PRINTING WITHOUT INK.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 23, Issue 6, 23 January 1912, Page 2

PRINTING WITHOUT INK.

A BRILLIANT EPOCH-MAKING INVENTION. Tie printing trade ias undergone many strange and remarkable developments since Caxton’s time, but yet tie same fundamental principles are there. The type must be inked before an impression can be obtained, and although this operation appears simple and trivial, and is quickly accomplished, yet the fact remains that without the pigment the ordinary press would be useless. And the inking arrangements consequently constitute one of the most vital processes in printing, A failure here and the whole mechanical effort is useless. Yet the printing machine of the future, we are told by Mr. Cecil Bembridge, will be absolutely devoid of ink and all its 'requisite mechanism. The mammoth press will have its dimensions cqt down by one-fourth at least. Printing will be as clean a task as typewriting. Perhaps will be reeled off at far greater speeds, and the operation will cost less. And how will it be done ? What medium will supersede the ink ? The answer to this apparently impossible enigma is the electric current. The same remarkable energy as drives the intricate nests of wheels will be the means of causing the type to record its impression indelibly upon the paper in any desired colour, and without the aidfof any'' pigment, whatever. An inventor has found a means whereby when one pole of electricity is connected to the type, end the other to the metallic bed or platen upon which the paper is laid during the moment it comes into v itact with the type, an elec-tro-chemical action is precipitated whereby the impression is received.

Some twelve years ago the inventor in question was engaged in some electrical experiments in his laboratory, On the table he had spread out a sir ' of tin upon which rested a*picce of moist paper. An electrical battery r’ >od by his side, and the bare end 0 : the wires trailed ' o ver the moist paper. A certain electrometallurgical action in connection with gold was the object of his cst. He dipped his hands into his poc'ket to select a gold coin as a makeshift for the experiment in hand. One fell from his hand, and to prevent it making a bee-line for the floor he sharply clapped his hand on it. But it so happened that in sodoihg the coin was brought down on' the bare end of one of the wires on the paper, while the other wire was resting on the tin. When he picked up the fugitive he was surprised to find clearly reproduced upon the piece of paper the obverse impression of the coin in a clear brownish black. It was just as if the coin bad been inked and then pressed on the paper.' | This unexpected development caus--1 ex! no little astonishment, and he •carefully repeated the experiment with various coins, connecting one wire with the coin and pressing it firmly upon the paper-while the other wire was attached to the tin sheet. The result was always the same, no matter whether the coin was gold, silver, or bronze. The inventor fell to thinking hard. iVhy, . if coins could he printed in this manner, should not ordinary type give its impression ? There appeared no adverse reason, so he set to work to continue the investigation of the phenomenon upon which ho had so inadvertently stumbled. He procured some bars of linotype and repeated the trials. The result was just the same. The imprint stood out clearly and .distinctly. There was not the slightest imperfection in regard to any letter, no blurring, and it did not matter whether the pressure was heavy or light, uniformly or unevenly distributed ; so long as a clear contact was established the imprint was obtained. These experiments were extremely crude, for there was only a slab of zinc, instead of the original tin, laid, on the bench to serve as a bed, upon which the moist paper was laid, while physical effort served to supply the pressure. In these primitive trials with two simple wires from a battery, however, he discovered one or two vital factors. Density of the impression varied according to the strong ’ of the current, while it was essential that the positive pole be connected to the zinc and the negative to the type. 1 The firs; impressions with ordinary i paper slightly moistened so as to Improve conductivity always produced a ’ ownish imprint, so he at once set work to devise ways and means o r securing a jet black impression. is,quest entailed dipping into exhau. chemical experiments in relation to the action of the elec- I trie current, and it was some time

'■•"foi'c ho, discovered what chemical was necessary to add to the paper to bring about the desired result. Test after test was made, first with this chemical and then with that, some inexpensive and easily available, others very costly and more difficult to procure. The search was at first very elusive, for he could not secure permanency, or if such were gained the paper, in course of time, blackened under the combined action of the chemical and the electric current. For ten years he has wrestled with the problem, and now complete success has attended his efforts, and it has been found that the most satisfactory results are secured with lead type and paper immersed in a solution containing a small portion of one of the cheapest chemicals obtainable. The type of press designed for use with this remarkable discovery Is. In

comparison with the ordinary apparatus, quaintly novel. Ink rollers are conspicuous by their absence, as ara also the pigment ducts. It merely comprises large rollers constituting the metallic platen sheathed with zinc well insulated, over which the paper travels, and to which the , positive electric wires are connected. The type, in the form of a stereo, is bent round another roller which is similarly insulated and a suitable connection effected with the negative wire. A few other rollers are necessary to guide and feed the paper both to and from the point of contact, and so on. But the most conspicuous feature is the absence of the ink rolls, ducts and their pertaining mechanism. The inventor has also solved the question of printing in colours from any subject in relief, whether it be type, stereos, half-tone blocks or whatnot, both on paper and textile fabrics in such a way as to be absolutely permanent and at far less expense than attends the same operations on the ordinary machine. In the course of his investigations concerning conductive oxydisable chemh cals under the action of the electric current he has elaborated a wide range of formulae, of simple character, for achieving the desired end. One will be able to have a newspaper’ printed in all the colours of the rainbow at a single impression, and any combination of colours that can possibly be conceived is easily obtainable. The task of the printer is very appreciably facilitated, and there is a conspicuous saving in cost, time and labour. All preliminary operations technically known as “making ready’’ are obviated, for wherever there is a clear contact between the metal and the paper an impression must be secured. The printing process itself is so simple that a boy can do it.