PEER REVIEWED

The Development of Rotary-Screen

By Gary N. Mock, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

At the beginning of the 20th century, a continuous process be developed for machines and one young man who was most printing was done on en- the flat screens? not able to realize his dream—the com- graved roll machines. Dyes were selected Semi-continuous automated screen- mercialization of an automated rotary- according to the substrate to be printed— printing machines were developed after screen print machine. vat dyes for cotton and acid dyes for wool World War II. By 1950, companies like and silk. Vat printing was made possible Buser (Switzerland), Reggiani (Italy), Stork William Hoffman's Print by the discovery of sodium suifoxylate (Holland), and Zimmer (Austria) had de- Machine formaldehyde as a reducing agent and veloped automated moving blankets or William A. Hoffman, recently released the use of flash agers.' Synthetic pigment belts to transport the print goods under from military duty following World War II, systems were first used in the 193Üs.^ the lifted screens. To stabilize the ground, enrolled in the Philadelphia Textile Insti- In the 1930s, flat-screen printing be- the goods were gummed to the belt, tute in pursuit of a degree in textile gan to be accepted in Europe and the which was subsequently washed after engineering. Part of the degree re- United States. Using engraved rolls took use. The intermittent starting and stop- quirements was the completion of a too long when changing patterns and the ping of the belt made this a discontinu- thesis. In 1945, while Hoffman worked at open-mesh silk gauze was much cheaper ous process,^ At the same time, people the Coldspring Bleachery in nearby to produce. Roller printing was justified hoped the flat screens could somehow be Yardley, Pa., he became intrigued with for long production runs and screen joined into a roller-like configuration that roller print machines and flat-table printing was used for short runs. Roller would enable the same continuous nature printing. He wondered whether a printing had been a continuous process as as roller printing. U.S. patents, issued as machine combining several of the fea- early as 1793 when Thomas Bell devel- early as 1899, proposed a continuous tures could be developed. During 1946- oped the first roller print machine. Could movement of goods through or under a 47, he attended classes and worked on rotating screen. Others around the world his ideas. He proposed wrapping metal

ABSTRACT investigated the possibilities. Patents were screen wire around mahogany disks each filed and issued far earlier than the ap- fitted with a hollow, perforated shaft sup- Automation and increased productivity were pearance of a commercial machine. This ported with bearings at each end of the the watchvi/ords in the textile industry follow- paper will attempt to document the trials screen assembly. The perforated shaft per- ing World War II. A number of engineers in dif- ferent countries sought a means of merging the and tribulations of the people who even- mitted delivery of print paste to the expensive engraved metal roll printing with the tually introduced commercially acceptable screen, while the screen was in motion. cost benefits of flat-screen printing. William A. Hoffman of the United States developed a pro- totype in 1947 as a part of his senior thesis at Philadelphia Textile Institute. Thefirst commer- cially introduced machine by de Barros of Por- tugal in 1954 was succeeded by the galvano direct engraved process of Peter Zimmer in 1959 and the less costly lacquer screen process of Stork in 1963. By 1978, rotary-screen printing had eclipsed roller printing as the new technol- ogy was widely accepted. Today, well over 60% of all is performed on rotary screen machines. 1 Key Terms History Printing Rotary-Screen Printing Fig. 1. William Hoffman's three-color rotary-screen print machine prototype.''

NOVEMBER 1999 WWW.AATCC.URG 43 The first sub-unit was completed on April where candlewick material 5, 1947.^ The final version, documented was printed using an 80-mesh in his senior thesis submitted in June phosphor bronze screen. Op- 1948, enabled him to print a three-color erating speeds were in the pattern continuously by spreading fabric range of 20-50 yards per on a flat table, mounting detachable minute.^ Pattern selection was screens above, and passing the fabric limited since the screen had to beneath the turning screens (Fig. 1), be soldered together, then At the suggestion of his classmate Bob electroplated, resultmg in a Smith, he was invited to show his thesis wavy line across the screen to the Smith Drum Machine Works of {Fig. 2). No stnpe or blotch de- Philadelphia, manufacturers of textile dye- signs could be printed, de Fig. 3. Tbe Aljaba Simplex rotary-screen print machine schematic^° (A) pressure bowl, (B) jockey roller, (C) blan- ing machinery. Smith Drum offered him Barros described his machine ket washer, {D) print goods, (E) rotary-screen, (F) pressure $50,00 for the right to see the thesis and in a general paper delivered to roll. after studying the thesis, decided "it was the Society of Dyers and not their cup of tea."^ Later, Hoffman Colourists in 1966 (Fig. 3).^ In 1950, Heinrich contacted van Heek discovered the original thesis had been to see whether they were still interested checked out of the textile library by the H. Morrison Aljaba Machine in the blanket machine and, finding that L. Yoe Engineering Co. and not returned. In 1961, Morrison Machine Co. of Pater- they were, secured funding of 30,000 This wa5 to cause Hoffman some specu- son, N.J., began offering a version of the Austrian Shillings for a new start by a lation later when Morrison introduced a Aljaba to U.S. customers.^° When banker in Kufstein, Austria. Peter was in machine from Portugal. Hoffman saw an article in Textile World. engineering school in Bregenz, Austria, he wrote to the editor inquiring about the but was more interested in an acting ca- Aljaba Machine origin of the machine since he saw sev- reer than in engineering. The city of No rotary-screen machines were commer- eral items related to his thesis.^ The edi- Bregenz offered scholarships to budding cialized until Jaime de Barros, a Portu- tor replied that the machine originated in actors and that helped pay his expenses. guese printer and inventor from Lisbon, Portugal and that was all he knew. F. Raff However, when he came home for the introduced the Aljaba, a rotary-screen reported that four of these machines Easter holiday in 1951, he found that van machine based on his 1954 British were sold and installed in New England Heek's technical manager, Mr. Pikard, had patent.^ Aaron reported that de Barrios and New Jersey.'^ The machines did not rejected two proposed designs and the had made rotating screens and used them satisfy the demands of U.S. printers and family was in need of new ideas for the on a flat manual screen printing table as were eventually withdrawn from the mar- design. With the help of Mr. Kantor, a early as 19477 This work is commonly ket by Morrison. mechanic, Peter spent the entire weekend regarded as the date for the first rotary- building a 60-cm wide prototype. With screen machine. Commercial machines Peter Zimmer's Machines three rolls and a colorbox on either side based on the patent and earlier work of the blanket, Pikard accepted the idea were sold in Germany and England. These Blanket Print Machines and the new business was saved. A roll machines looked like a roller print ma- The family of Franz Zimmer began build- squeegee and the large blanket-sized flat chine with the 5creens mounted around ing textile machines in 1874 in screen were incorporated in the final a large central cylinder. In June 1960, a Warnsdorf, which is located in the present machine. Peter rejoined the family busi- seven-color machine was used at Walsden day Czech Republic, just across the bor- ness and put his engineering studies and Bleaching and Dyeing Works in the U.K., der from Germany. In those days, this re- acting aside. gion was united under the Austro-Hun- Automation was the word in the garian Empire. In the late 1930s, Franz' 1950s as firms such as Bayer and Hoechst son, Heinrich Zimmer, received a commis- developed wet-on-wet printing chemistry. 3OOO sion to build a duplex blanket printing A number of companies worked on au- machine for van Heek of Holland. World tomatically spreading the print goods, au- 3OOO War II interrupted the development of tomatically moving the "print table" by 3OOO that machine and the beginning of a tex- means of a moving belt, and automati- tile engineering education for Peter cally lifting the print screen, and thus Zimmer. Peter was "a permanent guest" moving the squeegee. Vé Zimmer fam- in his father's works as early as age nine.^^ ily business reestablish;-. ;-,e flat table 3OOO After the war, the family was scattered as and automated the ma • -e, as had oth- all Germans were forcefully relocated ers such as Buser, Re .-^-. ap^ Stork. electroplated orifinal screen from the new Czech Socialist Republic. Peter's project was tl e ve, :al Duplex They relocated at the home of a family Fig. 2. The Aljaba screen—soldered (black blanket printing machine. Dui, -.n the in- circles) and electroplated.^ member in Austria and began life anew. stallation at van Heek, Peter spo...9 with

TEXTILE CHEMIST AND COLOHIST & AMERICAN DYESTUFF HEPORTEB VOL. 44 ^•"). 3 many. The rotary print firm struggled with deciding when to an- idea was mentioned by nounce this newest breakthrough. chance and Bauendahl Johannes wanted to concentrate on the ordered the develop- successful flat-screen printing machine ment of a machine. business, while Peter wanted to push the The prototype, built rotary idea. As ITMA '63 approached in with two screens Hanover, it was decided to go to the show rotating over a flat with the flat-bed printing machine and table and moving belt, take along photos of the van Vlissingen was delivered in 1955. production machine to show to special This was the first customers. The decision to show only a commercial applica- photo of the rotary machine turned out tion.'^ That original to be unfortunate. machine was preserved by Bauendahl and later Stork's Rotary-Screen lovingly restored at Machine Fig. 4. Peter Zimmer's first rotary-screen pnnting machine Zimmer, Kufstein (Fig. In the 1950s, Gebr. Stork of Amsterdam the company colorist, Mr, Ribbers, about 4). (It is to be the centerpiece of a planned had developed a very well received auto- the possibility of continuous screen print- printing museum.)"* mated flat-screen printing machine. Peter ing. Could a hollow cylinder be used in- The first screens were produced in a Leijdekkers, who was a textile colorist by stead of a flat screen or a rolled screen? vertical nickel bath. The anode was placed education and had worked with a Buser Ribbers knew a company that manufac- in the center of a hollow tube made by machine at Hatema in Helmond, Holland, tured a cylindrical nickel gasoline filter Mannesmann, a gun barrel manufacturer. joined Stork in May 1954, Wim Teuling, body At the end of 1951, Peter paid a The tube was prepared without the long an engineer with Stork, had the privilege visit to VECO in Eerbeek. They did build spiral of rifling needed to give spin to the of working closely with Leijdekkers right such a filter body, 50 cm in length and warhead. When the plating was com- from the start. He remembers Peter, 45 cm in diameter, but did not wish to plete, the barrel containing the thin (0,1 shortly after they met for the first time, build a larger one. Peter took a sample mm) nickel sleeve was removed from the saying, "if only we could make seamless filter back to Kufstein, painted a design bath and the nickel sleeve separated from cylindrical screens, what a future that on the screened body to cover some of the barrel mechanically. similar to would be for the printer. , .", His dream the holes, and put a rod and print paste that used to etch copper rollers allowed would become true and how!'^ into the contact area of the screen. He the pattern to be transferred to the nickel During the late 1950s and early 1960s, pushed the assembly with his hands sleeve. During etching, the cylindrical printed fabrics were produced predomi- along a flat table and printed the design. sleeve was supported internally by an ex- nantly on roller print machines for long- Further work was needed and the idea pandable mandrel. The first commercial run, low-priced products and on flatbed was set aside for awhile while the flat galvano direct designed screens were printing machines for shorter yardage and screen business flourished. manufactured in Kufstein in 1957. higher-priced, more exclusive designs. A contract was written for the first Specifically in Europe, the productivity of Rotary Screen Printing commercial machine in 1959 (model roller printing decreased dramatically due The days of the copper roller print ma- RSDM Rotations-Schablonendruckmas- to ever-increasing demand for shorter chine were numbered by the time chine—Rotary-Screen Heinrich Zinnmer, the family patriarch, Printing Machine in died in 1953. The cost of engraving, the German) with six col- handling of the heavy rollers, and the ors and 130-cm print eight hours needed to change an eight- width, and delivered color machine over to a new pattern to Van Vlissingen in would prove too costly in the emerging Helmond, Holland, in markets of the times. There was a great 1960.'^ The machine future for a new automated screen print was installed behind machine and the low cost of screen pro- locked doors and only duction. When Heinrich died, Johannes, the machine opera- the youngest son, took over the financial tors, the director of part of the business and Peter took over the company, and Pe- the technical part. The company's name ter Zimmer had a key was changed to Zimmer's Erben KG. to enter the room {Fig. On o routine sales call, Peter visited a 5). As experience was scarf r: 'er, Bauendahl in Viersen, Ger- gained, the Zimmer Fig. 5. Peter Zimmer's RSDM operating at van Vlissingen.

1939 WWW.AATGC.OHG 45 runs and more variety in designs. One of eastern part of Holland with a concentra- screens manufactured and sold by Stork. the few printing companies using only tion of textile mills. Leijdekkers was a na- Because no one believed in the market- roller printing machines, the Nederlandse tive of the region and spoke the local dia- ing concept for plain mesh screens, the Stoom Blekerij (NSB) in Nijverdal, Holland, lect. He knew all the leading textile fee was almost negligible when a some- tried to reverse this trend and increase engineers in the plants he visited. One of what substantial (Leijdekkers remembers productivity by installing an electronic them, deVries of the NSB, a large roller 10,000 for 1964) number of plain mesh engraving machine made by Standt, a printing operation at Nijverdal, appeared screens were manufactured by Stork.''^ German company. This machine, how- to be engaged in the development of a ever, was capable of only "shallow" en- nickel rotary-screen in collaboration with 1% Inventivity, 99% Sweat graving suitable for lightweight fabrics. VECO. Leijdekkers also talked with Mr. In the summer of 1962, Stork had ac- The chief engraver, Hendrik deVries, tried Stork, managing director of the plant. quired all the essential ingredients for an to find alternative outlets for the Standt From this moment things went extremely exquisite rotary-screen dinner, but the engraving machine. He contacted VECO, fast. meal was yet to be prepared.^^ Time was an electroforming company. VECO subse- Leijdekkers' view at that period (as extremely short. The next ITMA was in quently developed an electroforming pro- sales director of Stork - Boxmeer, one of Hanover in the Fall of 1963. This meant cess to produce a thin-walled sleeve on the major suppliers of flatbed screen that in less than 12 months, a completely the electronically engraved copper roller, printing machines) was that rotary-screen new technology had to be developed by which could be removed after electroplat- printing could cause a revolution only if Stork in Boxmeer. Top priority was the ing was completed. Thus, in mid-1958, the price of the screen was acceptable to formation of the following team that the first "galvano screen" was born, but the industry. Within a fairly short time, the could bypass the existing organization; at a high cost because the copper roller first "perforated" screens were produced. • Peter Leijdekkers as team leader. had to be engraved first and prepared for More than 20 screen cylinders could be • Henk Wagter, general manager, was to the electroforming process. As is often the made before the mill engraved roller got design everything needed for the gal- case, a similar development occurred at damaged! Stork obtained an exclusive li- vanic process to make plain mesh one of the Van Vlissingen printing plants cense. He contacted manufacturers of screens. in cooperation with Peter screen-making equipment and roller-ex- • Jacques Vertegaal, head of the drawing posing machines as well as the companies office, was to design the rotary-screen Stork Builds a Rotary-Screen System producing lacquers for the screen and printing machine. Iri the fall of 1961 Stork had supplied a roller engravers. However, since Stork had • Cor Muselaers, technical director, was small, narrow, flatbed screen-printing only the pre-prototype device, they did to design the squeegees, make a trial machine to the textile ribbon manufac- not have any positive response. They de- machine for testing of the plain mesh turer Van Engelen & Evers in Heeze, Hol- cided to design the system, the screens, and make the rotary-screen land. This company used extremely thin exposure machine, and auxiliary devices printing unit for testing the (as they nickel screens, bought from VECO, a gal- themselves. In Leijdekkers' mind, the were called) photo-screens on one of vanic processor in Eerbeek, Holland. The marketing of rotary-screen printing as a NSB's roller print machines. design was engraved into the material, system was entirely different. "Make plain • Hendrik deVries (who came over from but how? Teuling and Leijdekkers were mesh rotary screens that can be supplied NSB to join Stork Boxmeer) had the anxious to know. Several months later to textile printers and screen makers just know-how and experience to engrave they visited VECO, the same company like wire mesh materials for flat screens copper rollers and had initiated the ro- Peter Zimmer had visited several years were supplied. In addition, produce and tary-screen project at NSB in coopera- earlier. In the owner's office was a display sell the pnnting machines, the machine tion with VECO. He was to engrave the of the galvanic products that the com- that is needed to put a light-sensitive lac- rollers needed in the galvanic process, pany made for a variety of industries. One quer onto the screens, the exposure ma- engrave the design in the coated plain- product in particular drew their atten- chine, and other equipment to get the mesh rotary screens and the rollers tion—a circular strainer, five inches in di- design in the lacquer. Finally, make the needed to produce photo screens in the ameter and six inches long with no sign cleaning machines for rotary screens and galvanic process, and do all that was of a seam. They looked at each other with squeegees." And so it was.^^ necessary to produce both printable a knowing glance, "rto/s/t'" During the In a very short time, a cooperative photo- and plain-mesh screens. ensuing conversation, they were told that agreement was made between Stork, • Henk Edens, plant manager (freed from VECO was in contact with a textile printer VECO, and NSB. Stork would adapt a his normal work), had the task to get who was interested in their screens as printhead to one of NSB's roller print the production of plain mesh rotary well. Although neither the name of that machines for trial purposes. VECO would screens off the ground in a shielded-off printer nor the method by which the small make the rotary screens according to the section of the factory. nickel screens were perforated were dis- photoengraving method. Stork was • Gan Cornelissen, field engineer, was to closed during that meeting, Leijdekkers granted the exclusive manufacturing assist in the fabrication of auxiliary had heard enough. The next day he was rights for "plain mesh" screens at a licens- equipment and fabricate the trial ma- on his way to Twente, a county in the ing fee depending on the number of chine for the plain mesh screens.

46 TEXTILE CHEMIST AND COLORIST & AMERICAN DYESTUFF REPORTER VOL. 1, NO. 3 Wim Teuling would coordinate and (n all activities and make all prepara- tions for ITMA '63. • Lo Anselrode, chemist, came over from Stork Amsterdam to solve a (seemingly unsolvable) problem at a later date after the ITMA.

Sheer Luck Intervenes The test machine for the screens was ready in early 1963. It was a contraption made of the frame of a flat-bed screen printing machine, blanket, blanket-drive by a roller, one rotary-screen drive and squeegee assembly, a fabric gluing ar- rangement, and a simple fabnc winding- on device. According to Leijdekkers, the Fig, 6. The Stork booth at ITMA '63. main criterion for a good test result would be the printing of an even blotch by measured the speed of the blanket and the mark. (Remember that Peter had not means of a plain mesh screen. The result circumference speed of the screen ... the planned to show the large rotary equip- should look like a dyed fabric. The Aljaba speed of the blanket was somewhat higher, ment, but took leaflets and film of the machine could not print such a blotch due whereas before the speeds had been operating machine at van Vlissingen to give to the joining of the screen. carefully set to be equal. Thus the principle to special customers.) At the end of a long day of trials they of "blanket-overspeed" was discovered as The demonstration at the Stork stand had gotten nowhere. The print was far a must in rotary-screen printing. The next attracted a large crowd on the opening from even; in fact it had all shades of red. day a patent application was filed.'^ day (Fig. 6). Fortunately they had foreseen Whatever they tried, the picture did not Leijdekkers remembers the effort to (and hoped) that this would happen. change. At around 9 o'clock that night. get repeat accuracy. By accident, one of Therefore they had erected a half-circular Cees deRidder, the big boss of Stork the mechanics, left one of his tools inside steamer side by side with the rotary- Amsterdam (of which Stork Boxmeer was the printing blanket. When the machine screen pnnter model RD I (Rotatie Druk ! a subsidiary) appeared with his wife. He started to run, the tool damaged the or Rotary Printing I in Dutch). Underneath had authorized the funding of the project. blanket beyond repair. They had a second this printer was sufficient space to erect With wet pieces of fabric scattered all blanket in stock- However, this blanket the "grand stand" that was to become an over the floor, the place was a big mess. was some two millimeters thicker than eye-catcher in the photograph that ap- He didn't say anything, watched yet an- the damaged one. All along, they had peared time and again in textile publica- other trial failing, shook his head, took his assumed that the surface speed of the tions following the show.'^ wife by the arm and left. After he left, blanket had to precisely match the speed During the exhibition, German and they decided to make one last trial that of the screens. They had almost taken the French printers were the first to "go for day. Suddenly after having printed less main driving roller out of the machine to it." Cranston Print Works; Montreal than five yards, the picture changed—a trim the diameter, when Muselaers said, Fastprint; and Bernard Printing Co., Long beautifully and extremely nice-looking, "Why don't we give the new blanket a try Island, N.Y., as well as others from around evenly-colored fabric came from under without changing the main roller?" Much the world were prepared to place firm the screen and stayed that way for the to their collective surprise, the accuracy orders at the show. Stork had to tell them, remainder of what was left of the fabric. that resulted was beyond expectations. though, that they needed at least another They were amazed. An important side effect; the screens were ten months to develop a production sys- "What the hell did you change?" driven by the blanket, thus avoiding or tem. The problem areas were: Leijdekkers asked Muselaers. preventing wrinkling of the screens.^^ • No suitable light-sensitive lacquers were "Nothing. What did you do?" asked available Stork at ITMA '63 Muselaers, • The lacquer used at ITMA became po- "Nothing ... no ... wait a sec . . , I Stork had heard rumors that Peter Zimmer rous after a few hundred yards (they touched something with nny knee," an- would be demonstrating a rotary-screen had a fresh set of the three-color design swered Leijdekkers. printing machine as well. After all, you for every demonstration run!) It appeared that Leijdekkers, when lean- never stay alone long in the marketplace.'^ • Shipment and packaging of the virgin ing over the machine had touched the le- To their relief, Zimmer was showing only a screen cylinders had to be developed ver of the variable speed drive of the blan- tabletop modei with two screens and pitch • An adequate dryer had to be engi- ket d'i.e roller with his knee and marks to show that the second pitch mark neered conseo'j^ntly changed its speed. Muselaers on the screen exactly met the first pitch

iR 1999 WWW.AATCCORG 47 Fig. 8. The Morrison Roto-Screen rotary-screen print machine.

kee in Gaffney, S.C. In early 1998, this machine was sold to Springs, Grace Finishing Plant, and will be com- pletely refitted!'^ By 1998, the Galvano Direct Designed Fig. 7. Stork screens stored one inside the other for shipment. screen system was supplied to nearly 50 customers around the world who could Final Hurdles screen cylinders inside each other (Fig. 7). make their own screens, capable of half- During the development stage it had This system worked quite satisfactorily, tones and degradation. The Stork lacquer been taken for granted that photoengrav- especially after cardboard boxes lined screens were cheaper to produce and pro- ing the coated plain mesh screen with a with a spongy material became available, duction and price were controlled by design would not be different from the holding six cartons each with ten screens. Stork at their plant, but could not produce process of engraving flatbed screens. How This compact packaging system allowed half-tones. More customers preferred the wrong they were .,, .'^ After printing less for low-cost transportation even by air cheaper route offered by Stork. The new than a couple of hundred yards, the lac- freight. Lawsuits were stopped, friendship laser engraving technology for Galvano quer would not stick to the nickel surface restored,'^ Dirert Designed screens promises to lower of the screen. Experts from Germany, The first commercial run on the RD I the price below lacquer technology.'^ Holland, Britain, and other countries were was at Lohmann in Lemgo, Germany, on contacted. They all came forward with the August 15, 1964, This was an RDI 1280/ Morrison's Roto-Screen same answer: "Forget it. What you ask is 12 (1280 mm maximum printing width/ Machine impossible in the present state of ink-lac- 12 print-position machine). The first U.S, By June 1973, the Morrison machine quer technology, " "Well, then we have to installation, identical to the Lohmann, was shown first in the early 1960s was rede- bring that technology on a high level our- at Cranston Print Works in Cranston, R,l, signed for the U.S, market and introduced selves," the Stork team decided. Manage- The first yardage ran on December 1, as the Roto-Screen. The first installation ment in Amsterdam decided to make 1964. was at Perennial Print Corp., near the Anselrode, manager of their laboratory, Morrison plant in Paterson (Fig. 8).^^ A free for this impossible mission. He came Zimmer's Response pneumatic color supply system called Col- to Boxmeer and developed suitable lac- Peter Zimmer was completely scooped at Air-Trol was very well received and was quers in less than two months. ITMA, The showing of the Stork RD I deemed much better than the hand-dip- Screen delivery proved to be another caught everyone's imagination. However, ping used for roller print machines. Sev- big problem. The first few hundred screen Zimmer started selling immediately—after eral of these were sold and installed at the cylinders arrived at the customers' plant all, they had been operating a successful JP Stevens plant in Clemson, S.C., where with dents and wrinkles in more than machine in a commercial environment for the machines were used for a number of 80% of the screens. They were fighting three years. The first customers were years to print sheeting fabric.'^ with their back against the wall facing Renz, Langenbrücken, ordered August 8, lawsuits and threats to send the machines 1963, before ITMA; Modedruck, Gera; Conclusion back. Then almost simultaneously the Lohmann, Lemgo; NAK, Augsburg; Rawe, Who invented the rotary-screen printing technicai manager, Wagter, arrived one Nordhorn; and Textil-drückerei, Heiden- machine? Was it the American who filed morning with the idea to package the heim, all in Germany. The first U.S. ma- a patent in 1899 or those ¡n the years screens inside each other by bending the chine, a 109-inch wide rotary-screen with after? Was it William Hoffni,.;" de Barros screen in a kidney form, thus placing ten 16 colors was delivered in 1965 to Chero- and probably others will claim t^ey were

48 TEXTILE CHEMIST AND CDLDRIST & AMERICAPJ DYESTUFF REPORTER VOL, the first. In the Stork-Boxmeer 40-year printing was formulated when I wrote an 7. Aaron, R., Canadian Textile Journal. Vol. 88, orial book of 1987, deVries is cred- earlier paper on "75 Years of Change in No, 7, July 1971, p80. ited.^ ^ Peter Zimmer undoubtedly was the Dyeing and Finishing (1921-1996)" on 8. Anonymous, Man-made Textiies, June first to commercialize a rotary-screen the occasion of the 75th anniversary of 1960, p64, machine without a pattern-limiting the founding of AATCC. Roland Zimmer 9- de 0. Barros, A. J. C, Journal of the Soci- ety of Dyers and Coiourists, Vol. 82, No. 1, screen. "One thing is clear. Without the contacted me and told me there were 1966. p3. enormous progress made in the galvanic commercial machines before the 1963 10. Habel, 0. F., 7exü7e industries. Vol. 125, industry, but primarily thanks to the never- ITMA. William Hoffman contacted me September 1961, pp93 and 95. faltering vision and no-nonsense ap- about his thesis and supplied a photocopy 11. Raff, F., American Dyestuff Reporter, Vol. proach of one man, Peter Leijdekkers, for this project. I thank all those listed 53, No. 13, June 22, 1964, p154. who made the process affordable, rotary- below for sharing their thoughts and 12. Zimmer, P., unpublished manuscript, June screen printing might still be in its infan- pointing me in the needed direction to 1997. tile stage."'^ find the truth. I hope I have included 13. Mock, G, N,, Textiie Chemist and Colorist, In the end, the flat-table machines of enough truth to satisfy my audience and Vol. 29, No. 5, May 1997, p35. Stork and Zimmer would prevail over the enough insights to make it interesting. 14. Zimmer, P,, personal communication, June 1997; June 1998. Aljaba and Morrison ideas of a rotary References 15. Teuling, Wim, unpublished manuscript, machine that would fit onto the footprint March 1998. of an old roller print machine. The num- 1. Howarth, A,, Review of Progress in Coiora- tion and Reiated Topics y o\. 1,1967-1969, 16. Leijdekkers, P., unpublished manuscript, ber of colors would not be limited to PP53-63. January 1998. those that could fit around a central drum 2. Schwindt, W. and G. Faulhaber, Reviewof 17. Zimmer, R., personal communication. May and the top-down loading and the open- Progress in Coioration and Related Topics, 1998. bearing system of Zimmer would prove Vol. 14, 1984, pp166-177. 18. Howry, K. A., Modern , Vol. 54, No. superior for the quick-change needed. 3. Hawkyard, C. J., "Screen Printing," in Tex- 6, June 1973, p26-27. Also as the 1960s evolved, wider fabrics tile Printing, 2nd edition, L. W. C. Miles, 19. Talbert, P., personal communication, March Society of Dyers and Colourists, Bradford, 1998. were being woven. New print machines U.K., 1994, were needed. Rotary-screen printing sur- 4. Hoffman, W, A., Bacheior of Science The- Author's Address passed roller printing in total volume years sis-Automotive Continuous Screen Printing, ago and now controls over 60% of the Philadelphia Textile Institute, Philadelphia, Gary N. Mock, North Carolina State Uni- entire textile printing in the world. Pa., June 1948. versity, College of Textiles, 2401 Research 5. Hoffman, W. A., personal communication, Dr., Raleigh, N.C. 27695; telephone 919- Acknowledgements August 1997, May 1998. 515-6547; fax 919-515-6532; e-mail The idea to write about rotary-screen 6. de O. Barros, A. J. C, British Patent 703 [email protected]. 887. February 10, 1954. Gray Scales A. Gray Scale for Staining This internationally accepted scale is used to evaluate the degree of color transference from one fabric to another in 14 AATCC test methods. Order #8360. B. Gray Scale for Color Change This internationally accepted scale is used to evaluate the degree of shade change due to chemical and physical changes to which fabrics are subjected. Order #8359 For pricing call 1-888-642-2290 and request document #4001 AATCC P.O. Box 12215, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709 Tel: 919-549-3526 * Fax:919-549-8933 • e-mail: [email protected]

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