US1261171A - Undersurface printing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

v A. HtSMiTH.

UNDERSURFACE PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29\ I9I3- RENEWED OCT- IB. I917. 1,261,171.,

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET II Inventor:

A My.

A. H. SMITH UNDERSURFACE PRINTING MACHINE. 7 APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. 1913. RENEWED OCT. I8, 1911. 1,261,171

Patent-ed Apr. 2, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

r m e v M A. H. SMITH. UNDERSURFACE PRINTYING MACHINE. APPLICATION man NOV. 29 1913; RENEWED ocr. 18.1917. LQGLYH.

Patented Apr. 2,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. H. SMITH. I UNDERSURFACE PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. 193- RENEWED OCT. I8. 1917. 1 261 1710 Patented Apr. 2,1918.

5 $HEETSSHEET 4- A. H. SMITH.

UNDERSURFACE PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 29. 1912. RENEWED ocT. 18.1911.

1 ,26 1,1 7 1 Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- lnvemo:

AMOS H. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' UNDEBSURFACE PRINTING-MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 2 1191.

Application filed November 29, 1913, Serial No. 808,673. Renewed October 18, 1917. Serial No. 197,350.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, AMos H. SMITH, a

' citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Undersurface Printing- Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part I thereof.

My invention relates to undersurface printing machines, and more particularly to a type thereof adapted for multi-color work.

While it is old in the printing arts to provide a printing machine adapted to produce work in a plurality of colors at a single impression or by a sequence of impressions, there has, to the best of my knowledge, never been made an attempt to produce a printing machine by means of which an imprint in a plurality of colors may be made at one impression, from an intaglio, engraved or undersurface plate.

Heretofore, multi-color work in the art of printing from intaglio, engraved or under- 7 surface plates has always been done by the use of a plurality of plates, each plate bearing thereon a portion of the design to be printed in a color, the completed imprint being secured by a plurality of impression's.

' It is true that an art or method has been heretofore devised, by which an imprint in.

a plurality of colors may be made from a plate at a single impression, nevertheless, by this method or art, the plate was inked and finished by hand, and the impression was made in an ordinary, well known undersurface printing press.

The difliculties to be surmounted in' the construction of a machine made in accordance with my invention are theapplication of inks ofdifi'erent colors to difl'erent portions of a plate without mixing inks of different colors upon the inking rollers; the removal of the ink from the top ornonprinting surface of the plate without drawing ink from the'lines or mixin inks in the lines; and the-wiping and pofishing of the-Plate under conditions which will avoid the mixingof inks along the line .of demarcation between the portions of the. plate inked'in difierent colors in a degree which would materially vary the appearance of the imprint.

With these conditions in mind, I have by my invention provided a continuously operating mechanism by which a plate may be completely inked with diflerent portions thereof indifferent colors, without mixing the inks upon the inkin rollersin a man ner which would vary t 'e tone quality of the ink during a continued run. In conjunc- 'vtion with this mechanism, I provide means whereby the ink upon the top or non-printing surface will be automaticallyremoved in a manner and to an extent so that the proper finish or wipe and polish may be given to the plate without mixing the inks alon the line of demarcationof the portions 0 the plate inked in different colors, which would preclude the production of a commercial product. a

By arranging the inking, cleaning or transfer, and wiping mechanisms so that they are successively operative upon a plate, I am enabled to produce an imprint in a plurality of colors, at a single impression, by purely mechanical means and without materially reducing the speed of operation, or capacity, of the ress.

In order to avoi the mixing of the inks in the process of cleaning the top or nonprinting surface, or transferring the ink deposited thereon therefrom, I constantly clean the transfer rollers so that they will present a surface substantially free of ink upon each application thereof to the plate. Preferably, I accomplish this result by the transfer of ink from said roller to a second roller in constant contact therewith, which roller is subjected to the action of a scraping or rubbing mechanism, or both, so as to keep its surface clean.

Some such construction is desirable be-- cause while the inking rollers are operative only with relation to one color, the cleanmg or transfer rollers with each actuation thereof, are coated with a plurality of colors, and unless perfect register were secured, there would be a mixing of colors in succeeding prevent the removal of a suiiicient quantity of ink from the plate to permit the application of wiping'and polishing cloths thereto 'without a substantial variance in the color tones through the mixture of inks in the lines of the plate.

By my improved mechanism, while the of the plate and its subsequent prepaand a platen or D-roll.

Myinvention consists primarily in an un dersu'rface printing machine embodying therein inking means, adapted to apply inks of diflerent colors to diiferent portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, means adapted to remove ink from the top or nonprinting surface of a plate, and a printing couple whereby an Imprint in a plurality of colors" is made at one impression from a plate; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularlyepointed out in the claims hereto append Referring to the drawings :--T

Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention, portions of the driving means and actuating means for the wiper and polisher being omitted, as these are well known in the art and form no part of this invention; A

Fig.- 2 is an elevation of that side of the machine upon which the inking mechanism is ositioned; ig.3is an end elevation of the machine, showing that end upon which the surface ink removin mechanism is situated;

Fig. 4 1s a view of the side of the machine opposite to that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view of the end of the machine opposite to that shown in Fig. 3;

6, 7 and 8 are detail views of the inking rollers, showing, conventionally, the inkin portions thereof; and

f igs. 9, 10 and 11 are views of a plate, showing the difl'erent colors as applied thereto from the inking rollers.

' Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated it in connection with a well known type of plate printing press, generally known as the Milligan press.

This type of machine comprises a frame 1, the top plate 2 of which is quadrangular and has parallel ways 3 and 4 extending about same. Mounted to travel in said ways is a plurality of plates or beds, 5, 6, 7 and 8, usually four in number, which beds or plates are connected by a swivel connection,

not shown, with a driving chain 9, common thereto. At one side of the frame in this older type of machine, is a D-roll or impression cylinder; upon another side thereof is an inking mechanism; upon the third side thereof is a wiping and polishin mechanism; while the fourth side is uno structed to afford opportunity for the pressman to ive a hand finish to each plate if the sur- This feature is one of considerable importance inthat the maximum speed of traverse of the carriersis determined by the interval of time required to secure the desired imprint.

By the construction heretofore referred to, a practically continuously operating press is secured, the capacity of which is limited solely to the actual time required to make an imprint, and that interval represented by the distance which the plates 5, 6, 7 and 8 are spaced apart on the driving chain.

I have illustrated my invention in connec-' tion with a machine of this type because there is ample space in which to locate the various mechanisms incorporated in the machine and because the invention can be practised to excellent advantage with a flat bed, undersurface machine.

It is not my intention, however, to limit the invention to any particular type of machine, it being apparent that the essential characteristics of my invention may be adapted to other types of machines than that shown, and secure the desired results.

While in the accompanying drawings I have shown a particular relation of the various mechanismsoperating upon the plate, I

the arrangement shown is merely one of expediency and may be varied to meet the requirements of any particular type of machine in which my invention may be incorporated.

The essentialsof my machine are an inkin mechanism by means of which inks of di erent colors may be applied to di-iferent portions of intaglio or engraved plates; a mechanism for removing the ink upon the top or non-printing surface of the plate,

. which in the form of the invention shown in the drawings includes an ink transfer mechanism as well as a wiping and polishing mechanism; and a printing couple, which embraces the support for the plate, and the platen or D-roll, which mechanisms are operative upon a plate successively in the order above specified.

In the specific form of the invention shown, I employ an inking roller 11, adapted to have impressed thereon by means of a transfer roller 12, an ink design approximat flexible surface, and the roller 12 may be .provided with a planographic printing surface, or a raised or cameo printin surface, as desired, the latter being pre erable. in that no damping mechanism is required in connection therewith. This mechanism above referred to is capable of inking the plate in one .color only, mit theinking of the plate in a'plurality of colors, I prov de a plurality ofsuch mechanisms, three in number, being. shown in the accompanying drawings. Each of these inkin mechanisms is adapted to apply ink of a ifi'erent color to the plate, the designs upon the inking rollers 14 and 17 being substantially identical in contour with portions of the plate, difi'ering from that represented upon the roller 11 and from each other.

The designs upon these three rollers, in.

the aggregate, constitute the complete design to be printed. The roller 14 receives its ink from a transfer roller 15, which in turn is inked from the inkin mechanism 16; while the inking roller 1 recives its ink from the transfer roller 18, which in turn is inked by the inking mechanism 19. Whilev these inking rollers are arranged to act consecutively upon a plate, there will be no blendlng of colors upon any of these rollers, as each receives its imprint. for inking purposes from an entirely independent source,

. upon the top surface of a respectively inked in such color or colors.

and the different designs upon these rollers are adapted to register one with the other so that even though the non-inkin surface of a roller pick up ink deposited plate by another roller, this will have no effect other than a tendency to pack the lines ofthe plate to be After a plate has been brought into the operative relation to each 11, 14, and 17, the entire design appearing thereon will have been inked, portions thereof in one color,

and portions thereofin another, there remammgupon the top or non-printing surface of the plate a film of ink of varying colors which must be removed.

After each plate has left the inln'ng rollers, it passes to the mechanism or means for removing this surface ink. In the form of the invention shown in the drawings, I remove the'major portion of this ink by lifting it from the surface, or transferring it to a transfer roller 20, or a plurality of such rollers in order to remove as much of this and in order to per-" of the inking rollers,

ink as possible prior to the final wiping and polishing process.

I employ a roller for lifting this surface ink because of the necessity for removing the ink without having rubbing contact between the means employed and the surface of the plate in order to minimize any possibility of this surfaceink being carried beyondthat portion of the design to appear in that color, or avoid the mixing of the inks upon the surface of the plate. By using a roller, the continuity of the operation of the machine is not interrupted, and a reduction in the speed or rate of traverse of the plate carriers is unnecessary.

Inasmuch as the transfer roller 20 will have inks of all colors applied thereto, it is apparent that unless the design impressed thereon by succeeding plates is secured, there would be a tendency of the transfer roller to mix the inksupon the surface of a plate with those upon its surface, and thus destroy the effect of the imprint. To avoid this condition, and a necessity for securing this perfect register, however, I provide a second roller 21, in

a perfect register of constant engagement with theroller 20 and adapted to receive the ink therefrom.

While the roller 20 is preferably formed of a composition the same as ordinary inking rollers, the roller 211s preferably made of metal so that the-surface thereof may be continuously cleaned by means of the scraper 22 and the rubber 23. By'this means, the roller 20 is constantly cleaned, so that substantially no ink will be contained thereon upon its initial application to any plate.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown two such mechanisms for trans-' ferring the surface ink from the plate, the second transfer roller being indicated at 24:, the cleaning roller at 25, the scraper at 26 and the rubber at 27 Upon leaving the transfer rollers 20 and 21, each plate 5, 6, 7 or 8- comes into the operative relation with the wiping and and polishers is immaterial to the invention and any form of such may be employed;

ile, considered broadly,-the wipers and polishers have the same function as the wipers and polishers ordinarily em loyed in undersurface printing machinery, t e condientered into, particularly as the detailed construction of the Wipers same effect in packing the lines of'the plate.

In fact, the wiper 2829 will be practically nothin more than a rough polisher, while the po isher 30-31 will in a measure take the place of the ordinary hand finish.

The pads 28 and 30 may be actuated in any desired 'manner, the mechanism for actuating same not being shown in the accompanying drawings. These mechanisms are arranged upon the long side of the machine, opposite the inking mechanism.

Upon the front end of the machine, or opposite the transfer rollers, is a D-roll 32, of ordinary construction, which is actuated in the usual and well known manner.

- The various inking rollers 11, 14, and 17 are all simultaneously driven in the same direction and at the same speed, in any desired manner, as by the gears 33, the rollers 11-and 12, 14 and 15, 17 and 18, being geared together so as to move in unison and thus insure accuracy in the setting of the machine for register.

The transfer rollers 20 and 24 are also preferably positively driven so as to avoid any possibility of such slippage as would result in a rubbing action upon the plate.

Any desired mechanism as the gear and chain mechanism 34 may be employed for this purpose.

The manner of actuating the various elements forms no part of this invention, and in the accompanying drawings I have shown same in a merely conventional manner.

While I prefer to remove the ink from the top or non-printing surface after all of the colors have been applied thereto, be-

, cause this simplifies the structure of the machine and reduces the number of parts, I do not contemplate restricting myself to. this particular construction, it being merely necessary, considering my invention in its broader aspects, to provlde means for removing said surface ink after the inking rollers have applied it to the non-printing surface and prior to subjecting the plate to the action of the wiping and polishing cloths.

Nor do I intend to limit myself to the conjoint use of a wiping cloth and a polishing cloth, as under some conditions either of these maybe dispensed with.

The operation of the herem described ma chine is substantiallyjas follows:-

f\ A pluralityof similar plates having been mounted upon the traveling carriers or beds,

5, 6, 7 and 8, these carriers or beds receive a faces, respectively, different portions. of the appearing upon the plates upon the design carrlers or beds, 5, 6, 7 and 8, are assembled in the machine and set sothat the ink applied by said rollers to their inking rollers 11, 14 and 17 will come into register with that portion, or those portions, of the plate bearing portions of the design corresponding with those indicated upon the saidtransfer rollers. Hence, as each of the plates upon the carriers or beds 5, 6, 7 and 8 passes under the inkin rollers 11, 14 and 17, these rollers will app y to the plate inksof different colors, the entire surface of the late being inked after passing the roller 1 If desired, but two colors may be applied to the plate bythe ink transfer rollers, the roller 15 being omitted and the roller 14 thus acting as a transfer roller to aid in cleaning the top or nonprinting surface of the plate. As each plate comes intothe operative relation to the transfer rollers 20 and 24, these rollers having a eripheral velocity equaling the lineal veloclty of the plates, will, through .en agement with the top surface lift or ic up the ink upon the nonprinting sur ace, while having a tendency to pack the ink in the lines of the plate. The rotary movement of the transfer rollers 20 and 24 will avoid any rubbing contact of these rollers with the plate, thus avoiding mixing of the inks upon said top surface, or the piling of the ink in a manner to spread it about the plate. Upon the continued rotation of each of the rollers 20 and 24, the ink upon the yielding surface thereof will be transferred to the ink receiving rollers 21 and 25, thus keeping the surface of the rollers 20 and 24 substantially free of ink.

The scrapers 22 and 26 and rubbers 25 and 27 will remove the ink from the cleaning rollers 21 and 25, so that the surface thereof will always be conditioned to receive ink Under some conditions of use, this residue of ink will be very small, and under such conditions only a, polishing cloth is needed, but where the quantity of ink is greater, it

' is better to employ both a wipmg and a polishing cloth,-so as to avoid any smudging of the imprint. I

After leaving the wiping and polishing cloths, thepaperis fed to the plate in any cleaning of the top surface, are accomplished I by a sequence of mechanisms operating successively upon each plate, thus making all of the functions of the machine automatic. The manner of applying ink to, and cleaning, the plate is such as to avoid any necessity for reducing the speed of operation of the press, and an imprint made thereon should present a design in a plurality of colors of substantially the same tone throughout as the ink used in the respective inkfounts j In other words, the mechanism for clean- .ing the top or non-printing, surface of the plate is operative in a manner to .avoid the mixing of the ink upon the surface of the plate, the sole tendency to' so mix them being present at the wiping cloth. While there is a tendency on the part of the wi ing cloth to mix the inks, the effect of suc mixture will be over a very restricted area, being confined to substantially the line of demarcation between adjoining portions differing in color, under which conditions there will be merely a slight blending of one color into another, which will have no material efiectupon the commercial value of tions of the the work done upon the machine. Where 'there is asubstantial area of non-printing surface interposed between different poresign appearing in different colors, there will be no such tendency to blend one color into the other.

The design upon the'plate or plates being made up of a large number of depressed lines, many of which are ver fine, it is prac tically impossible to apply 111k tothe plate in a manner to cause it to enter the lines only without being applied to the non-printing surface. It is for this reason that the design upon the ink transfer rollers 12,- and 18 is made in a solid color, the outline of'wbich only coincides with the portion of the design to be inked in'that color.

While this manner of inking entails a loss of ink, nevertheless, a machine of the character herein described will effect a very substantial saving "of ink over the present methods of multi-color work, as each color is applied to only a portion of the plate, while by existing methods .each color 1s applied to the entire surface of a' plate. It is not my intention to limit 111 tion to the details of construction sh the accompanying drawings, it being apparinven cut that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and that without substantial modification, my invention may be applied to different types of machines.

I:Iav1ng described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to hav protected by Letters Patent, is 2- y 1. undersurface printin machine embodying therein a sequence 0 inking means adapted to successively apply inks of'diflerent colors to different portions of an intagllo or engraved plate, means adapted to bear upon but have no rubbing contact with the plate, whereby ink is removed from the top or non-printing surface of the plate, and a prlnting couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a plate.

2. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein inking means adapted to apply mks of difl"erent colors to different portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, means carrying a transfer surface adapted to operatively .engage a plate without rubbing contact therewith, for removing the surface ink from the plate, a wiping mechanism operative upon the plate after-said surface ink has been removed by said transfer surface,

and a printing couple whereby'an imprint in a; plurality of colors is made at one impression from a'plate.

3. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a sequence of transfer rollers each having thereon in silhouette a portlon of a design upon a printing plate, inking means associated with said transfer rollers respectively whereby said rollers. are nked in difierent colors, a sequence of inking rollers in operative connection with said transfer rollers whereby the portions of the designs upon said transfer rollers are applied to said inking rollers respectively and are successively applied by said inking rollers to a plate, meansadapted to bear upon but having no rubbing contact with the plate whereby ink is removed from the top or nonprintm surface of the plate without materially lending the colors in the printing" lines and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a pluralit of colors may be made at one impression rom a plate.

4:. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a sequence of transfer rollers each having thereon in silhouette a portion of a design upon a printing plate, ink-- ing means associated with said transfer rollers respectively whereby said rollers are inked in difierent colors, a sequence of inkin rollers in operative connection with sai transfer rollers each having a resilient surface adapted to receive ink from its transfer roller and apply it to a plate whereby the portions of the designs upon said transfer rollers are applied to said inking rollers respectively and are successively applied by said inking rollers to a plate, means adapted to bear upon, but having no rubbing contact with the plate whereby ink is removed from the top or non-printing surface of the plate without materially blending the colors in the printing lines and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors may be made at one impression from a plate.

5. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a plurality of inking rollers each having a I'BSlllGIlt surface adapted to receive ink and apply it to a plate, a transfer roller associated with each said inking roller and adapted to impress thereon a portion of a design upon a plate, inking means for said transfer rollers respectively, whereby inks of different colors may be applied by said inking rollers respectively to different portions of an intaglio or engraved. plate, means carrying a transfer surface adapted to operativel engage a plate without rubbing contact tl ierewith, for removing the surface ink from the plate, a wiping mechanism operative upon the plate after said surface ink has been removed by said transfer surface, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a. plate.

6. An undersurface printin bodyin therein a plurality 0 adjacent inking rol ers, a transfer roller associated with each said inln'ng roller and adapted toimpress thereon a portion of a design upon a plate, inking means for said transferrollers respectively whereby inks of different colors may be applied by said inking rollers respectively to different portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, means carrying a transfer surface adapted to operativel engage a plate after it has been inked in a plurality of colors, and without rubbing contact therewith, a wiping mechanism operative upon the plate after said surface ink has been re moved by said transfer surface, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a plate.

7. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein inking means adapted to apply inks of difi'erent colors to different portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, a roller having a transfer surface adapted to remove ,ink from the ,topor non-printing surface of the plate, and aprinting couple whereby an imprint m a plurality of colors is made at one im ression from a plate.

8.. An undersur ace prmtmg machine emmachine em-.

bodying therein inking means adaptedv to apply mks of different colors to difierent portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, a roller having a transfer surface adapted to remove ink from the top or non-printing surface of the plate, means operative upon said last named roller whereby its surface is cleaned after each application to a plate, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a plate. a 9; An undersurface printing machine embodying therein inking means adapted to apply inks of different colors to difierent portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, a rollerhaving a transfer surface adapted to remove ink from the top or non-printing surface of the plate, a roller in engagement with, and adapted to receive the surface ink from,'said last named roller, a scraper and a rubber acting thereon to continuously remove ink therefrom, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a plate.

10. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a plurality of adjacent inking rollers, a transfer roller associated with eachsaidinking roller and adapted to impress thereon a portion of a design upon a plate, inking means for said transfer rollers respectively whereby inks of different colors may be applied by said inking rollers respective y to different portions of an intaglio or en aved'plate, means carrying a transfer sur ace adapted to operatively engage a plate after it has been inked in a plurality of colors, and without rubbing contact therewith, means operative upon said transfer surface whereby ink is re moved therefrom after each application to a plate, a wiping mechanism operative upon the plate after said surface ink has been removed by said transfer surface, and a print ing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality 0% colors is made at one impression from a p ate. 11. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein inking means adapted' to apply inks of different colors to different portlons of an intaglio or engraved plate, I

means carrying a transfer surface adapted to operatively engage a plate without rubbin contact therewith, for removing the sur ace ink from the plate, a wiping mechanism and a polishing mechanism succes- '1 sively operative upon the plate after said surface ink has been removed by said transfer surface, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a plate.

-12. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a continuous track or course, a plate carrier or bed, means nn parting unidirectional movement to said- -carrier or bed, a sequence of inking mecha nisms adapted to successively apply inks of difierent colors to different portions of an intaglio or engraved plate mounted upon said carrier or bed, means adapted to bear upon but have no rubbing contact with the plate, whereby ink is removed from the top or non-printing surface of the plate, and an impression cylinder arranged beyond said last named means whereby a plate upon said carrier or bed will be successively inked, in a plurality of colors, finished, and brought into the printing relation to said impression cylinder.

'13. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein a continuous track or course, a plurality of plate carriers or beds, means common tcull said carriers or beds for imparting simultaneous, equal, unidirectional movement thereto, a sequence of inking mechanisms adapted to successivel apply inks of different colors to di erent portions of intaglio or engraved plates mounted upon said carriers, or beds, successively, means adapted to bear upon but have no rubbing contact with the plate, whereby ink is removed from the top or non-printing surface of said plates successively, and an impression cylinder arranged beyond said last named means, whereby the plate upon each of said carriers or beds will be successively inked in a plurality of colors, finished,

and brought into the printing relation to said impression cylinder.

14. An .undersurface printing machine embodying therein a quadrangular track or course, having two long sides and two short plate.

posite said inking mechanism, and an impression cylinder or D-roll mounted above said course intermediate said wiping and polishing mechanisms and said inking mechanism, and upon the short side of said track or course.

15. An undersurface printing machine embodying therein inking means adapted to apply inks of difl'erent colors to different portions of an intaglio or engraved plate, a plurality of rollers each having a transfer surface adapted to remove ink from the top or non-printing surface of the plate, means operative upon each of said last named rollers whereby its surface is cleaned after each application to a plate, and a printing couple whereby an imprint in a plurality of colors is made at one impression from a In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 24th day of November, 1913.-

AMOS H. SMITH.

Witnesses:

F. T. WENTWORTH, EUGENE WHITING.

Images