Apparatus for and method of imbibition printing

Claim 1

AN IMBIBITION PRINTING METHOD OF MAKING A CONTINUOUS FILM STRIP CARRYING PROPERLY REGISTERED IMAGES ON ITS OPPOSITE SURFACES, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING A STRIP OF A MATERIAL FOR CARRYING SAID IMAGES IN A GIVEN DIRECTION AND AT A GIVEN SPEED THROUGH A PRECONDITIONING BATH TO A CENTRAL LOCATION BETWEEN A PAIR OF PRINTING MATRICES ALSO IN THE FORM OF STRIPS AND EACH CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF IMAGE FRAMES, CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING A FIRST OF SAID PAIR OF PRINTING MATRICES THROUGH PRECONDITIONING, PRINTING DYE AND RINSING BATHS TO SUPERIMPOSITION WITH ONE SIDE OF THE CENTRAL IMAGE-CARRYING STRIP, CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING THE SECOND OF SAID PAIR OF PRINTING MATRICES THROUGH SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR BATHS AND THEN A GREATER DISTANCE THAN THAT TRAVELLED BY SAID FIRST PRINTING MATRIX THROUGH AN ADDITIONAL WETTING BATH TO SUPERIMPOSITION WITH THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID IMAGECARRYING STRIP, CARRYING THE STRIPS IN CORRECT SUPERIMPOSED ASSEMBLED RELATION ACROSS A FIXED SUPPORTING SURFACE HAVING A LENGTH EQUIVALENT TO A PLURALITY OF SAID IMAGE FRAMES, APPLYING A COMPRESSIVE FORCE TO THE UPPERMOST OF SAID STRIPS SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT ITS TRAVEL ACROSS SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE WHILE THE UNDERMOST OF SAID STRIPS IS HELD AGAINST YIELDING MOVEMENT BY SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE TO PROVIDE AN IMAGEWISE TRANSFER OF SAID PRINTING DYE FROM THE IMAGE FRAMES OF THE RESPECTIVE MATRIX STRIPS TO OPPOSITE SURFACES OF THE CENTRAL STRIP AND THE FORMATION OF DYE IMAGES ON THE LATTER, AND SEPARATING SAID MATRIX STRIPS FROM CONTACT WITH SAID CENTRAL STRIP AFTER COMPLETING THE FORMATION OF SAID DYE IMAGES.