Printing of banknotes, stamps and other securities (4)

In 1915, the civil works of the Printing Department of the Ministry of Finance were basically completed, and various machinery and equipment had been installed at the same time as the construction of the project. The production business was also included in the normal track. At this time, the printing department of the Ministry of Finance has more than 370 sets of large and small machines; the inks used are inked from ingredients and assays and processed by Chinese technicians; the paper supply can meet the production needs; the technology and equipment, steel plates are unnecessary It is said that the zinc and copper plates are also at an advanced level; there are more than 1,800 employees. In business, in addition to printing banknotes from banks in Beijing, it is also far away from Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. The production is busy and the business is booming. As a result, people and machines are overloaded. It's done by working overtime.

Figure 17-18 Stone Map

While the printing department of the Ministry of Finance is introducing and learning the advanced banknote printing equipment and technology based on the United States, it is also committed to further research and development on the banknote printing technology and equipment. In 1920, printing technician Shen Yongbin, according to the theory of multi-color printing and printing technology, successfully developed a multi-color printing machine (Figure 17-19). The newly developed multicolor printing press adopts a multi-colored rubber roller to transfer ink to a relief printing technology. It can print multi-color wiring patterns, which is of great significance in improving the level of banknote pattern marking and enhancing the anti-counterfeiting performance of banknotes. At the same time, it also provides an important reference for the development of special banknote printing machinery, especially the double-sided wiring printing machine. In 1921, the banknotes of Dazhong Bank and China Merchants Bank were successfully printed using this multicolor printing machine (Figures 17-20).

Coloring book 17-20

Figure 17-19 Shen Yongbin developed color machine

The printing business of this period, after the ticket surface pattern was validated by the customer and the higher authorities, was printed in accordance with the approved pattern. The process is:

1. Production process of engraving intaglio printing plate (1) Preparation of smooth steel plate blank (steel plate material imported from foreign countries from 1909 to the 1970s); (2) Scratching plate; (3) Hand carving and engraving Two kinds of crafts are engraved on the machine, portraits, landscape decorations, and patterns, etc., and after the original engraving of the sub-sections is completed, the steel shafts of the sub-divisions are passed; (4) Intaglio Division Proofing; (5) Stitches the full-color sample; ( 6) Press the full color sample to print the small original version; (7) After the small original proofing is approved, the gravure original production is completed.

2. Production process of steel gravure printing plate (1) Prepare steel concave original plate; (2) Steel concave original flame, that is, cooking with potassium cyanide solution for about ten minutes, so that the hardness of steel gravure reaches 70 degrees Rockwell; (3) Over steel shaft is printed on the steel shaft by the steel concave original plate. The pattern on the steel shaft is opposite to the steel intaglio plate, showing a convex pattern; (4) The steel shaft is a fire; (5) The used plate machine The steel shaft is used for overprinting the large number of large steel plates. The pattern on the large steel plate is concave. (6) The large steel plate is chrome plated. (7) The chrome plated steel plate is inspected and refitted. Production is completed and printed.

The steel gravure made by the above process has a concave pattern on the plate and a convex line on the paper. From the introduction of this technology to the fifties of this century, this technique has been used for half a century to print on wet paper. The process is:

First, use a typographic printer to print the face shading, and then use a gravure printer to print the person's head, scenery, and patterns. In order to achieve a better printing effect, wet paper is to be taken before the gravure printing, and the ticket paper is humidified to the required humidity before printing. After printing, it must be dried and flattened, and in the printing process, one copy of each sheet should be added to prevent scratching. After the drying is completed, remove the liner. Although the printing effect is good, it is time-consuming and inefficient. Become a banknote printing technology â—† pending problems.

The wet paper gravure process was used half a century later. By the end of the 1950s, technicians at the plant changed the wet paper to dry paper printing. Afterwards, they developed and used dirty ink, and the backing paper was also cancelled. Greatly improve the printing efficiency.

In modern banknote printing, in addition to large-scale printing, advanced equipment technology, and an official branch office printing bureau, the Shanghai Commercial Press absorbed Japan’s shareholding in 1903, opened up an engraving copper intaglio printing business, and hired Japanese technicians to guide the factory. After recovering Japanese stocks in 1914, some gravure printing equipment was added to bear the printing tasks of banknotes and other securities. Shen Fengji and Zhao Jun made important contributions to this end.