JP2002086685A - Multi-color printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-color printing system which can effectively display advantages of a continuous provision by integrating the printing control for a plurality of printing devices with each other while taking problems in a case wherein a plurality of printing devices are continuously provided under consideration. SOLUTION: For this multi-color printing system, a plurality of printing devices 1 and 2 equipped with a plate cylinder which can perform an image formation with different colors are continuously provided. Then, the formation of a synthesized image with a plurality of colors, or an image formation for each color are performed by connecting a carrying path for a printing paper to the plate cylinders. In such a multi-color printing system, control sections 1A and 2A for a printing control provided on the printing devices 1 and 2 are directly connected with each other. Thus, information can be integrally administered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multicolor printing system, and more particularly, to a configuration for obtaining a plurality of color print images by connecting a plurality of stencil printing apparatuses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a printing apparatus as an apparatus capable of forming a large amount of images from one document, and there are methods such as offset printing and stencil printing. 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printing apparatus employs a mechanism in which a printing plate is mechanically pressed against a printing material, and the pressure causes the color material on the printing plate to adhere to the printing material surface. In stencil printing, the ink is extruded toward the surface of the printing material by using the above-mentioned mechanical pressure.

As a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus capable of performing multicolor printing including full color (hereinafter referred to as a color printing apparatus) has been proposed. As an example of a color printing apparatus, an apparatus including a plate cylinder capable of forming an image for each color, a plate making device and a plate discharging device for the plate cylinder, and an ink supply device provided in the plate cylinder as main components. There is. In this apparatus, a recording sheet is brought into contact with a master which has been made and wound on a plate cylinder, and an ink image is transferred onto a mass recording sheet wound on the plate cylinder by supplying ink from an ink device. The process is performed, and in the case of a color image, the transfer process is repeated for each plate cylinder in the process of transporting the recording paper. When the ink images of the respective colors are superimposed and transferred on the recording paper, a full-color image or an image of a specific color is formed on the recording paper.

As a method of superimposing and transferring the ink images of the respective colors in the process of transporting the recording paper, a configuration in which a plate cylinder provided with a plate making device and a plate discharging device are arranged side by side along the recording paper transporting path (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. No. 316919), or a stencil printing apparatus provided with a stencil making apparatus and a stencil printing apparatus having no stencil making apparatus, and a stencil printing apparatus having no stencil making apparatus. A stencil printing machine not equipped with a stencil printing machine not equipped with a stencil printing machine having a stencil printing machine replaced with a stencil printing machine not provided with a master of a desired color is provided with a desired color ink image. There is a configuration for transferring (for example, JP-A-11-208085).

[0005]

In the arrangements disclosed in the above publications, the space for providing the intermediate transfer cylinder is eliminated by directly superimposing and transferring the recording medium on the recording paper without using the conventionally used intermediate transfer cylinder. There is an advantage that it becomes unnecessary and that a batch transfer process from the intermediate transfer cylinder to the recording paper can be omitted. Compared to the configuration disclosed in the former publication, the configuration disclosed in the latter publication does not provide a plate cylinder capable of dealing with all colors, and an image of a desired color is obtained by replacing a plate cylinder of a selected color. Since it is obtained, there is an advantage that the enlargement of the configuration can be suppressed.

However, when the image formation of the selected color is realized with a small number of plate cylinders, a print image of two different colors can be obtained by the number of plate cylinders, for example, two plate cylinders.
If a full-color image is to be obtained by such a stencil printing machine itself, the number of replacements of the plate cylinder increases, and the workability deteriorates.

When a stencil printing apparatus capable of forming printed images of two different colors is combined in pairs, a full-color image can be obtained. For this reason, the latter publication discloses a configuration in which a single stencil device A as shown in FIG. 5 is combined and continuously connected as shown in FIG. Articulated configuration) is disclosed.

Usually, a stencil printing apparatus capable of forming images of different colors is provided with a paper feed unit T and a paper discharge unit T 'as shown in FIG. It has become. For this reason, one of the stencil printing apparatuses is removed by removing the paper discharge section of one stencil printing apparatus and the paper feeding section of the other stencil printing apparatus and connecting them by a transporting means (a member indicated by a symbol B in FIG. 6). From the apparatus to the other stencil printing apparatus, full-color image printing can be performed by one pass in which the conveyance path of the recording paper is linearly continuous.

However, when stencil printing apparatuses capable of forming an image alone are combined with each other, the following problems may occur due to the fact that accumulated information is not exchanged. Because unified management of print control between serially installed stencil printing devices cannot be performed,
There is a problem that continuous printing using a path cannot be performed. For example, even when a paper jam occurs in the stencil printing apparatus located on the upstream side in the transport direction of the printing paper, the transfer process may be executed regardless of the phenomenon based on the print control in the stencil printing apparatus on the downstream side in the transport direction. . In this case, the platen roller is stained with ink from the plate cylinder,
As a result, the back stain of the printing paper occurs. In addition, when the printing conditions in one stencil printing machine are changed, the transfer timing and the transfer speed to the printing paper do not match unless the conditions are distributed to the control unit of the other stencil printing machine. Transfer to an unsuitable place becomes impossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an advantage of the conventional printing system, particularly in view of the problem in the case of using a plurality of printing apparatuses connected in series, since the printing control among a plurality of printing apparatuses can be unified. An object of the present invention is to provide a multicolor printing system that can be effectively used.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A plurality of printing apparatuses having plate cylinders capable of forming images of different colors are provided in series, and a conveying path of printing paper to the plate cylinder is made continuous to form a composite image of a plurality of colors or an image for each different color. The color printing system is characterized in that print control units provided in the printing apparatuses are directly connected to each other so that information can be centrally managed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the multicolor printing system according to the first aspect, the control unit can share information relating to print control, and can display one information on the other control unit. It is characterized by having.

[0013] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the multicolor printing system described above, the control units
The master side and the slave side can be selected automatically or manually, and the master side control section performs printing control of the slave side control section.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the multicolor printing system according to the third aspect, the control units can be distinguished into a master side and a slave side according to an electrical signal level according to a direct connection mode. It is characterized by:

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the multicolor printing system according to the third aspect, the control units can distinguish between a master side and a slave side by selection by an operator.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a multicolor printing system for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a multicolor printing system is configured by connecting printing apparatuses having the same type of configuration in a row. In the example shown in FIG. 1, printing apparatuses 1 and 2 having two plate cylinders as shown in FIG. 5 are connected in series, and a full-color image can be formed by summing up four colors using each plate cylinder. Has become. In the printing apparatuses 1 and 2, one of the paper output unit and the other paper supply unit is removed, and a transport unit B (see FIG. 6) for connecting the printing apparatuses is installed as in the example shown in FIG. Is done. When printing devices are connected in series,
A control unit 1A for printing control provided in each printing device;
2A is directly connected to a state in which information can be mutually transmitted and received. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration used for directly connecting the control units. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the control units 1A and 2A.
These are directly electrically connected to each other via a connector (for convenience, indicated by P or J meaning plug and jack), and in FIG. 3, terminal members or wiring portions (for convenience, indicated by reference numeral L) from the control units 1A and 2A. Are connected to each other through the connector.

In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the control units 1A and 2A in each printing apparatus are directly connected to a paper feeding tray T and a paper discharging tray T '(each of which is connected to one of the printing apparatuses). Is removed), and any one of the wall surfaces on which is located is selected. For this reason, a connector is provided on each wall surface, that is, the wall surface on which each tray is located, and it is up to the operator to determine which wall surface connector is directly connected. Directly connected printing devices enable printing control in the other control unit based on information from one control unit, so that the master and slave sides can be distinguished from each other so that this relationship can be set. You can do it.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration for automatically distinguishing between a master side and a slave side when a connector used for direct connection is connected. In FIG. 4, ports indicated by reference symbols P0 and P1 are provided in the control units 1A and 2A. In each of these ports, the control unit whose P0 port is at a low level is the master side, and the P1 port is at a low level. The control unit is on the slave side. With these settings,
When the connector (shown by the symbol CN for convenience) is connected,
In the control unit of the printing apparatus 2 having the paper feed tray T, P
When the 0 port is grounded, the signal level becomes low level, and this control unit 2A is recognized as the master side. On the side of the printing apparatus 1 having the discharge tray T ', the connector CN
Is connected, the P1 port is grounded, so that the signal level goes low, and the control section 1A is recognized as a slave side.

Information relating to print control by the control unit 2A on the master side has priority over the control unit 1A on the slave side, and the information can be centrally managed between the control units. The information here refers to the printing paper transport status, the number of prints, the image movement amount, the supply status, and the like in one printing apparatus, and these pieces of information are shared and managed.

The control unit 2A on the master side can also manage the control unit 1A on the slave side. Therefore, when fine adjustment concerning print control on the slave side is required, the control unit 2A on the master side is required. Can be implemented in
Thereby, it is not necessary to operate the control unit 1A on the slave side. The distinction between the master side and the slave side is based not only on the electric signal level due to the connection of the connector CN, but also on
Selection by the operator is also possible. In this case, the master side can be set to a printing device located near the operator, thereby enabling centralized management at a position where the operator can easily operate.

The information on the master-side control unit 2A can be displayed on the slave-side control unit 1A. In this case, an operation panel (reference numerals 1B, 2B,
B). Regarding this display, the control unit 1A on the slave side by the control unit 2A on the master side
Since A can be managed, it is possible to perform the control operation on the master side and not display on the slave side. As a result, it is possible to prevent a control operation from being performed erroneously on the slave side, and it is possible to reduce power consumption required for display.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of printing apparatuses are connected in series, the control units for printing control in each printing apparatus can be directly connected to each other, so that information can be centrally managed. It is possible to continuously control the printing paper moving in the path.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since information relating to print control can be shared, print control can be performed by one control unit and the other control unit. By operating the control unit of the printing apparatus, printing control including other printing apparatuses can be performed. Thereby, operability can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the master side and the slave side can be distinguished automatically or manually, and the master side can perform the print control in the slave side control section. When a change in control or the like occurs, it is no longer necessary to perform the change on the slave side, so that the operability relating to the print control can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the master side and the slave side can be selected according to the electric signal level when the control units are directly connected to each other, each of the above-mentioned claims can be performed without any special operation. It is possible to set the form of print control between the items described in the section.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the operator can select the master side and the slave side.
The master side can be selected in a state where the operator can easily operate. As a result, it is possible to reduce the power consumption on the slave side by performing printing control on the master side and giving priority to the information on the master side by the control section on the slave side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a continuous state of printing apparatuses used in a multicolor printing system for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a directly connected state between control units in the continuous state shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a direct connection state between control units in the continuous state shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration for distinguishing a master side and a slave side between control units.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a stencil printing apparatus.

6 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the stencil printing apparatuses shown in FIG. 5 are connected.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 printing device 1A, 2A control unit 1B, 2B operation panel having display unit CN, P, J connector

Claims (5)

[Claims] A printing apparatus having a plurality of printing cylinders capable of forming images of different colors is provided in series, and a conveying path of printing paper to the printing cylinder is continuously connected to form a composite image of a plurality of colors or a different image for each color. A multicolor printing system for performing image formation, wherein control units for printing control provided in the printing apparatus are directly connected to each other to enable centralized management of information. 2. The multi-color printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is capable of sharing information relating to print control.
A multicolor printing system characterized in that one information can be displayed on the other control unit. 3. The multi-color printing system according to claim 1, wherein the control units can be automatically or manually selected between a master side and a slave side, and the master side control unit is a slave side control unit. A multi-color printing system characterized by performing the following printing control. 4. A multi-color printing system according to claim 3, wherein said control units are distinguishable between a master side and a slave side according to an electrical signal level according to a direct connection mode. Color printing system. 5. The multicolor printing system according to claim 3, wherein said control units can distinguish between a master side and a slave side by selection by an operator.