JP2000301686A - Integrating device of cell volumes of gravure press plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an integrating device of cell volumes of a gravure press plate which enables attainment of the total amount of cell volumes formed in the whole of a plate face. SOLUTION: This device has a cell volume data computing means for computing the data on cell volumes from engraving data having correlation with the depths of cells formed in a plate face by engraving and an integrated cell volume data computing means for obtaining the data on integrated cell volumes by integrating the data on the cell volumes in a prescribed area of a gravure plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention belongs to the technical field of printing. In particular, the present invention relates to a device for estimating the amount of ink used before starting printing in gravure printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink used in gravure printing includes not only a process color ink which is a standard ink, but also a standard ink.
There are special color inks specially made according to the item. Special color inks have special colors and physical properties. Since this special color ink is used only for printing of a specific item, if the production amount is too large, it cannot be used and is wasted. On the other hand, if the production amount is insufficient, a predetermined number of printed materials cannot be obtained, and additional printing must be performed after re-preparation. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately predict the amount of ink used.

In the printing process, printing is performed by transferring ink from cells formed on the printing plate surface to printing paper. The transfer amount of the ink is determined by the volume (cell volume) of the cells formed on the plate surface. Therefore, it is conceivable to predict the amount of ink used per printing based on the sum of the cell volumes formed on the plate surface.

[0004] On the other hand, in a printing step (electronic engraving step) of gravure printing, cells formed on a printing plate surface are set in order to set proper printing conditions and to check whether printing has been performed properly. Dimensions and volumes need to be measured. As a method for measuring the dimensions and volume of the cell, a method using an optical microscope, a contact type depth meter, an eddy current type cell volume meter, and the like are known.

[0005]

However, in these methods, although cells formed in an extremely small area of the plate can be measured, the total volume of cells formed in the entire plate cannot be measured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device for obtaining the sum of cell volumes formed on the entire printing plate.

[0007]

The above-mentioned problems are solved by the present invention described below. That is, a gravure printing plate cell volume accumulating device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a gravure plate engraving device for calculating cell volume data from engraving data having a correlation with the depth of a cell formed on a printing plate by engraving. The apparatus has volume data calculating means, and integrated cell volume data calculating means for obtaining the integrated cell volume data by integrating the cell volume data in a predetermined area of the gravure plate.

According to the present invention, the cell volume data calculating means calculates the cell volume data from the engraving data having a correlation with the depth of the cell formed on the printing plate by engraving in the gravure plate engraving apparatus, and calculates the integrated cell volume data. By means, the cell volume data is integrated in a predetermined area of the gravure plate to obtain integrated cell volume data. Therefore, there is provided a gravure plate cell volume integrating device capable of obtaining the sum of the cell volumes formed on the entire plate surface.

A gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to a second aspect of the present invention is the gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to the first aspect, wherein the engraving data for generating the engraving data from an engraving signal output to an engraving head. This has a data generating means. According to the present invention, engraving data is generated from the engraving signal by the engraving data generating means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gravure plate cell volume accumulating apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein at least a gravure plate cell volume accumulating apparatus obtains at least floor plan data from plate making data input to the gravure plate engraving apparatus. An engraving data calculation means for performing tone conversion and calculating the engraving data is provided. According to the present invention, engraving data is calculated by performing at least gradation conversion from the plate making data input to the gravure engraving device by the engraving data calculating means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the cell volume data calculating means is adapted to calculate an ink transfer amount. The corresponding cell volume data is calculated. According to the present invention, the cell volume data corresponding to the ink transfer amount is calculated by the cell volume data calculation means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the accumulated cell volume data is calculated based on an ink transfer rate. And a unit for calculating the unit ink transfer amount, which is the unit ink transfer amount per one sheet of printing. According to the present invention, the unit ink transfer amount, which is the ink transfer amount per sheet, is calculated from the integrated cell volume data by the unit ink transfer amount calculating means based on the ink transfer rate. Here, the ink transfer amount per printing is the ink transfer amount per rotation of the gravure plate cylinder.

The gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to claim 6 of the present invention is the gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the specific data (for example, Storage means for storing the integrated cell volume data and / or the unit ink transfer amount in association with a product number, a printing color, and the like. According to the present invention, specific data (for example, product number, printing color, etc.) for specifying engraving data by the storage means
The integrated cell volume data and / or the unit ink transfer amount are stored in association with the data.

A gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to claim 7 of the present invention is the gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the integrated cell volume data and / or the unit ink are included. A display means for displaying the amount of transfer is provided. According to the present invention, the display means displays the integrated cell volume data and / or the unit ink transfer amount.

[0015]

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments. Before describing the gravure plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention, a gravure engraving device will be described. FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram showing the principle of engraving a printing plate by a gravure engraving apparatus. FIG. 1A is an arrow showing shading of a picture. It indicates that the density of the pattern is lighter toward the left arrow, and the density of the picture is higher toward the right arrow.

FIG. 1B is a graph showing an engraving signal and a vibration signal of an engraving needle (stylus) drawn so as to correspond to the position of the arrow indicating the shading of the pattern in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1B, this graph relatively matches the transition of the position of the engraving needle. That is, the engraving signal is superimposed on the vibration signal (triangular wave) having a constant amplitude, and the position of the amplitude center of the vibration signal becomes higher toward the left arrow (retreats from the printing plate), and the right arrow It becomes lower toward the side (approaches the plate surface).

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the engraving cell drawn to correspond to the position of the graph showing the engraving signal and the vibration signal of the engraving needle in FIG. 1B. In FIG. 1C, 1
Are gravure cylinders, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2
Reference numerals e, 2f, 2g, and 2h denote (sections of) engraved cells formed on the plate surface. As shown in FIG. 1C, the engraving cell 2b is larger than the engraving cell 2a.
The engraving cells become larger in the order of d, 2e, 2f, 2g, and 2h.

Next, the principle of forming such engraving cells 2a to 2h will be described. In the gravure plate engraving apparatus, the gravure plate cylinder is driven to rotate about the cylinder axis. The engraving head of the gravure plate engraving device moves in the direction of the cylinder axis in synchronization with the rotation of the gravure plate cylinder. That is, two-dimensional scanning is performed by main scanning by rotation of the gravure plate cylinder and sub-scanning by moving the engraving head in the direction of the rotation axis.

An engraving needle is provided on the engraving head of the gravure plate engraving apparatus. The engraving needle changes the distance from the plate surface according to the engraving signal and the vibration signal of the engraving needle. When the engraving needle penetrates deeper than the plate surface, the plate surface is engraved by the engraving needle, and a concave portion, that is, an engraved cell is formed. This engraving cell has an inverted pyramid shape. The volume or size of the engraving cell, ie, the opening area and depth, is determined by the distance that the engraving needle has penetrated deeper than the plate surface. By performing the scanning of the two-dimensional area, the engraving cell is also formed in the two-dimensional area.

The shading of a picture and the engraving signal shown in FIG. 1A have a predetermined relationship. Assuming that the density of the picture is D and the value of the engraving signal is S, the relationship is expressed as S = F (D). The function F () is generally a monotone increasing function or a monotone decreasing function for performing gradation conversion. Also, the value of the engraving signal,
The distance between the engraving needle and the printing plate has a predetermined relationship. Assuming that the distance between the engraving needle and the printing plate is t, there is a relationship of t = G (S). When the function F () is determined to be suitable, the engraving signal S and the distance t can have a linear shape.
Normally, the function G () is a linear expression and t = G (S) = a × S
+ B.

A and b are the places where the density D of the picture is the lowest, that is, the density Dm at which the ink does not transfer to the printing paper.
It is set such that t = 0 when in (engraving signal is Smin), and t = −hs where the density Dmax of the picture is highest (engraving signal is Smax). hs is the depth of the engraved cell at the point where the density D of the pattern is highest. A minus sign (-) indicates that the distance is deeper than the printing plate. This a and b
Is determined by performing a test cut or the like, and the process of determining a and b in the gravure engraving apparatus is calibration.

On the other hand, the vibration signal of the engraving needle is a vibration signal of a predetermined amplitude whose phase is synchronized with the rotation of the gravure plate cylinder. Since the gravure plate cylinder rotates at a constant speed, the vibration signal of the engraving needle also has a constant frequency. The waveform of the vibration signal of the engraving needle is usually a triangular wave or a waveform approximating a triangular wave. An inverted pyramid-shaped engraving cell can be formed by the triangular wave.

The plate surface moves by rotating the gravure plate cylinder. While the printing plate moves by a predetermined distance, the pitch of the engraving cells formed in the circumferential direction is determined by the number of times the engraving needle vibrates. The axial pitch of the engraving cell is determined by the distance the engraving head moves in the axial direction during one rotation of the gravure plate cylinder. By properly determining these pitches, it is possible to form engraved cells having shapes, arrangements such as normal, coarse, compressed, elongate, and fine.

A predetermined engraving cell is formed on the plate surface of the gravure plate cylinder by superimposing the engraving signal and the vibration signal of the engraving needle. As described above, the shape and arrangement of the engraving cell are determined by the vibration signal (circumferential pitch) of the engraving needle, the axial pitch,
Etc. are determined. On the other hand, information on the shading of the picture is basically included in the engraving signal, and the depth of the engraving cell, that is, the volume of the engraving cell is determined by the engraving signal. The volume of the engraving cell determines the amount of ink transferred to the printing paper, that is, the amount of ink transferred. The sum of the ink transfer amounts of all engraving cells formed on the plate surface of the gravure plate cylinder is the ink transfer amount per rotation of the gravure plate cylinder, that is, the unit integrated ink transfer amount.

Next, the gravure plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention will be described. The gravure plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention can be constituted by hardware and software of a data processing device such as a microcomputer and a personal computer. FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing a data processing process in the gravure plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention. 2 and 3, 1 is engraving data generating means, 2 is engraving data calculating means, 3 is cell volume data calculating means, 4 is integrated cell volume data calculating means, 5 is unit ink transfer amount calculating means, and 6 is storage. Means 7 is a display means. 2 and 3, arrows indicate the flow of data.

The engraving data generating means 1 inputs an engraving signal and a vibration signal of an engraving needle. The data of the depth of the engraving cell formed on the plate surface by the engraving needle is sampled from the engraving signal in synchronization with the vibration signal of the engraving needle and A / D converted (analog-to-di
gital converting). Needless to say, sampling is performed at the timing when the engraving needle reaches the deepest position in the engraving cell formed. The engraving data generating means 1 outputs the data of the depth of the engraving cell as engraving data. Although FIG. 2 shows that the engraving signal and the vibration signal of the engraving needle are separately input, they may be input as superimposed signals. Since the vibration signal of the engraving needle has a constant frequency, it is easy to separate the superimposed signal and obtain the engraving signal and the vibration signal of the engraving needle separately.

The engraving data calculation means 2 shows another method for obtaining engraving data. The engraving signal is originally generated based on the plate making data. Therefore, engraving data can be obtained from the plate making data input to the gravure plate engraving device. This process is also a process of simulating a data processing process in the gravure plate engraving device. The engraving data calculation means 2 performs at least gradation conversion to obtain engraving data from the plate making data.

The cell volume data calculation means 3 inputs engraving data. The engraving data has a correlation with the depth of the engraving cell. For example, when the correlation coefficient is 1, a proportional relationship is given,
In the case of 1, there is an inverse proportional relationship. The cell volume data calculation means 3 calculates cell volume data from the input engraving data. As described above, the engraving cell has an inverted pyramid shape. Therefore, basically, the cell volume can be obtained by calculating (opening area of the engraving cell) × (depth) × １ ／ = (cell volume). When the opening shape of the engraving cell is determined, the opening area of the engraving cell is proportional to the square of the depth, and the opening area can be calculated from the depth. Therefore, the volume of the engraving cell is proportional to the cube of the depth.

This proportionality constant is determined by the angle (stylus angle) which is the characteristic of the engraving needle used, and the shape of the engraving cell such as the normal, coarse, compressed, elongate, fine, etc. described above. Actually, in the gravure plate engraving apparatus, the conditions of the stylus angle and the shape of the engraving cell when engraving are performed are limited. Therefore, a table of the relationship between the condition and the proportionality constant can be prepared. The cell volume data calculating means 3 selects a proportional constant of a condition for actually engraving, and calculates the volume of the engraved cell from the depth.

Basically, the volume of the engraving cell can be calculated from the depth by the above-described method, but a calculation error is included due to a difference between the assumption and the actual calculation.
For example, the shape of the engraving cell has a deviation from the inverted pyramid shape strictly. In some cases, the shape of the engraving cell depends on the size (depth) of the engraving cell. Naturally, the relationship between the amount of transferred ink and the volume of the engraved cell also has a deviation from the linear shape, and the shape of the engraved cell depends on the size of the engraved cell. Therefore, the cell volume data calculating means 3 calculates the volume of the engraved cell while correcting a shift or the like depending on the size of the engraved cell. This correction can be performed by preparing a table of the relationship between the size of the engraving cell and the correction coefficient based on experiments and the like, and referring to the correction table.

By using such a correction table, the cell volume data calculating means 3 can calculate the ink transfer amount while correcting a shift or the like depending on the size of the engraved cell. That is, the cell volume data calculation means 3 can calculate not only simple cell volume data but also cell volume data corresponding to the ink transfer amount.

The integrated cell volume data calculating means 4 obtains the integrated cell volume data by integrating the cell volume data in a predetermined area of the gravure cylinder. This predetermined area is the entire plate surface of the gravure plate cylinder. However, in multi-imposition printing in which the same pattern is formed on a plate surface and printed, a gravure plate engraving device also performs engraving using a plurality of engraving heads. in this case,
The integrated cell volume data obtained from one engraving head from the start to the end of engraving is 1 / (the number of engraving heads) with respect to the total integrated cell volume data of the plate surface of the gravure plate cylinder. Therefore, in such a case, the obtained integrated cell volume data is multiplied by (the number of engraving heads).

A unit ink transfer amount calculating means 5 calculates a unit ink transfer amount, which is an ink transfer amount per one-sheet printing (one rotation of a gravure plate cylinder), from the integrated cell volume data based on the ink transfer rate. Of course, if the integrated cell volume data is calculated from the cell volume data corresponding to the ink transfer amount, the integrated cell volume data is the unit ink transfer amount itself. If the integrated cell volume data is calculated from the simple cell volume data described above, the unit ink transfer amount calculating means 5 obtains a unit ink transfer amount by multiplying the integrated cell volume data by the ink transfer rate.

The storage means 6 stores the integrated cell volume data and the unit ink transfer amount. The integrated cell volume data and the unit ink transfer amount stored by the storage means 6 are used by the gravure plate cell volume integrating device or a LAN (local area) when estimating an ink production amount.
network) and so on.

The display device 7 displays the integrated cell volume data and the unit ink transfer amount. The integrated cell volume data and the unit ink transfer amount displayed by the display means 7 are referred to when estimating the ink production amount.

[0036]

As described above, according to the gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the sum of the cell volumes formed on the entire plate surface. According to the gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to the second aspect of the present invention, engraving data is generated from the engraving signal by the engraving data generating means. According to the gravure printing plate cell volume accumulator according to the third aspect of the present invention, the engraving data is calculated by performing at least gradation conversion from the plate making data input to the gravure engraving device by the engraving data calculating means. According to the gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 4 of the present invention, the cell volume data calculating means calculates the cell volume data corresponding to the ink transfer amount. According to the gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 5 of the present invention, the unit ink transfer amount which is the ink transfer amount per sheet printing from the integrated cell volume data based on the ink transfer rate by the unit ink transfer amount calculating means. The quantity is calculated. According to the gravure printing plate cell volume accumulating device according to claim 6 of the present invention, the accumulated cell volume data and / or the associated cell data is specified by the storage means in association with the specific data (for example, the product number, the printing color, etc.) for specifying the engraving data. The unit ink transfer amount is stored. According to the gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 7 of the present invention,
The display means displays the integrated cell volume data and / or the unit ink transfer amount.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of engraving on a printing plate by a gravure engraving apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a data processing process (first half) in the gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a data processing process (the latter half) in the gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engraving data generation means 2 Engraving data calculation means 3 Cell volume data calculation means 4 Integrated cell volume data calculation means 5 Unit ink transfer amount calculation means 6 Storage means 7 Display means

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tomohisa Aono 1-1-1 Ichigaya-Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo F-term in Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (reference) 2H084 AA03 AE05 BB16 CC03

Claims (7)

[Claims] A gravure plate engraving device for calculating cell volume data from engraving data having a correlation with the depth of a cell formed on a printing plate by engraving; A gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device, comprising: integrated cell volume data calculating means for obtaining integrated cell volume data by integrating in an area. 2. The gravure plate cell volume accumulator according to claim 1, further comprising engraving data generating means for generating the engraving data from an engraving signal output to an engraving head. Integrator. 3. The engraving data calculating means according to claim 1, wherein said engraving data is calculated by performing at least gradation conversion from the plate making data input to said gravure engraving apparatus. A gravure plate cell volume integrating device characterized by having: 4. A gravure plate cell integrating device according to claim 1, wherein said cell volume data calculating means calculates said cell volume data corresponding to an ink transfer amount. Volume integrating device. 5. A gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 1, wherein a unit ink transfer amount, which is an ink transfer amount per one sheet printing, is calculated from said integrated cell volume data based on the ink transfer rate. A gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device comprising unit ink transfer amount calculating means. 6. The gravure plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 1, wherein said integrated cell volume is associated with specific data (for example, a product number, a printing color, etc.) for specifying said engraving data. A gravure plate cell volume integrating device, comprising storage means for storing data and / or the unit ink transfer amount. 7. The gravure printing plate cell volume integrating device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying said integrated cell volume data and / or said unit ink transfer amount. Plate cell volume accumulator.