Over the past forty years, the Cronite story has been intertwined with the growth and progress of the engraved stationery industry. In fact, the new methods, new machines, and ideas developed for the industry by Cronite account for most of its industry progress and modernization. Parallel with the development of the engraved stationery industry has naturally been the growth of Cronite. Its impact on engraving has been world wide, not just confined to the U.S. or North America. The engraver in Australia, Tokyo, or Beirut is using, in many cases, the same methods and materials as the engraver in New York or Chicago. It may therefore, be of interest to read something of the history of Cronite.

The business which is now Cronite was founded in 1886 by a jewelry engraver named Ernest J. Muench. Located in tiny quarters on the third floor of a rickety walk-up building at 42 Johns Street, New York, Muench was a craftsman who engraved the dies and hubs from which ring, pin and broach mountings were stamped. The dies and hubs were engraved on high carbon tool steel. Yet before use, it was necessary to harden them. The work room was heated by  a "pot bellied" stove in which Muench burned charcoal. It was in this stove that Muench hardened his steel dies. He would dig a hole in the red hot embers and insert the die inside the glowing charcoal. The burning coals consumed any air which might contact the die and hence the die would not become oxidized or harmed. Muench would also use a pair of bellows to create a hotter fire. Then, when the die became bright red, he would quickly quench it in water.

The stationery engravers in New York came to know Muench and they brought their steel dies to him for case hardening or annealing. He would harden these in about the same way as his jewelry dies, except that he would sprinkle powered cyanide over the face of these dies before covering them with the charcoal. Then when "proper temperature" was reached, he would quench them.

Frank N. Steffens was a young man who was skilled at jewelry engraving and he took up employment with E.J. Muench. In 1904, Frank N. Steffens bought the business when Muench retired and continued it under his own name. He also continued to harden or anneal engraved stationery dies for the local engravers as a side line. In addition they also brought him their dies to "erase" or prepare for alteration of an address, etc.

The business prospered and in about 1912 Frank Steffens moved to larger quarters two flights up at 67 Fuller Street, New York. There he had as many as seven or eight highly paid jewelry engravers working in his business making dies, piercing cutter sets, and the die sets from which the "manufacturing jewelers" could create gold or platinum mountings for rings and other jewelry. Those were the days when the vogue was for elaborate dinner rings, broaches and pendants all set with many small diamonds and with many piercings. At the same time, Frank Steffens had a separate "die treatment department" for the engraved stationers. He installed a modern gas hardening furnace and other improved facilities.

During the 1920's inexpensive costume jewelry became the rage. This caused a severe decline in the sale of fine jewelry and Mr. Steffens' jewelry business went into a tailspin which finally saw its complete demise in the great depression of 1929-32.

Meanwhile in 1926, Prof. Colin B. Fink of Columbia University had received patents on the process of plating with chromium. The patents were sold for one million dollars to the Pratt interests who set up the Chemical Treatment Corp. to do commercial chrome plating. Apparently no market survey was made because they envisioned that a principal use would be the chrome plating of engraved stationery dies. They gave a banquet at the Waldorf Astoria to which all of the New York engravers were invited, including Frank N. Steffens. When they explained their process and their prices -- which amounted to only a few cents for chrome plating a steel die, Mr. Steffens expected to be out of business in short order. After all, hardening and annealing of dies would no longer be required, they said. But a short time later, it was the Chemical Treatment Corp. which went out of business. The great flood of engraved stationery dies they had expected just wasn't there. Mr. Steffens attended the auction sale of the assets. He did not buy any of the huge D.C. motor generator units that were offered. Instead, he bought a little experimental motor generator that was laying around on a bench. With this, most of the chrome plating of engraved stationery dies in the East was done for years by one workman. But at the time, the patents were still in force, for it was not until some years later that the patents were invalidated. So, to protect his liability, Mr. Steffens incorporated. With his son, Robert N. Steffens, who was then in college, he finally chose the name Cronite and called his process "Cronite Facing". The Cronite Co., Inc. was incorporated in New York on March 15, 1929.

In March 1932, during the darkest part of the great depression, Robert N. Steffens joined his father in the firm. He at once set to work to expand the business. Engraving was then so depressed that more sales were needed for the little company just to survive. At first, they purchased old steel dies and "resurfaced" them for reuse. A few years later in 1934 Edmund A. Gillis joined the firm, and they purchased the steel polishing equipment from Engravers & Printers Machinery Co. in Sag Harbor, NY. Thereafter, Cronite sold steel and copper to the industry on an ever widening scale as well as the many small supply items in which they made a specialty.

During the depression years, Cronite had also been active in the used die stamping press market. The Modern Die & Plate Press Co. had gone into receivership in 1930, so when their bank offered the patents, jigs and drawings for the Modern Company a few years later, Cronite purchased these - for a few pittance - and put them in storage. They were not put to use until after World War II.

In the meanwhile, Edmund A. Gillis and other salesmen traveled the U.S. and Canada for Cronite trying during those difficult time to create sales - and to make a living. Indeed there were days when funds were so low they subsisted on bags of apples. Finally in 1939, brighter days came and it was then that Cronite opened its California branch office.   By that time, Cronite had been building engraving machines and making masterplates and was also deeply involved in trying to introduce the Drier to the industry. Indeed the acceptance of the Drier by the industry was a very difficult feat to achieve because of its effect on the paper. Today, heat buckled paper is accepted despite the fact that with modern inks, the heat of a Drier is now often unnecessary.

When World War II came, Cronite did everything possible for the war effort. It built specialized machines - Roto Cut-off machines, where the metal was rotated while an abrasive wheel made the cut. Machines of this kind were built for accurately cutting cylinders and other operations including a machine for cutting to size 24" steel tubing from 30 foot lengths for demolition bombs. A plant was set up and run in Perth Amboy for precision cutting of fire extinguisher cylinders (for shops). Cronite also did some work engraving instrument dials. It sold Zero Engraving Machines for engraving reticles (calibrated lenses) for binoculars and periscopes.

At the same time, Cronite tried to serve the engraving industry as best it could. It represented the industry at the War Production Board in Washington and was able to obtain low priorities engravers steel. With these, Cronite was able to keep the industry in steel. It was having its steel made at Vanadium Alloys Steel Co., a highly specialized mill. Because of the extremely accurate melts required for highly specialized metals in the war effort, the mill had to put "wash heats" through the furnace to clean it between its steel making. It was these wash heats which were used for engravers steel.

During the war years, the company had been located on three and a half floors at 67 Fulton Street, New York. But even as the war was ending, Cronite took a building at 35 Park Place, New York where it had a total of some 38,000 square feet available. While the peace treaty was being signed, Cronite dusted off the patterns and jigs on the Modern Press - and started to put the 3 X 8 into production. It is this old 3 X 8 Modern which has over the years evolved with many changes and improvements into the Hi-Speed 3 X 8-3/4 Press of today.

The engraved stationery industry had never had any textbook or instruction book, so over a period of several years, Robert N. Steffens wrote, and in 1950 Cronite published, the first edition of the "Engraved Stationery Handbook".

In 1951, the plant at 8707 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, New Jersey was purchased (enlarged and modernized in 1966). An Office and stockroom were left in New York to serve the New York trade. The Chicago office and stockroom were opened in 1947.

1953 was the beginning of the present modernization of the engraving industry. Cronite had heard about the new automatic feeder. On a trip to Paris, Robert N. Steffens visited a plant where they owned a feeder. "It doesn't work", the owner said. "Look, we'll show you". They put some letterheads through the machine - and they rumpled up in a ball at the impression point. Mr. Steffens studied the machine and, on the basis of this "negative" demonstration, signed a long term contract for the sale of the machine. Edmund A. Gillis made the necessary changes to adapt the Autofeed to American presses.

As soon as the first few machines had been sold and put into operation, Cronite set up a
3 X 8 Modern Press in its plant and installed an Autofeed on it. The old Moderns were rated at a top speed of 2600 impressions per hour (I.P.H.). Cronite ran the 3 X 8 far in excess of that speed and then designed improvements would allow the press to run safety at greater speeds. From these improvements, emerged the Hi-Speed 3 X 8-3/4 Press. At first the speed was increased to 3600 I.P.H. and more recently to 4200 I.P.H. by means of constant improvements. Today, these machines are in operation in practically every plant in America and many abroad.

With automation in the industry and ever faster press operation, Mr. Steffens felt that faster drying inks were an absolute "must". Varnish ink required too much heat and in many cases prevented high speed operation of the press unit. So in 1966, Cronite decided to do something about this. Prior to that date, they had been selling water ink made by Kennedy Ink Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio and varnish ink made by Empire Ink Co. of New York. In 1966 Cronite bought the engraving ink departments of these two companies, enlarged its facilities and then moved the ink operation to a new 10,000 square foot location. It was only then, after all these preparations that Robert N. Steffens sat down to develop a new fast drying ink. He had no ink or chemical training, but he dove into the study of ink-making and KB Ink was created. It is not the only water ink in America today, but it pushed other ink manufacturers to make a competitive product. The result is that today as much as 99% of the ink used in America is water ink.

Mr. Steffens also solved other problems in the use of ink - solutions that many die stampers are not aware of even now. For example, the KB Inks that he developed do not wear out the dies. Some of these such as the KB 599 Bond Black or the great KB 711 Super Bond Black Ink can be run up to 150,000 impressions without a streak in the soft unplated die. This would be unheard of with varnish inks or other water inks.  The ink projects were Robert N. Steffens' "baby" because to him the engraver is selling ink on paper. ("The customer doesn't care how the impression was made.")

Ed Gillis, Vice President and a highly skilled and dedicated engineer who had overseen the design of all the mechanical systems at Cronite since the 1930's, spent much of his time for three years prior to 1968 designing the 5 X 9 Hi-Speed Press. This was the first newly designed press for the engraved stationery industry in 40 years.

Ed Gillis is accredited for persevering on the continued development of the Wipe-O-Matic which saves ink and die wipe paper. Gillis also pioneered in the processes of superfinishing of steel which not only gave a near perfect finish, but was also very flat. Today superfinishing is a standard in bearing manufacturing.

In 1974 the Library of Engravers Styles by Eaton Sag Harbor, L.I., New York was acquired which rounded out the largest pantograph type styles collection in the world.

In 1975 the remains of the original Carver Co. and Olney Machine Works was purchased in an attempt to innovate the Carver press as was done with the old Modern machines. New Carver presses did not sell but replacement parts were needed.

Robert S. Steffens joined the Cronite Co. full time in 1970 and became President in 1979. He has been recognized for having designed the hot stamping foil unit for die stamping presses in 1972, the Telestacker Drier in 1973, and redesigning the Autofeed Feeder to run business cards cards and envelopes. Until 1978, press speeds had been sneaking up from 3600 I.P.H.to 4500 I.P.H., but then the 5 X 9 Hi-Speed Press was redesigned resulting in an increase in production from 3600 I.P.H. to 7000 I.P.H.  In 1980, the Hi-Speed Autofeed was introduced and revised in 1983 so that the increased press speed could be accommodated.

Cronite became involved in photo engraving in 1983 and introduced a photo presensitized steel which was very simple to use.

In 1984, the 3 X 8-3/4 Hi-Speed Press was changed drastically to permit its speed to double with the new short stroke design.

Cronite's history has been very strong because of its forward thinking and drive to be the engraved stationery industry's best supplier and advisor.

      

Contact:
The Cronite Co. Inc.
P.O. Box 6330
120 E.Halsey Road
Parsippany, NJ, 07054 USA
Tel: 973-887-7900
Fax:973-887-0015

Business hours 8:30 am to 5 pm EST, Monday through Friday)