What Is Line Engraving?

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Line Engraved Security Printing

1802 Vermont Banknote

1840 Penny Black Proof

1908 Lincoln Five Cents

1 Gary W. Granzow FRPSL What is Line Engraving?

1850 U. S. Die

Plate to Paper Proof

•All Lines Holding Ink are Below the Surface •All White Lines are on the Surface

2 Engraving Breakthrough : Jacob Perkins’ Key Inventions

1. Copper Plate to Plate Transfer —

1790

2. Softening, Engraving and hardening Steel — 1790s

3. Steel Plate to Plate Transfer 1800

4. Transfer Roll and Press 1813

5. “D” Printing Press 1813

6. Geometric Lathe 1815

7. Transverse Lathe 1815

3 1802 Earliest Known Use of Steel Plate to Plate Transfer

‘One Dollar’ Repeated 700 Times

Perkins’ Transfer Roll Process

5 1813 Perkins and his Partner, Murray, Invent Transfer Roll and Press

Transfer Roll

Plate

Rack and Pinion Gears

c. 1815 Rack and Pinion, and Beam Transfer Press

6 Circa 1850 Printing Press as Would Have Been Used in the US

1. Pressing Ink Into Paper

2. Paper

3.Inked Plate

7 1819 Examples of Jacob Perkins Unique Line Engraving Lathes

Epicyclical Background Cut with Geometric Lathe

White Line Engraving

White Decorative Lines Cut with Geometric Lathe

Dark Background Lines cut with Transverse Lathe

8 Perkins ComplexFigure 10 White Line With BackgroundWhite Line Engraving: Design Spencer Traversing Lathe

Graver Tool Transfer Roller A Die Step 1. Cut Background in Die & Harden Step 2. Transfer from Die to Soft Roller

Transfer Cut Transfer Roller A Roller A “White Lines”

Step 3. With Spencer Lathe Cut Finished Image Through Lines in Relief Step 4. Harden Roller and Transfer to Plate

9 1815

Perkins Buys Rights to Asa Spencer’s Transverse and Geometric Lathes

1815 Perkins Buys Rights to Asa Spencer’s Transverse Figure 8 Spencer Geometric Lathe LatheFigure 9 Spencer Traversing Lathe

Arbor Drive Pulley Pinion Drive Pulley Eccentric Cam Gear Change Set Carriage

Gear Set Contrate Wheel Rollers Eccentric Cylinder Mandrel Lower Mandrel 1815 Carriage Eccentric Cylinder

Nose for Nose for holding Workpiece Workpiece Chuck Eccentric Cylinder Set Screw Workpiece Chuck Arbor

Lower Mandrel Workpiece Mandrel Nose Graver

Rub Plates Slide Rest

Rollers 10 Geometric Lathe Transverse Lathe 1815

Perkins Buys Rights to Asa Spencer’s Transverse and Geometric Lathes 1815 Perkins Buys Rights to Asa Spencer’s Geometric LatheFigure 8 Spencer Geometric Lathe Figure 9 Spencer Traversing Lathe

Arbor Drive Pulley Pinion Drive Pulley Eccentric Cam Gear Change Set Carriage

Gear Set Contrate Wheel Rollers Eccentric Cylinder Mandrel Lower Mandrel

Carriage Eccentric Cylinder

Nose for Nose for holding Workpiece Workpiece Chuck Eccentric Cylinder Set Screw Workpiece Chuck Arbor

Lower Mandrel Workpiece Mandrel Nose Graver

Rub Plates Slide Rest

Rollers

Geometric Lathe 11 Transverse Lathe 1819 Sample Sheet

12 From 1819 Sample Sheet

Actual Size

Enlarged Ten Times

Detail of Left Medallion in which the Creed And the Lord’s Prayer Are Engraved 13 Toppan White Line No Background Design Figure 7 White Line Engraving: Method 1

Transfer Roller A

Die A Die A DieDie B B Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Cut Background Transfer from Die Cut White Line Pattern in Die A & Harden to Soft Roller in Die B & Harden

Transfer Transfer Transfer Roller B Roller B Roller A

Die B Die B Step 5 Step 4. Kiss Roller B (Hardened) Transfer White Line Pattern Against Roller A (Left Soft) to Transfer Roller B and Harden Finished Finished Transfer Final Die Transfer Transfer Roller Roller B Roller A

Step 6. Step 7. After Step 5, the Combined Designs Transfer to Final Die are now in Relief on the Finished Roller. Harden Finished Roller

14 Plain White Line Engraving Using Rose Engine (Toppan Carpenter)

15 Jacob Perkins

Born in Newburyport Massachusetts in 1766

Moved to England in 1819

Died in London in 1849

40 USA and UK Patents