US1581617A - Process for making engraved plates - Google Patents

Description

April 20, 1926.

P. STU RG ES PROCESS FOR MAKING ENGRAVED PLATES Filed March 24. 1924 INVENTOR Presfim' 57Z/rge5 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

UNITED STATES PRESTON STURGES, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PROCESS FOR MAKING ENGRAVED PLATES.

Application filed March 24, 1924. Serial No. 701,603.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, PRESTON Srunons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Process for Making Engraved Plates, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a process for making engraved plates for cards, wedding in vitations, announcements or any other purpose. Ordinarily, these plates are made on copper and are out or engraved by hand. Naturally this requires very expert workmanship to get good results, thus making the plates quite expensive.

In this process some of the well known principles of photo-engraving are used and a plate is obtained that is not only cheap in cost but better and more accurate than even a very skillful artist could produce.

Further advantages of the process will be brought out in the following specification and illustrated in the drawings forming a part thereof. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one of the master blocks on which the letters or numerals of any desired style are placed;

Fig. 2, is a perspective view of one of the prints that are made from the master blocks;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the board on which the prints are mounted preparatory to being photographed;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the board and the camera b which the subject-matter to be engraved is photographed' and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the finished plate after being treated with acid.

The reference numeral 10 denotes one of a series of master blocks, each one of which bears a letter of the alphabet or a numeral. On these blocks the letters or numerals are in white and the back ound in dead black, the hatching on the rawing denoting the black. A number of sets of these master blocks may be made each one bearing the letters and numerals in different styles of printing.

These master blocks will be photographed, and from the negatives as many prints of each letter or numeral as desired will be made, preferably on a sensitized material, which is flat, unbreakable and cheap. On these prints 11 the background will be dead city black and the letter or numeral will be white, as on the master block 10. If the surface of these prints should become marred around the edges or elsewhere, they may very easily be touched up with black paint.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 3, where a board 12 is shown, on which is mounted the desired subject-matter for the finished engraved plate. The prints 11 for said subject-matter are selected and arranged on strips 13 which are mounted in grooves 14 on the board. A plurality of these grooves 14 are shown so that the strips 13 may be spaced apart in any desired relation to each other. This entire board and the strips are dead black. The prints and the board being black and the letters white, when they are photographed on a sensitized will be no lines of division or emarkation between the letters. The method of adjusting the strips difi'erent spaces from each' other might be accomplished in numerous different ways. The grooves could readily be eliminated and any means of adjusting or moving the strips adopted. 1

The next step consists in mounting the board 12 with the subjectrmatter thereon in any convenient way on a table or stand 15. As illustrated in Fig. 4, this is accomplished by a bracket 16. A photo-engravers camera 17 is placed at the proper distance from the board 12 and is tilted so that the plate in the camera is parallel with the board. The subject-matter on the board is then photographed on the sensitized plate in the camera. From this plate or negative the subject-matter is then transferred to a plate malde of copper or any other suitable materia The plate is then etched or treated with acid and the acid will eat away the white late there letters and leave the rest of the plate smooth and perfect.

A flat plate adapted to be used for engrav-' I ing is then produced, with the letterin sunk below the surface as indicated at 19 in ig. 5. As suggested heretofore numerous changes might be made in the details without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim.

What I claim as new is: A process for making comprising photographing blocks having thereon the letters of the alphabet and numerals, the letters and engraved plates a series of master numerals being white and the background of prints to form the subject-matter for the the blocks black, from the negatives thus plate to be engraved, photographing the produced preparing a number of prints on Same, transferring it from the negative thus 10 thin flat sensitized material, the letters and produced to a sensitized plate of suitable numerals on the prints being white and the material, and treating the plate with acid background black, setting up on a black to etch it.

background a sufiicient number of these PRESTON STURGES.

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