable tweezers of about the shape and dimensions shown in Fig. 12,. and place such types consecutively in the usual composingstick, with their faces touching its bottom; or

I place the types in the compartments of what I call the copying-stick,7 which is placed on the table close to the authoriton. Fig 13 is a horizontal View of the copying-stick. Fig. 14 is a' front elevation of the same, and Fig. 15 represents its cross-section. The length of the copying-stick is about ten inches. The width is equal to the usual length technically called the height of the types. There is avertical ledge round three. sides of the bottom of this copying-stick, leaving the front open. Its.

height is equal to about two em-quadrats of the kindof types in which I am composing. There are a series of vertical partitions made l of some pliant and elastic substanccgas sheet india-rubber-inserted intothe bottom of the copying-stick. Their height above the bottom is about one-teiithof an inch. 1i i, from the back is about half an inch. They are xed in suitable grooves cut in the bottomA of the copying-st'ck. The other three margins of these partitie s are free, sc that theywill easily yield or incline either to the right 0r left. The widths or spaces between nthese compartments thus formed areequal to about one Y em-qnadrat of the kind of types in whichI am composing', except the last at the right end, which is about an inch. In placing the types in the copying-stick I care not onl wlnch of their sides they happen to fall from the1 tweezers, provided they lie with their faces Yto ward me. Wherever double letters occur 1 pick up the two letters together and place them both in the same compartment. Whereverlo fogotypes and phrasotypes occur I place them upon the elastic partitions. They will naturally cover several compartments, and so I continue to the end of the stick. I put nothing into the large right-hand compartment, which is merely for the purpose of allowing room incase of a logotype or phrasotype end- Aing the stick. I proceed,llin'g one'stick after another and placeone before another, the back of each stick touching the faces of the types in the adjoining stick behindl 1t. Fig. 16 shows ,two sticks full of the composition of types- \say the Lords prayer. Having filled a suitable number 'of these sticks and read them over,

`I hand them to a justifying-boy', who 'puts .one type afteranpther into the usual composingstick, and exactly inthe usual manner-J-viz., with the feet touching the bottom of the composing-stick andthe' nicks upward-and' he- Their length,.

composed matter to the galley, the chase, &c., until the locking-up, inelusively, is performed in the ordinary manner. Having taken a proof and marked the corrections, I turn the locked-up form upside down-viz., the faces of the types downward-placing suitable pieces of `wood under the sides of the chase. It is selfevident that the operation of correcting will be greatly facilitated by my letters marked on the lower surfaces of the types, which I can read aseasily as a printed page; The drawing but of the types I perform more easily than in the usual manner on account of my handling the bodkin very boldly, as I care very little about scratching the lower surfaces of the types, while in-the usual manner of correcting the slipping of the bodkin very often produces scratches ou the faces of the types; and with regard to my spaces, I care very little how .roughly I handle them, they being very cheap. Having made all the corrections, I hand over the form to the pressman,who goes on printing inthe usual manner from the inked faces of the types. He will look to the rst printed sheet whether there are any spaces standing too high, which he can easily press down and tighten, if required, by driving boldlya` small sharp wedge into one or more of the wooden spaces.

My fifth improvement I call poly-composng,7 by which I understand a process of making two, three, or more compositions of the same copy with greater expedition and less expense than this could possibly be done in the usual manner. This I achieve by proceeding exactly as'above described for the production of a single composition, with this difference, that-I transfer from the authoriton, `or from the usual cases, to the copying-stick two, three, or more types of the same character at the same time. 1.S1ippose, for instance,

I had to make two, three, or more compositions ofthe word London I take two, three, or more Ls at once from the authoriton and place them in one, compartment of the copying-stick. Next I do the samewith the same number of Os, Ns, Ds, Os, and Ns. The thus filled sticks pass successively from one justifying-boy to another, each being instructed to take only one of the two, three, or more letters lylng 1n the same compartment, leaving the remaining` types to be operated upon by his next neighbor. Every one will easily guess the modifications to be made in the dimensions of the copying-stick and its compartments in compliance with the greater or less number of compositions required to be produced. Should I wish to have one composition in one kind of .types (suppose diamond) and another compoword London in ldiamond and in pica. I

justifying-boy, the pica to another, and both go o n as above described simultaneously. It is self-evident that I may direct one. justifyingboy to justify page and impose for 18los and another Vfor 4', folios, &c. Any particular directions the compositor may have to give to the 'justifying-boys or others he may mark down with a pencil on the bottom of the copying-stick, the bottom ofthe copying-stick being always covered with the best white drawing-paper, which marks are rubbed -out with india-rubber after they have served their purpose.

Having now described my various .improvements and the manner of carrying the same into effect, Iwould observe, in conclusion, that in order that my present improvements may be perfectly understood I have found it necessar-y to represent and describe Various things that are already known. I do not, however,

- intend to claim any of such well-known parts as constituting any part of my presentimprove ments; nor do I intend to confine myself rigidlyr to the precise arrangement or construction ot' parts as herein shown and described, as they may4 doubtless be yaried in some particulars without departing from the nature and object of my invention; but that lwhich I consider to be new in the above-described improvements, and therefore wish to claim as the invent-ion secured to meby Letters Patent, is-

1. Marking on t-he shank and foot ot' types by any convenient means-such as writing, enl graving, casting, or electrotyping-the same letter or charaeterwhichis formed on it-s upper e surface, and also the method herein shown and described of casting the intaglio letters on the shank and foot of the types at the same time that the t-ype itself is cast.

2. Makingtypes having, in combination with the usual letters in relief 011 the face ot' the type, intaglio letters on the foot thereot'for th purpose of serving as mat-ricos from which to obtain apolytype-plate, 'while the types themselves will serve for printing.

3. Casting spaces'on the sides ofrordinary type for the purpose allOVc mentioned, :1S above described.

4. The peculiar mode herein shown and dcscribed of poly composing either from the ordinary cases or from what I call the authoriton.l I

5. The process and apparatus herein shown and described for facilitating the sorting and distributing of types and'spaces, and making i part of them of wood 'and iron, so that the wooden portion may beseparated by means of Water, the iron ones by -a .permanent or temporary magnet, and the others into their several receptacles by hand, the workman being considerably assisted in this operation by the type being marked on their sides.

6. The apparatus shown inFigs. 8, '9, and

10, which Idenominate the authoriton, and

also of the use of the copying-sticks shown in Figs. 13, 14,- and 15 for the purpose of facilitating composition, by which the above-described types are brought into a convenient space for MEW BENIOWSKI, have hereunto set my hand and seal this 13th dayof January, in the yea;- l

of our of Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.

BARTHOLOMEW BENIOWSKI. h.. s.] Witnesses:

J. W. Morm'rr, FRED. WALKER,

Clerk 1o Newton. d? Son, 66 Chancery Lam",

London.

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