The Fabric of Civilization: A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United StatesGuaranty Trust Company of New York
History
The Fabric of Civilization: A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United States
Guaranty Trust Company of New York
Cotton manufacture -- United States
In the dyeing operation the cotton piece goods pass through a series of
machines, the goods being in rope form as already explained, so that a
number of pieces can be put into each machine, side by side. The wash
boxes, dye vats, etc. are equipped with overhead rollers, by means of
which the goods, which have been sewn end to end, so as to make a
continuous string of them, pass out of the dye, over the roller and down
into the bath on the other side, continuing to circulate around thus
until the desired results have been obtained. In addition to the
preparatory washing and boiling, mordanting and dyeing, there are
subsequent washings to free the goods from loose coloring matter, and
other special treatments are frequently accorded them.
Finishing in its special and restricted sense, implies a series of
treatments, such as stretching, starching, dampening, drying, pressing,
smoothing, lustreing, glazing, stiffening, softening, and whatnot, which
are given to them according to the use to which they are to be put.
The printing press is constructed with a large main cylinder (D), the
size being dictated by the number of colors which it must take care of.
As the printing operation is a continuous one, there must be a continuous
feeding of the cloth, a continuous inking of the engraved rollers (C),
and a continuous cleaning off of the unengraved surface after the
inking.
Under each roller, where it is fixed in its place in the press, is a long
copper trough or pan carrying the coloring material, and in the pan under
the roller, and extending into the coloring matter, is an intermediate
roller known as the "furnisher" roller, and, as the press revolves, this
covers the surface of the copper roller with a heavy film of coloring.
The surplus coloring is scraped off as the roller revolves, by a long,
sharp blade or knife, known as "the doctor," and after the roller passes
this it is quite clean, no coloring remaining on it except that in the
engraved portion.
Each roller has its color pan with its own color in it. Then, as the
cloth (A) passes between the main cylinder, properly covered by suitable
intervening materials and the series of rollers, each roller in turn
prints its own color, and, collectively, the finished pattern is
produced.
[Illustration: _Diagram of cloth printing machine_]
The goods then pass into a drying room and are afterwards introduced into
a steaming chamber, where they are given a good steaming at a slight
pressure. This steaming develops the colors and causes them to impregnate
the fibers more thoroughly. Subsequently, for good work, the goods should
be washed to get rid of the thickening matters that are mixed with the
coloring, and then the printing appears in all its beauty.
Printing on
Full Ground Colors
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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