JP2004148778A - Stencil printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stencil printer which is excellent in operability and can shorten the total printing time by reducing a waiting time at the time of re-plate-making and a replenishment frequency of a paper sheet. <P>SOLUTION: The stencil printer is provided with a plate-making means 5 to execute plate-making of an un-engraved master based on plate-making image data, a plurality of paper feeding parts 2, 3 and 4 to store the paper sheets P1, P2 and P3, and paper feeding means 15, 16 and 17 to feed the paper sheet from each paper feeding part. The stencil printer executes printing to the paper sheet by using a plate-made master 33. A plate-making data preparing part 9 to prepare a plurality of the plate-making image data and a storage means 10 to store each plate-making image data prepared at the plate-making data preparing part are provided on the stencil printer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a stencil printing apparatus that performs printing using a master that has been made, and more particularly, to a stencil printing apparatus that makes a master again during printing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Using a plate cylinder consisting of a porous support cylinder and a master having a laminated structure in which a porous support is bonded to a thermoplastic resin film, the thermoplastic resin film surface of the master is heated by a thermal head based on the plate making image data. After making a plate making master by melting and punching, it is wrapped around the plate cylinder, and an appropriate amount of ink is supplied to the inner peripheral surface of the plate cylinder by ink supply means provided inside the plate cylinder. 2. Description of the Related Art A digital thermosensitive stencil printing apparatus that performs printing by transferring ink exuded from a plate cylinder opening portion and a master perforation portion to a sheet by pressing a sheet against a plate cylinder with a pressing member is well known.
In the above-described stencil printing apparatus, sheets of various sizes are accommodated or placed in a sheet feeding unit such as a sheet feeding tray or a cassette in the same or different directions in order to prepare for diversification of printing. In the stencil printing apparatus, it is determined whether a sheet of a requested size and direction is set in the sheet feeding unit, and if a desired sheet is set, the sheet feeding unit in which the sheet is set is set. Select to create the prepress image data without changing the orientation or size of the image data, perform prepress, and if paper with only the matching size is set, rotate the image data by 90 degrees. Image data is created, and plate making is performed based on the plate making image data. In the stencil printing apparatus, printing is started after setting the number of prints at the time of printing.However, when the paper runs out, the printing is temporarily interrupted, and the paper feed unit in which the paper of the corresponding size and direction is set is searched, and the corresponding paper is searched. If there is a sheet, the sheet feeding section is selected and printing is restarted. If there is no corresponding sheet, printing is interrupted until sheets are supplied.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163, the plate making image data at the time of the first plate making for certain image data is stored in a storage unit, and when the number of prints reaches the limit permissible number of masters, printing is temporarily stopped even during printing, and the stored plate making is stored. A stencil printing apparatus that reprints a master using image data and resumes printing is described.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-199032
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a conventional stencil printing apparatus, when printing is interrupted due to running out of paper, printing is not resumed unless paper of the same size and direction as before the interruption is set, even if paper of the same size is set. Therefore, it is inconvenient to wait for the supply of new paper. In particular, when image data is input from a terminal to a stencil printing apparatus via a network, an operator rarely operates in front of the stencil printing apparatus, and printing is performed for a designated number of print copies using paper set in the stencil printing apparatus in advance. Is desirably completed.
In Patent Literature 1, the plate making image data used for the first plate making is stored in the storage unit and reused as plate making image data at the time of plate making. Therefore, it is not necessary to take in new image data for each plate making. However, in order to cope with a sheet in a different direction at the time of re-engraving, the stored engraving image data must be converted to the engraving image data rotated by 90 degrees, and the sheet setting direction differs from the sheet setting direction before interruption. There is a problem that it takes time to make a plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a stencil printing apparatus which has good operability and can reduce the waiting time at the time of plate making and the frequency of replenishment of sheets to shorten the total printing time.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a plate making means for making a plate making master based on plate making image data, a plurality of sheet feeding units for storing sheets, and a sheet feeding unit for feeding sheets from each sheet feeding unit. Means for performing printing using a master made on a sheet fed by the sheet feeding means, and a plate making data creating section for creating a plurality of plate making image data; and a plate making data creating section. A stencil printing apparatus having a storage unit for storing each of the perforated image data created in the above. It is preferable that the created plate-making image data be stored until printing of certain image data is completed.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the stencil printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the stencil image data created by the stencil data creation section includes first stencil image data in a predetermined direction corresponding to the sheet at the start of printing, and This is characterized in that the plate making image data is second plate making image data having a direction different from that of the plate making image data by 90 degrees.
[0007]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the stencil printing apparatus according to the second aspect, the detecting means for detecting the size and orientation of the paper in each paper feeding unit and the detecting means when the printing operation is stopped before the end of the specified number of prints. The information is compared with the information on the paper size and orientation at the start of printing, and if a paper of the same size and the same direction is detected, a re-mastering master is created by the plate-making means using the first plate-making image data. And a control unit for performing a re-engraving process in which a re-engraving master is created by the engraving unit using the second engraving image data when sheets of the same size and in different directions are detected.
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the stencil printing apparatus according to the third aspect, further comprising a mode selection unit for selecting a re-engraving mode for performing a re-engraving process, wherein the control unit selects the re-engraving mode by the mode selection unit. It is characterized in that re-engraving is performed.
[0009]
According to a fifth aspect, in the stencil printing apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, there is provided a means for detecting a remaining number of prints, and the control means compares the remaining number of prints with a preset repermissible number of prints, When the remaining number of prints exceeds the allowable number of reprints, a reprint master is created.
[0010]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the stencil printing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, there is provided an allowable number setting means for arbitrarily setting the allowable number of reprints.
[0011]
According to a seventh aspect, in the stencil printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the stencil printing apparatus further includes an image reading unit that reads an image of the original, and the stencil making data creation unit includes an image data read by the image reading unit. It is characterized in that plate making image data is created based on the
[0012]
According to an eighth aspect, in the stencil printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the stencil printing apparatus has an image data input unit, and the stencil making data creation unit is configured to execute the processing based on the image data input from the image data input unit. It is characterized in that plate making image data is created.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes an image reading unit 1, a plurality of paper feeding units 2, 3, 4, a plate making unit 5, a printing unit 6, a paper discharging unit 7, and a plate discharging unit 8.
[0014]
The image reading section 1 is disposed on an upper portion of a main body 11 of the stencil printing apparatus, scans and reads an image of a document 13 placed on a contact glass 12 and a document table 14, and converts the read data into image data. And
[0015]
The paper feeding unit 2 is a tray mounted on the right side of the apparatus main body 11 and has paper P1 loaded thereon. A paper feed roller group 15 serving as a paper feed unit is disposed above the paper P1 so that the paper P1 is fed toward the printing unit 6 by being rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown). It is configured.
[0016]
The paper feed units 3 and 4 are paper feed trays provided at the lower part of the apparatus main body 11, and each tray stores sheets P2 and P3 of different sizes. Sheet feed rollers 16 and 17 serving as sheet feeding means are disposed above the sheets P2 and P3, and are rotated by a drive motor (not shown) to move the sheets P2 and P3 toward the printing unit 6. It is configured to feed paper. The printing units 2, 3, and 4 are provided with detecting means 18, 19, and 20 for detecting the sizes and setting directions of the sheets P1, P2, and P3. These detecting means detect the positions of the well-known end fences 21, 22, 23 and side fences 24, 25, 26 provided in each of the paper feed units 2, 3, 4 to detect the size and direction of each paper. I do. In this specification, the sheets P1 to P3 may be collectively referred to as a sheet P.
[0017]
The plate-making means 4 makes a perforated plate by heating a non-plate-made master with a thermal head based on the plate-making image data, cuts the plate made to a predetermined length in accordance with the size of the original, and cuts the master 33 for one plate (hereinafter referred to as a master 33). , "Platemaking master 33"). The waste plate section 8 peels the plate-making master 33 having completed printing from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 30 and stores it in a compressed state.
[0018]
The printing unit 6 includes a plate cylinder 30 on which a plate-making master 33 is wound and rotated on its outer peripheral surface, an ink supply unit 31 for supplying ink to the inside of the plate cylinder, and a fed paper sheet on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 30. The sheet P1, P2, and P3, which are mainly constituted by a press roller 32 or the like as a pressing member for pressing, are transported to a transfer unit 34 formed between the plate cylinder 30 and the press roller 32, Then, an ink image corresponding to the plate-making image formed on the plate-made master 33 is printed on each sheet by being sandwiched by the press rollers 32. A registration roller pair 27 is disposed on the right side of the transfer unit 34 on the paper entry side into the transfer unit 34. The registration roller pair 27 is driven by a drive motor (not shown) so as to feed out each sheet at a timing when the leading edge of the plate-making image of the plate-making master 33 coincides with the leading edge of the image forming area of the sheet.
[0019]
A paper discharge unit 7 is provided on the left side of the printing unit 5. The paper discharge unit 7 includes a peeling claw 41 arranged close to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 30, a transport belt 42 wound around a pair of rollers one of which is a driving side, a suction fan 43 for applying suction force to the transport belt 42, A discharge tray 44 for receiving the sheet conveyed by the conveyance belt 42;
[0020]
According to the stencil printing apparatus having such a configuration, the plate cylinder 30 in which the plate-making master 33 made by the plate making means 5 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 30 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown). Then, when the paper P is fed, the transfer unit 34 receives a pressing force from the press roller 32 and is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 30 to print an ink image corresponding to the plate making image. The sheet that has passed through the transfer unit 34 is adsorbed by the conveyor belt 42, is conveyed toward the paper discharge tray 44, and is sequentially discharged onto this tray.
[0021]
Next, a characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the stencil printing apparatus includes a stencil data creating unit 9 for creating a plurality of stencil image data to be used for the hot stencil making in the stencil making means 5, and a stencil image creating unit 9 for each stencil image data created by the stencil data creating unit 9. Storage means 10 for storing, control means 50, re-printing mode key 51 as a mode selection means for selecting a re-printing mode for performing re-printing processing, allowable printing as an allowable number setting means for arbitrarily setting the allowable number of re-printing sheets. A number setting key 52 and a counter 53 as means for detecting the number of remaining prints are provided.
[0022]
The prepress data creation unit 9 includes first prepress image data in a predetermined direction corresponding to the sheet P1, P2, or P3 at the start of printing, and a second prepress image different in direction by 90 degrees from the first prepress image data. And data are created based on the image data, and stored in the storage means 10, respectively. The image data in the present embodiment refers to data read from the document 13 by the image reading unit 1. The predetermined orientation with respect to the sheet is a direction in which an image can be printed on the sheet P in the same direction as the document 13.
[0023]
The control means 50 is composed of a well-known computer, and the storage means 10, the plate making means 5, the counter 53, and the detection means 18, 19, 20 are connected by signal lines (not shown). When the printing operation is stopped before the end of the specified number of prints, the control unit 50 compares the detection information of the detection units 18, 19, 20 with the information on the size and orientation of the sheet at the start of printing, and When a sheet in the same direction is detected, a re-mastering master is created by the plate-making means 5 using the first plate-making image data. , A re-engraving process for creating a re-engraving master by the pre-engraving means 5 and a normal printing process in which re-engraving is not performed. The specified number of prints refers to a desired number of prints input by the ten keys 54 at the start of printing.
[0024]
When the printing operation is started by operating the plate making / printing key 55 for starting the operation from plate making to printing, the counter 53 counts down the printing specified number and controls the remaining print number information. 50 to provide.
[0025]
The re-engraving mode key 51 is an on / off switch, and when turned on, the re-engraving mode is set. The permissible number-of-prints setting key 52 is an on / off switch. When a numerical value corresponding to a predetermined number is input from the numeric keypad in the on state, the numerical value is set in the control means 50 as the permissible number of prints. The allowable number of prints is the number of prints in consideration of the cost of re-engraving. If the number of remaining prints is one, reprinting for this one is expensive in terms of cost, so it is possible to set the number of sheets at a reasonable cost even after reprinting. Of course, if the allowable number of prints is set to zero, the cost is neglected, but printing is interrupted due to paper shortage, and if the corresponding paper P size is set in the apparatus, the plate is automatically reprinted. Become like Although the allowable number of prints varies depending on the paper size and the amount of image data, that is, the perforated area for the blank master, it is considered that about five sheets are appropriate.
[0026]
In this embodiment, a re-engraving mode key 51, an allowable number of prints setting key 52, a numeric keypad 54, a pre-engraving / printing key 55, and a stop key 56 for re-operating to stop the pre-engraving operation and the printing operation are provided on the operation panel 60 of the stencil printing apparatus. And connected to the control means 50 by a signal line (not shown).
[0027]
Next, the characteristic operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
In the flowchart of FIG. 3, a printing condition is determined in step S1. In this step, the size and direction of the paper P used for printing, the specified number of prints, the print mode, and the allowable number of prints are input. When the determination of the printing conditions is completed, the process proceeds to step S2 to operate the prepress / print key 55 to start the printing process. In the printing process, the image reading unit 1 starts reading an image from the document 13 and proceeds to step S3 to transmit the read image data to the data processing unit on the host side, and then proceeds to step S4. The control unit 50 may be used as the data processing unit, or may be provided separately from the control unit 50.
[0028]
In step S4, the plate making data creating section 9 serving as a controller creates first plate making image data and second plate making image data from the image data, and temporarily stores the created plate making image data in the storage means 10 in step S5. save. The plate making image data stored here is both the first and second data rotated in the designated direction and 90 degrees.
[0029]
After the data is stored, it is determined in step S6 whether or not the sheet P of the designated size is set in the apparatus by comparing the information from the detecting units 18, 19, and 20 with the information set in step S1. Is done. As a result, if the sheet P of the designated size is not set in the apparatus before the start of printing, the process proceeds to step S7, where the sheet is replenished by the operator. If the sheet P of the designated size is present, the process proceeds to step S8. move on.
[0030]
In step S8, it is determined whether or not a sheet in the designated direction is present in the apparatus by comparing information from the detection units 18, 19, and 20 with information set in step S1. If there is a sheet in the designated direction, the process proceeds to step S10 to perform plate making using the image data in the designated direction, that is, the first plate making image data. If there is no sheet in the designated direction, go to step S9. Then, plate making is performed using image data rotated by 90 degrees from the designated direction, that is, second plate making image data, and after each step, the process proceeds to step S11.
[0031]
In step S11, printing of the specified number of copies is started, and in step S12, it is determined whether or not printing of the specified number of copies is completed based on data from the counter 53. When the counter 53 has no remaining number, that is, when the counter 53 indicates zero information, it is determined that the printing of a predetermined number of copies has been completed, and when the printing of the designated number of copies has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S13 to perform the reproduction plate process.
[0032]
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, in step T1, it is determined whether or not a sheet P of the same size and in the same direction as the plate used for plate making is in a sheet feed tray different from the tray where the sheet P has run out. That is, here, it is determined whether the size and direction of the paper P at the start of printing and whether the paper P of the same size and the same direction is set in the apparatus. If there is a sheet P in a sheet tray other than the sheet tray that has run out of paper, the process proceeds to step T2, where the sheet P is fed from the corresponding sheet tray and printing is resumed and continued. In step T8, if the printing of the specified number of copies is completed, the printing is completed. If the printing of the specified number of copies is not completed, the process returns to step T1 and printing is continued until the number of printed copies is completed.
[0033]
On the other hand, if there is no paper P in the same size and the same direction as at the start of printing in a paper feed tray other than the paper feed tray in which the paper P has run out, the process proceeds to step T3, where the paper P having the same size as the It is determined whether the paper P is on another tray. That is, it is determined whether there is a sheet P of the same size as the sheet P at the start of printing in a sheet tray other than the sheet tray in which the sheet P has run out. Here, if there is no sheet P of the same size, the process proceeds to step T9 where the sheet is replenished by the operator, and then proceeds to step T8 where printing is continued until printing of the specified number of copies is completed. When the number of print copies ends, this control also ends.
[0034]
If there is a sheet P of the same size, the process proceeds to step T4, where it is determined whether the re-engraving mode is valid. If the re-engraving mode is set and is valid, the process proceeds to step T5, where it is determined whether or not the remaining number of prints is equal to or more than the permissible number of re-engraved prints. Are performed, the process proceeds to step T8. If the remaining number of prints is equal to or greater than the permissible reprinting number, the process proceeds to step T6, where the 90-degree rotated platemaking image data, that is, the second platemaking image data stored in the temporary storage device as the storage unit 10 is used. The re-engraving is performed and the process proceeds to step T8. Then, in step T8, whether the printing of the designated number of copies has been completed is determined, and if the printing of the designated number of copies has been completed, this control is terminated. If the printing has not been reached, the process returns to step T1 to return to step T1. Printing is performed.
[0035]
If the paper runs out before the specified number of copies are printed, if the paper is set in the same size and in a different direction even if there is no paper of the same size and size, the plate is re-made. Again, plate making is performed again using the second plate making image data created beforehand at the start of printing, so that the operability is good and the frequency of sheet supply is reduced, and the waiting time is also reduced. Since the second plate making image data is created together with the first plate making image data, the waiting time is shorter at the time of re-plate making as compared with the case where the plate making image data is created after the original image is taken. The permissible number of prints can be adjusted by operating the permissible number of prints setting key 52 and inputting a numerical value using the numeric keypad, so that the permissible number of prints can be changed according to the size of the paper, thereby reducing costs.
[0036]
In the present embodiment, a plurality of plate making image data is created by the plate making data creating unit 9 using image data from the image reading unit 1 as image data, but the input destination of the image data is not limited to the image reading unit 1. . For example, when the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has a network terminal serving as an image data input unit indicated by reference numeral 70 and is connected to a certain network via a cable, the stencil printing apparatus is not shown connected to this network. The image data to be printed may be transmitted from a terminal such as a personal computer to the stencil printing apparatus and input, and a plurality of stencil image data may be created by the stencil data creation unit 9 using the input image data. . In this case, if there is a distance between the stencil printing apparatus and the terminal, the frequency of the operator going to the apparatus is reduced, so that the apparatus has better operability.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a plate making data creating unit for creating a plurality of plate making image data and a storage unit for storing each plate making image data created by the plate making data creating unit are provided. There is no need to create plate making image data, the operability is good, and the waiting time is reduced.
[0038]
According to the present invention, the plate making image data created by the plate making data creating unit is such that the first plate making image data in a predetermined direction corresponding to the sheet at the start of printing, the first plate making image data and the direction thereof by 90 degrees. Since the second plate-making image data is different, if the orientation of the printing paper is different from that at the time of printing, plate-making can be performed using the second plate-making image data, and the plate-making time and waiting time can be reduced. it can.
[0039]
According to the present invention, if the paper runs out before the printing of the specified number of copies is completed, if the paper is set in the same size and in a different direction even if there is no paper of the same size and the same direction, Since the re-engraving is performed using the second pre-engraved image data created in advance at the time of printing when re-engraving is performed, the operability is good, the frequency of replenishing the paper is reduced, and the time required to execute the re-engraving is reduced. The waiting time can also be reduced.
[0040]
According to the present invention, the permissible number of prints can be adjusted by the permissible number of prints setting means, so that the number of permissible prints can be changed according to the size of the paper, and the cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a main part of a stencil printing machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system related to a plate making process performed by the stencil printing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the stencil printing apparatus up to a re-engraving process.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a plate making process.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image reading parts 2,3,4 Plural paper feeding parts 5 Plate making means 9 Plate making data making part 10 Storage means 13 Documents 15,16,17 Paper feeding means 18,19,20 Detecting means 33 Master made master 50 Control means 51 Mode selection means 53 Means for detecting the number of remaining prints 52 Permissible number setting means 70 Image data input sections P1, P2, P3 Paper

Claims (8)

Plate making means for making a plate-making master based on plate making image data, a plurality of paper feeding units for storing paper, and paper feeding means for feeding paper from each paper feeding unit; Stencil printing machine that performs printing using a master made on a printed sheet,
A stencil printing apparatus, comprising: a stencil making data creating unit for creating a plurality of stencil making image data; and storage means for storing each stencil making image data created by the stencil making data creating unit. The stencil printing machine according to claim 1,
The plate making data forming section forms first plate making image data in a predetermined direction corresponding to the sheet at the start of printing, and second plate making image data having a direction different from the first plate making image data by 90 degrees. A stencil printing apparatus, characterized in that: The stencil printing machine according to claim 2,
Detecting means for detecting the size and orientation of the paper in each of the paper feeding units;
When the printing operation is stopped before the end of the specified number of prints, the detection information of the detection unit is compared with the information of the paper size and orientation at the start of printing, and when the paper of the same size and the same direction is detected, Creates a re-engraving master using the first engraving image data using the pre-engraving means, and reprints the master using the second engraving image data using the second engraving image data when paper of the same size and in a different direction is detected. A stencil printing apparatus comprising: a control unit for performing a re-engraving process for creating a master. The stencil printing machine according to claim 3,
A mode selection unit for selecting a re-engraving mode for performing the re-engraving process,
The stencil printing apparatus, wherein the control unit performs plate-making when the plate-making mode is selected by the mode selection unit. The stencil printing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
Having means for detecting the number of remaining prints,
The control unit compares the remaining number of prints and a preset reprint allowable print number, and when the remaining number of prints exceeds the reprint allowable print number, creates a reprint master. Stencil printing machine. The stencil printing apparatus according to claim 5,
A stencil printing apparatus comprising an allowable number of sheets setting means for arbitrarily setting the allowable number of reprinting sheets. A stencil printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An image reading unit that reads an image of the document,
The stencil printing device, wherein the stencil data creating unit creates stencil image data based on the image data read by the image reading unit. A stencil printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Having an image data input unit,
The stencil printing apparatus, wherein the stencil making data creator creates stencil making image data based on the image data input from the image data inputting part.

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