Printing machine

for numbering bank notes. This is a most ingenious invention of Mr. Bramah’s, recently adopted by the bank of England, for filling up the dates and numbers of their notes; which when printed from the copperplates have blanks left for the dates and numbers. These were formerly inserted in writing, for each note being different, in these particulars, did not admit of being printed, until Mr. Bramah produced bis machine, which is a small printing pre , provided with such mechanism as to change its types every time after an impre ion has been taken. Thus after having printed the note No, 1. it will at the next impre ion which is made have its type changed to No. 2, and so on. Plate 143. contains a drawing of this machine; fig. 1. shewing it in perspective, as it appears with a bank note in it, prepared for having the numbers printed thereon. ‘The note is placed against a flat tablet of bra , AA, its situation being determined by two fine pins fixed in the table, which are made to penetyate the paper at two small dots, printed. upon it. by the copper plate which printed the words of the note, as shown in the drawing; and _it is confined in its position against the tablet by a piece of vellum B, stretched in a bra frame, con- nected by hinges a @ to the tablet AA on which it folds down, enclosing the note as it were ina book: the vellum has openings cut through it, at the places where the machine is to print upon the note. These are, the number twice ‘repeated, which is to be printed first in large characters over the words of the first line J promise, and again over the words or bearer, at the end of the first line; as for instance Neo 70486 | Ne 70180 1812 Jany. 10. London 10 Jan’. 1812 cen A ET OO The types for printing these words are fixed so as to project a little above the surface of a flat ‘bra plate DD, forming the lid of an iron box ” EFG, containing the mechanism; by which the types for the figures are shifted every time after an impre ion has been taken from them; which is done by bringing the flat table A having the note attached to it, down upon the types (previously inked) by the handle H, which, as well as the tablet, moves on an axis I], supported in two ears projecting from the sides of the iron box. The tablet is attached to this axis by means of screws (as shewn in fig. 3.), which’ admit of adjusting it in any direction so that it will fall perfectly fat upon the type, and print with equal pre ure in all parts of the note. An impre ion being thus taken, on lifting up the handle H to take out the note, the types of the number are shifted by the mechanism in order to print the succeeding number. explain the manner of effecting this we must refer to fig. 2, which is a plan of the wheelwork contained in the box detached from the frame. Here LL are two clusters of bra circles, consisting of 5 in each, placed close together, and connected by a strong spindle M pa ing through the centres of them all, and upon which they ali revolve freely. Each circle, as shewn in fig, 3. has its circumference divided into 11 cogs, and in each cog a space is cut to receive a type » ”, which are arranged round the cogs in a series of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 0, and a blank; and as the circles turn round independent of each other, any combination of figures may be made by them, which is le than No. 99,999, beyond which number the bank notes have not extended, The-circles are turned round on their central axis by means of wheels OP fixed.on an axis Q Q, extending acro the frame of the machine. ‘These wheels have 11 teeth, which operate between the teeth of the circle L as shewn in fig. 3 to turn thera round, but with cut touching the types. The axis Q receives its motion by means of a wheel R, similar to O and P, fixed upon the middle of it, which is) acted upon by a detent ¢, fig. 3. moving with the axis I, which every time the handle is raised up into the position of the view fig. 1, intercepts a tooth of the wheel R and moves it forwards, This by the same move- ’ ment advances the circles L one tooth, and brings up a succeeding type through the aperture in the bra plate D. The wheels upon the axis Q are so narrow upon the edge as to engage only one of the circles L at the same time, and are at such a distance asunder upon their axis as to engage the same circle of each cluster at one time: the axis can be shifted endways in its bearings to operate with any one of the five circles in each cluster, and can. be retained, in any position, by a semicircular clip, which enters into circular grooves formed round the spindle, of which there are 5 (as W, fig. 1.), one corresponding with each of the circles, The shifting is performed by a knob at the end of the spindle, us shewn at Q, fig. 1. The circles have all a tendency to a ume the position in which the types are proper for printing, that is, with their upper surface parallel to the bra plate D, by aeans of a small pin fitted into the axis M, and having a constant pre ure outwards by a spiral spring. This pin comes to rest in an angular notch, made within side the circle gpposite each type, as shown by the dark shaded parts in fig. 3; and each circle is provided with one. _ The machine is used in this manner: supp se the circles turned round to set their types so that ail. the blanks are upwards, except the first circie.at the right hand side of each cluster. These present the figure 1; the type for No. and the date, being cast in stereotype, are pinned down upon the bra plate D atc, c, and the date piece is changed every day. The spindle of Q is set for its wheels to work in.the teeth of these right hand circles. A note is now put on the tablet, the types inked with a printer’s ball, and au impre ion taken; in lifting up the handle, the detent é at the back of its axis seizes a tooth of the wheel R, and by turning it round advances the two right hand circles of each cluster, so as to bring up No, 2. Another note is now printed, then No. 3 and so on, till No. 9 is printed, and 0 brought up, after which the handle is brought down twice, without printing any note. This brings up the blank space and No. 1. The axis is now shifted by its knob Q, fig. 1. to act upon the second circle from the right hand, and one motion of the handle being made brings up O of the second circle, making 01 °N which when printed (types being always in reverse) will be No. 10. The first circle which before was units is now become tens, and the second units, which shifts at every impre ion to 11, 12, . up to 19, and after printing this the 0 comes up, making 10. The first circle is then pushed for wards by the printer with a small wooden skewer, and 2 in the first circle brought up, making 20. In this manner it proceeds to 99, the machine alter= ing itself at every unit, but requires to be set by hand to advance for every ten. When 100 is ta be printed, the axis is shifted to the 3d circle which becomes units, the 2d tens, and the first hundreds. The printing then proceeds as before, the units being advanced by the machine, but the tens and hundreds as often as they require it being advanced by hand. At 1000 the axis is shifted to the 4th circle, and the denomination of each is changed by this becoming the unit; 3 circles must now be moved by hand. On arriving at 10,000 the 5th circle must be made unit by shifting the axis to it, and the 4 first are moved when nece ary by hand: and in this manner the machine will print up to 99,999, which is 100,000 wanting 1. The machines in actual use at the bank of Eng~ land, which are 40 in number, differ from our drawing in having two systems of circles, and a tablet of double length, for printing two notes at the same time; because the copper plates are of double size, and print two notes at once on the same paper, which is afterwards cut in two. By these machines the labour of filling up the notes is reduced to le than ¢ of what it was before their introduction, when one clerk was expected to fill up in writing 400 notes per day, whereas by one of the machines he can print 1300 double notes, which is equal to 2600 single ones. Pr pr (continued) 724