GB2162793A - Printing separate images on a web - Google Patents

Abstract

An endless band 12 carrying a plurality of first images, at least one of a second image and possibly one or more of a third image, is trained around a cylinder 10 opposed to impression cylinder 22 and is tensioned by roller 14 so as to provide a printing member for web 18. One example involves cutting of the web subsequent to printing to produce the pages of a cheque book, the first images printing the individual cheques, the second image a re-order form and the third paying-in leaves. There is thus no requirement for separate printing stations, separate web units or exchangeable printing cylinders. Shorter or longer bands can easily be installed in this apparatus. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Printing machine and method for continuous stationery This invention relates to -a printing machine and a method of printing, as applied to the printing of continuous stationery.

Continuous stationery comprises paper or other web material to be printed which is fed from a roll through a printing machine, and on the web are printed repeat images, hence the description continuous printing. Although printing on the web can be effected by a flat bed printing head, it is usual to print by means of a cylinder which carries printing plates. If a multicoloured image is required on the printed material, there must be provided a printing cylinder for each colour, and the material to be printed must pass each cylinder to have the appropriate colour printed thereon.

In the printing of personalised multi-leaf items, such as personalised cheque books, there is arising a requirement that in addition to the most common leaf in the book, i.e. the cheque, there should also be included several other types of leaf e.g.

several paying-in leaves, and an order form for requesting a new book.

Normally, when there is a requirement to print cheques, order forms and paying-in leaves, these must be printed using different printing cylinders and different stock webs which are subsequently cut, collated and then made into the individual cheque books. This creates a considerable amount of work and expenditure, and it would be desirable to print the cheques, paying-in leaves and the order form on the same web before cutting same and forming the individual leaves into the cheque books, but for this to be achieved with a simple printing cylinder, it would be necessary to provide an extremely large printing cylinder, which would indeed be of impractical proportions, having the printing plates arranged so that a plurality of cheque printing plates is followed by say a re-order form printing plate, and three paying-in leaves, which in accordance with current cheque book dimensions, would make the printing cylinder some 60 inches in circumference, whereas the commercially available cylinders are of the order of 24 inches in circumference. Another method would be to have a plurality of cylinders in line, one for the cheques, one for the re-order form, and one for the paying-in leaves, but each of the cylinders would require to have blank spaces, and this does not make for the effective utilisation of the cylinders. In any event, cutting and collation would be difficult, because each cylinder currently can print only some eight cheque book images, and if a cheque book were required to have some thirty or so cheques, then groups of eight cheques would be separated by spaces for the paying-in leaves and reorder forms, making such an arrangement impractical.

The present invention is concerned with a means for printing on continuous stationery, a plurality of a first images followed by at least one of a second image and perhaps one or several of a third image, the arrangement being adaptable to enable the numbers of the first, second, and if provided, third images to be varied.

In accordance with th invention, the printing of the images is effected by means of an endless band carrying the image printing means, the endless band passing round a cylinder which would normally form the print cylinder, such cylinder being urged against a reaction cylinder or other means and between the nip crated thereby the web to be printed is passed.

By using an endless band, the number of images compared to an equivalent print cylinder can be increased, but more particularly the number can be selected by using a band of appropriate length.

The band may be tensioned by means of a tension pulley mounted on adjustable trunions, for the tensioning of the band after it is placed in position, and for the removal of the band at will.

Assume therefore that there is a requirement to print cheque book images comprising thirty cheques followgd by one re-order form and three paying-in leaves. An endless band dimensioned to carry 34 images is selected, is trained round the aforementioned cylinder and tension pulley, the band is tensioned, and the equipment is now ready to print the sequence of first, second and third images on the web to be printed. If the total number of images and the number of the individual images has to be changed, it is simply a matter of providing a fresh band for each print run, the band carrying the appropriate number of image plates. There will of course be a means for applying printing ink to the image plates.Although the invention has effective application in letter press printing, with the printing plates being carried by the band, there is a possibility that the invention may be applied to litho printing wherein the endless band carries the images.

With the invention, all of the relevant first, second and third or more images are printed together on the same web, and therefore cutting and collating is much simplified.

The invention also provides apparatus for carrying out the method as aforesaid.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, of which the single figure shows an arrangement of a printing machine according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the apparatus shown therein is in fact a portion of a modified rotary letter press printer, of which the printing cylinder is indicated by numeral 10, and around the printing cylinder is an endless flexible band 12 of a plastics material such as polypropylene. The printing cylinder 10 is in fact modified by having its diameter slightly reduced to accommodate the band thickness, and the band 12 passes over a jockey tensioning pulley 14 which is mounted on screw adjustable trunnions 16 for the positional adjustments of the pulley as indicated by arrow 15 in order to tension the band 12 or to release the tension therein as required.

The paper web 18 to be printed is shown as con tacting the endless band tangentially at 20 where it passes over the modified printing zone, so that the web is located in the same location at the printing nip between printing cylinder 10 and reaction cyl inder 22 as it would be were it being printed by the - letter press printing cylinder in the usual manner.

The band 12 carries the printing plates of the first and second images, or first, second and third or more images if required, so that these images are printed sequentially or in any desired order to simplify the subsequent cutting and collating of the portions of the web carrying the respective images.

The figure also shows an ink applicator roller 24 by which ink is applied to the image plates on the band 12.

If it is required to change the image format, it is simply a matter of either placing new image plates the endless band 12 or removing the band and in stalling a shorter or longer band in the apparatus.

Variation in the printing of the images is there fore simple and efficient, and only a single web is requred to carry the different images.

It it is required to print the images in two or more colours, then the web must pass similar ar rangements to that described several times, one for each colour.

In the printing of cheque books using the equip ment illustrated, the equipment shown would print the "static" information on the cheques, re-order forms and paying-in leaves, and the active mate rial, i.e. the customer's name and his account num ber are printed in a separate run using confidential information supplied by the customer.

The invention envisages not only the modifica tion of existing printing equipment, but also the in corporation of the invention in new printing equipment.

Claims (5)

1. A method of printing on continuous station ery, a plurality of first images followed by at least one of a second image and perhaps one or more of a third image, wherein the printing of the im ages is effected by means of an endless band car rying the image printing means, the endless band passing round a cylinder which would normally form the print cylinder, such cylinder being urged against a reaction cylinder or other means and be tween the nip created thereby the web to be printed is passed.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the band is tensioned by means of a tension pulley mounted on adjustable trunions, for the tensioning of the band after it is placed in position, and for the removal of the band at will.

3. A method of printing on continuous station ery, a plurality of first images followed by at least one of a second image and perhaps one or more of a third image, substantially as hereinbefore de scribed with reference to the accompanying draw ings.

4. Apparatus for printing on continuous stationery, a plurality of first images followed by at least one of a second image and perhaps one or more of a third image, comprising an endless band passing round a cylinder which would normally form the print cylinder, such cylinder being urged against a reaction cylinder or other means and between the nip crated thereby the web to be printed is passed.

5. Apparatus for printing on continuous stationery, a plurality of first images followed by at least one of a second image and perhaps one or more of a third image, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.