JP2007331219A - Printing machine and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing machine and a printing method which enable simpler and more accurate transfer of ink than conventional techniques for suppressing swelling of a blanket. <P>SOLUTION: Based on the amount of displacement of the surface part of a blanket cylinder 2 that is measured, the height of at least either a plate platen 5 or a printing platen 6 is relatively adjusted for the blanket cylinder 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing press and a printing method, and relates to an offset printing apparatus, precision printing using a blanket for ink transfer, and to fine lines and thin film printing. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique applied to an image forming apparatus capable of forming a liquid crystal color filter and other electronic circuit patterns.

  Conventional printing methods include offset printing, gravure printing, screen printing, and inkjet printing.

  The offset printing method is a printing method in which ink is applied to a plate, the printing pattern is once transferred (off) to the blanket using the hydrophilicity and lipophilicity of the plate material, and transferred (set) to the printing material. There are well known flat plates with and without water. In the field of precision printing, waterless lithographic offset is used for color filters in liquid crystal displays.

  Gravure printing is a highly productive printing method and is widely used for general commercial printing. However, it is not suitable for fine line pattern printing or printing that requires film thickness, and is hardly used in the field of precision pattern printing. Gravure offset printing using intaglio has been developed as a color filter for liquid crystal displays and other fine line pattern printing, but has not yet been mass-produced.

  Screen printing is widely used for thick film pattern printing and circuit fabrication using conductive paste. However, there is a limit to the fine line pattern due to the relationship between screen wrinkles and ink. In addition, if printing is continued, there is a problem that the screen wrinkles extend and the positional accuracy is shifted.

  Ink-jet printing has come to be noticed that functional ink can be ejected based on position information input in advance by computer control, etc., and that high-precision and high-speed printing is possible. Process management is difficult due to the lifetime. In addition, direct circuit pattern drawing has recently been performed using conductive ink using nano metal particles, but in any case, it is still difficult to mass-produce large areas for pattern production of small areas.

  In recent years, the reverse printing method has been used for precision printing as thin film and fine line printing. The reverse printing method is a printing method in which low-viscosity ink is applied to a blanket mainly composed of silicon, unnecessary patterns of the ink are removed with a relief printing plate having a negative pattern, and the pattern remaining on the blanket is transferred to a printing material. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2000-289320 A JP 2001-56405 A

  In the above-described reversal printing method, when a low-viscosity ink is applied to the blanket, the solvent contained in the ink penetrates the blanket and causes the blanket to swell. The blanket coated with the ink contacts the convex part of the plate and transfers unnecessary ink to the plate and removes it from the blanket, but the blanket swells and swells, so that the bottom of the concave part other than the convex part of the plate also The blanket contacts undesirably, and the ink that should remain on the blanket is transferred to the plate, and a normal pattern cannot be transferred. Although it is conceivable to make the depth of the concave portion of the plate sufficiently larger than the amount of swelling of the blanket, depending on the pattern to be printed, the depth of the concave portion cannot be made deeper than the amount of swelling of the blanket.

  In order to transfer the ink from the blanket, it is necessary to permeate the blanket with an appropriate solvent, but the following techniques (1) to (3) are proposed and put into practical use. (1) A technique for absorbing the permeated solvent, (2) a technique for absorbing the solvent to the appropriate amount by the blanket, and (3) a technique for adjusting the slackness of the blanket by the swelling of the blanket. However, these techniques (1) to (3) are all techniques for suppressing the swelling of the blanket, and there are problems that the printing accuracy is unstable, the treatment becomes complicated, and the mechanism becomes complicated. It was.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing machine and a printing method capable of transferring ink easily and accurately as compared with a conventional technique for suppressing swelling of a blanket.

The present invention is a printing machine that applies ink to a rotatable blanket cylinder, presses the relief plate on the ink application surface, and transfers the ink of the blanket cylinder excluding the portion crimped to the relief plate to the printing medium,
A printing machine comprising measuring means for measuring a displacement amount of a surface portion of the blanket cylinder.

  According to the present invention, on the basis of the amount of displacement measured by the measuring means, the height of at least one of the letterpress platen and the printing platen of the printing medium is relative to the blanket cylinder. It is characterized by being configured to be adjustable.

  The present invention further includes an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of at least one of the platen plate and the platen plate relative to the blanket cylinder, and a drive source that drives the adjustment mechanism. It is characterized by having.

  The present invention is further characterized by further comprising a drying means capable of drying the ink applied to the blanket cylinder.

Further, the present invention is a printing method in which ink is applied to a rotatable blanket cylinder, the relief printing plate is pressed against the ink application surface, and the ink in the blanket cylinder excluding the portion crimped to the relief printing plate is transferred to a printing medium. ,
A measuring step of measuring the amount of displacement of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder;
Adjustment that relatively adjusts the height of at least one of the letterpress platen and the printing platen with respect to the blanket cylinder based on the amount of displacement measured in the measuring step A printing method comprising the steps of:

  According to the present invention, since the amount of displacement of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder is measured by the measuring means, it is possible to grasp the amount of swelling of the blanket. The amount of swelling, the height of the blanket cylinder, the height of the surface plate, etc. can be adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to always stably print thin lines and thin films with a constant printing pressure. Ink can be transferred easily and accurately compared to the conventional technology for suppressing the swelling of the blanket.

  According to the present invention, the height of at least one of the platen surface plate and the platen surface plate is adjusted relative to the blanket cylinder based on the measured displacement amount. The ink can be transferred to the printing material in a shorter time compared to the technique of suppressing the swelling of the blanket only by drying the conventional ink. Therefore, the cycle time required for transfer can be shortened. Therefore, mass production of the transferred material can be achieved by the printing machine.

  According to the present invention, the relative height of at least one of the platen plate and the platen plate relative to the blanket cylinder can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism. Since the height adjustment can be performed by driving the adjustment mechanism with a drive source, the adjustment operation itself can be simplified and the operating rate of the printing press can be increased as compared with that of the prior art.

  Further, according to the present invention, the swelling of the blanket can be suppressed as much as possible by the drying means capable of drying the ink applied to the blanket cylinder, and the frequency of adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder, the height of the surface plate, etc. Can be reduced. Therefore, the operating rate of the printing press can be increased.

  According to the invention, in the measuring step, the displacement amount of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder is measured. In the adjustment step, the height of at least one of the platen surface plate and the platen surface plate is adjusted relative to the blanket cylinder based on the measured displacement amount. Therefore, it is possible to always stably print thin lines and thin films with a constant printing pressure. Other effects similar to those of claims 1 and 2 are obtained.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, parts corresponding to matters described in the forms preceding each form may be denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted. When only a part of the configuration is described, the other parts of the configuration are the same as those described in the preceding section. Not only the combination of the parts specifically described in each embodiment, but also the embodiments can be partially combined as long as the combination does not hinder. The printing press according to the present embodiment is applied to an offset printing press capable of forming, for example, three primary color filters. However, it is not necessarily limited to only the three primary color filters. For example, the present invention can be applied to the production of color filters of two colors or four colors, fine lines, thin film printing, electronic circuit patterns, and the like. The following description includes a description of the printing method.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a printing press 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the printing press 1, and FIG. 1B is a displacement amount of a blanket cylinder 2. It is a figure showing the state which is measuring.

  The printing press 1 according to this embodiment includes a printing press main body 3, a blanket 2a, that is, a blanket cylinder 2 around which a rubber sheet is wound, and a drying unit 8 (see FIG. 5) capable of drying ink applied to the blanket cylinder 2. A coater gantry moving stage 4 (simply referred to as “stage 4”), a platen surface plate 5, a platen plate 6 and a control device 7 (see FIG. 5) are included. The stage 4 is configured to be movable relative to the printing machine body 3. The direction in which the relative movement is possible is defined as the x direction, the vertical direction is defined as the z direction, and the direction orthogonal to the x and z directions is defined as the y direction. In FIG. 1, the x, y, and z directions are represented by arrows x, y, and z, respectively. The blanket cylinder 2 is supported so as to be rotatable about the y-direction axis, and is disposed on the other end side of the stage 4 in the x direction.

  The stage 4 is provided with a priming roller 9, a coater dip tank 10, a coater gantry 11, and a slide mechanism 12. The priming roller 9 is also supported so as to be rotatable around the y-direction axis. The coater dip tank 10 is disposed on one end side of the stage 4 in the x direction, and the priming roller 9 is disposed near the middle of the stage 4 in the x direction.

  The coater gantry 11 includes a coater head 13 and a non-contact sensor 14 (which will be described later) as measurement means provided integrally with the coater head 13. A slide mechanism 12 is provided at the upper end of the stage 4. The slide mechanism 12 has a function of moving the coater head 13 and the non-contact sensor 14 along the x direction. The coater head 13 and the non-contact sensor 14 can be positioned with respect to the coater dip tank 10, the priming roller 9, and the blanket cylinder 2 by the slide mechanism 12, a driving source (not shown) and the control device 7. FIG. 1A shows a form in which the coater head 13 and the non-contact sensor 14 are arranged at positions facing the priming roller 9. FIG. 1B shows a form in which the coater head 13 and the non-contact sensor 14 face the blanket cylinder 2.

On the platen plate 5, a plate as a relief plate is positioned and supported in the x and y directions. That is, a plurality of alignment marks for correcting misalignment are attached to the surface portion of the plate, and these alignment marks are used as a plurality of charge coupled devices (abbreviated as CCD: abbreviated as CCD) provided in the printing press main body 3.
Charge Coupled Device) Take images with each camera. The control device 7 calculates deviation amounts of a plurality of alignment marks from a predetermined reference position from the imaging result. The plate is positioned and supported on the platen surface plate 5 in order to correct the shift amount.

  A substrate as a printing medium is positioned and supported on the platen plate 6 in the x and y directions. The substrate is made of a printing material such as glass. The printing material is not necessarily limited to glass, and may be a film, for example. The patterns printed on the printing medium are each imaged by a plurality of CCD cameras provided in the printer main body 3. The control device 7 calculates a deviation amount of the printed pattern from a predetermined reference displacement from the imaging result. The substrate is positioned and supported on the platen 6 to correct the deviation.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the relationship between the blanket cylinder 2 and the non-contact sensor 14. This will be described with reference to FIG. The non-contact sensor 14 is a non-contact sensor that measures the amount of displacement of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder 2 and is fixed to the yz plane portion of the coater head 13 that does not impede printing. Since the non-contact sensor 14 is provided, the surface displacement, that is, the swelling of the blanket 2a can always be measured in real time, such as the state of ink coating and the state after transfer. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the non-contact sensor 14 is disposed on one side in the z direction indicated by the arrow z1 of the blanket cylinder 2, but the non-contact sensor 14 is an obstacle to printing. If it is a position which does not give, it does not necessarily need to be arrange | positioned in the z direction one side of the blanket cylinder 2. FIG. Even in this case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing a mechanism 15 for adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder 2, FIG. 3 (a) is a sectional view of the main part, FIG. 3 (b) is a side view, and FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing showing other mechanism 15A which adjusts the height of. As shown in FIG. 3, the blanket cylinder 2 is supported by a pair of blanket cylinder bearings 16 (simply referred to as bearings 16). Slide guides 17 and 18 extending in the z direction are provided at both end portions of each blanket cylinder bearing 16. A tip portion 20 a of the screw portion 20 extending in one direction in the z direction with respect to the base 19 supports the bearing while being in contact with the lower end portion of each bearing 16. The height of each bearing 16 and the blanket cylinder 2 can be adjusted by rotating the screw portion 20 using a spanner or the like (a drive source may be used).

  As shown in FIG. 4, in another adjustment mechanism 15 </ b> A, the taper member 21 supports the bearing in a state where the taper member 21 is in contact with the lower end portion of each bearing 16 </ b> A. The taper member 21 is moved in one direction or the other in the y direction by rotating the screw portion 22 with respect to the base 19A using a spanner or the like (a drive source may be used). Therefore, the height adjustment of each bearing 16A and the blanket cylinder 2 can be performed.

  In this embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 15 or another adjustment mechanism 15A is used to adjust the blanket cylinder 2 in one or the other in the z direction. However, such an adjustment mechanism 15 or other adjustment mechanism 15A is used as the plate. The platen 5 and the platen plate 6 can be used to adjust one or the other in the z direction. In the present embodiment, a motor or a cylinder is applied as a manual or drive source, but is not necessarily limited to a motor or a cylinder. In addition to the threaded portion and the taper member as the adjustment mechanism, for example, an eccentric shaft may be used so that the blanket cylinder is moved in one direction or the other in the z direction by a motor, an air cylinder, or the like. Even in such a case, the same effects as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the printing press 1 according to the present embodiment. The control device 7 of the printing press 1 according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit 25 (abbreviated as CPU: Central Processing).
Unit), ROM 26 (ROM: Read Only Memory) and RAM 27 (RAM: Random)
And a bus 28, an input / output interface 29, a controller 30, and first to fifth drive circuits 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35. The non-contact sensor 14 is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via a controller 30 that digitizes analog output.

  An output device 36 is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via the first drive circuit 31. The output device 36 may be a display or a printer. A drive source 37 of the adjusting mechanism 15 (15A) for adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder 2 in the z direction is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via the second drive circuit 32. A drive source 38 of an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of the platen surface plate 5 in the z direction is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via a third drive circuit 33. A drive source 39 of an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of the platen 6 in the z direction is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via a fourth drive circuit 34. The drying means 8 is electrically connected to the input / output interface 29 via the fifth drive circuit 35.

  The ROM 26 stores a program for adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder 2 and the like based on the measurement result obtained by the non-contact sensor 14. The CPU 25 calculates the height of the adjustment target. The RAM 27 temporarily stores calculation results and the like. The CPU 25 displays the calculation result on the output device 36 via the bus 28, the input / output interface 29, and the first drive circuit 31. The CPU 25 sends a signal to the drive source 37 for the blanket cylinder via the second drive circuit 32 and the like, sends a signal to the drive source 38 for the platen plate via the third drive circuit 33 and the like, and the fourth drive circuit. A signal is sent to a drive source 39 of the printing platen via 34 or the like.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the color filter manufacturing method step by step. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the organic colorant 40, which is ink, is applied to the blanket 2a by the die coater 13. 6 (b) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the organic colorant 40 is partially attached to the convex portion 41a of the plate 41 and removed from the surface of the blanket 2, and FIG. 6 (c) is the surface of the substrate 42. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which transfers the organic coloring agent 40 which remains on the surface of the blanket 2a.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the die coater 13 causes the liquid organic colorant 40 to flow out from the gap between the opposing dies so that the organic colorant 40 forms a uniform layer on the surface of the blanket 2a. Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the organic colorant 40 is partially attached to the convex portion 41a of the plate 41 and removed from the surface of the blanket 2a, the surface of the blanket 2a has a pixel shape. The corresponding organic colorant 40 remains. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6C, the organic colorant 40 remaining on the surface of the blanket 2a is transferred to the surface of the substrate 42 to form a portion to be an individual colored layer.

  The blanket 2a has a roller shape, and its rotational position is controlled with high accuracy. Relative alignment with the blanket 2a, the plate 41, and the substrate 42 can be precisely performed by a method of forming a positioning pattern in advance. Instead of the organic colorant 40, a material suitable for patterning can be used.

  Application of the organic colorant 40 to the blanket 2a made of silicon rubber is not limited to the case of using the die coater 13 shown in FIG. 6A, but any other coater such as a CAP coater or a roll coater. May be used. The CAP coater applies ink corresponding to an organic colorant with a surface tension from below, for example. The roll coater applies ink through a gap between the rolls.

  In FIG. 6A, the organic colorant 40 is applied with a predetermined film thickness while rotating the blanket 2 made of silicon rubber. The viscosity of the organic colorant 40 is suitably from 1 mPa · s to 50 mPa · s, preferably from 1 mPa · s to 20 mPa · s. In FIG. 6B, the plate 41 is brought into contact with the blanket 2 a to which the organic colorant 40 is applied, and the organic colorant 40 in the non-pixel portion is transferred to the convex portion 41 a of the plate 41.

  In FIG. 6C, the organic colorant 40 remaining on the blanket 2a is transferred to the surface of the substrate 42, which is a printing medium, to form pixels for one color. Thereafter, the transfer is repeated a plurality of times for each color primary color necessary for pixel formation. The organic colorant 40 transferred to the printing medium for each color may be dried. However, in order to increase production efficiency, it is preferable to dry after repeating the transfer a required number of times. The blanket 2a made of silicon rubber is used to reliably transfer the organic colorant 40 to the convex portions 41a of the plate 41 or the surface of the substrate 42 as the printing body by utilizing the resin repellent function and the peeling function. Because.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder 2 and the like based on the measurement result obtained by the non-contact sensor 14. For example, this process is started under the condition that the main power supply of the printing press 1 is turned on. Unless otherwise specified, the control subject of this process is the CPU 25. After the start of this process, the process proceeds to step a1, and the displacement amount of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder 2 is measured. Next, the process proceeds to step a2, and whether or not the z-direction adjustment of the blanket cylinder 2, the platen surface plate 5, and the platen plate 6 is necessary is determined based on the swelling state of the blanket 2a described later. The process ends when the determination is “NO”. If it is determined that the adjustment is necessary, the process proceeds to step a3 to adjust the height of the necessary adjustment target in the z direction. Thereafter, this process is terminated.

  The printing pressure is conventionally managed by the “nip width” generated by bringing the blanket into contact with the printing / plate surface plate. In this embodiment, the measured value of the surface displacement of the blanket 2a and the printing / plate setting are controlled. Quantitative control can be performed by the height of the panel.

  The surface displacement of the blanket 2 before applying ink to the blanket 2a indicates the thickness of each blanket and the flatness of the blanket 2a. Therefore, it can be managed as the inspection value of the thickness and flatness of the blanket 2.

[Example]
The printing machine body 3 was based on the OH-600A3 type Ekter printing machine manufactured by Kousyo Co., Ltd. When the surface displacement of the blanket 2a is measured by installing a high-precision visual displacement meter “Z300-S5” manufactured by OMRON Corporation as the non-contact sensor 14 on the coater gantry 11, the non-contact sensor 14 is placed on the top of the blanket by the control device 7. Move to. The blanket cylinder 2 is rotated, and the thickness of the blanket 2a is measured only in the area to be measured. The displacement output of the non-contact sensor 14 is digitized by the controller “Z300-VC10 V3”, inputted to the control device 7, and outputted by the output device 36.

(Measurement of initial displacement of blanket 2a)
FIG. 8 is a chart showing the swelling state of the blanket 2a. The surface displacement of the blanket 2a is measured while moving the coater gantry 11 to the top of the blanket and rotating the blanket 2a. This initial value represents the thickness of the blanket 2a and the flatness of the blanket 2a. See Fig. 8 before coating. This chart shows that the blanket 2a becomes thicker when the value of the Y-axis becomes negative, and the X-axis direction shows the flatness of the blanket 2a by the displacement with respect to the rotational direction of the blanket 2a. The data of the swelling value of the blanket 2a is measured at a constant interval δ (for example, δ = 30 mm).

(About ink coating and ink transfer to the blanket 2a)
Next, ink is applied to the blanket 2a. The coater gantry 11 is moved to the top of the blanket, and while rotating the blanket 2a, ink is ejected from the coater head 13 to uniformly coat the blanket surface. The coated ink is subjected to plate transfer and printing transfer depending on printing conditions, and a pattern is formed on the printing material. When the blanket 2a is new, the solvent contained in the ink rapidly penetrates into the blanket 2a, indicating a state of “piling” in which the ink does not leave the blanket 2a. In this case, a strong adhesive tape is used, and the ink remaining on the blanket surface is peeled off from the blanket 2a. Repeating ink application and transfer to the blanket 2a eliminates “pyling” and enables stable printing. Depending on the ink physical properties, “piling” may not occur.

(About measurement of blanket surface displacement)
When printing becomes stable, blanket surface displacement is measured. The coater gantry 11 is moved to fix the laser displacement meter on the top of the blanket. The surface displacement of the blanket 2a is measured while rotating the blanket 2a. See Fig. 8 after coating. FIG. 8 shows the blanket surface displacement after repeating “ink coating-transfer” every ten sheets. When “coating-transfer” increases, the blanket 2a swells, and the coating start point indicates that the amount of swelling is large because of a large amount of ink. By reducing the height of the platen in the z direction, for example, from the value of the swelling amount, printing with stable printing pressure can be performed.

  According to the printing press 1 described above, since the displacement amount of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder 2 is measured by the non-contact sensor 14, the swelling amount of the blanket 2a can be grasped. The amount of swelling, the height of the blanket cylinder 2, the height of the surface plates 5, 6 and the like can be adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to always stably print thin lines and thin films with a constant printing pressure. Ink can be transferred easily and accurately compared to the conventional technology for suppressing the swelling of the blanket.

  According to the printing machine 1, the height of at least one of the platen surface plate 5 and the platen plate 6 is set relative to the blanket cylinder 2 based on the measured displacement of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder 2. Adjusted. The ink can be transferred to the printing material in a shorter time compared to the technique of suppressing the swelling of the blanket only by drying the conventional ink. Therefore, the cycle time required for transfer can be shortened. Therefore, mass production of the transfer product can be achieved by the printing machine 1.

  The relative heights of at least one of the platen surface plate 5 and the platen surface plate 6 with respect to the blanket cylinder 2 can be adjusted by the adjustment mechanisms 15 and 15A. Since the height adjustment can be performed by driving the adjustment mechanisms 15 and 15A by the drive sources 37, 38, and 39, the adjustment work itself is simplified and the operating rate of the printing press 1 is increased as compared with that of the prior art. Is possible.

  The drying means 8 capable of drying the ink applied to the blanket cylinder 2 can suppress the swelling of the blanket 2a as much as possible, and reduce the frequency of adjusting the height of the blanket cylinder 2, the height of the surface plate, etc. Can do. Therefore, the operating rate of the printing press 1 can be increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure showing the printing machine 1 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, FIG.1 (a) is a figure showing the external appearance of the printing machine 1, FIG.1 (b) measures the displacement amount of the blanket cylinder 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a relationship between a blanket cylinder 2 and a non-contact sensor 14. FIG. It is a figure showing the mechanism 15 which adjusts the height of the blanket cylinder 2, FIG. 3 (a) is principal part sectional drawing, FIG.3 (b) is a side view. It is principal part sectional drawing showing the other mechanism 15A which adjusts the height of the blanket cylinder. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the printing press 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a method for manufacturing a color filter step by step. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an organic colorant 40, which is ink, is applied to the blanket 2a by the die coater 13, FIG. FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the organic colorant 40 is partially attached to and removed from the projection 41a of the plate 41 from the surface of the blanket 2, and FIG. 6C shows the surface of the substrate 42 and the surface of the blanket 2a It is sectional drawing which shows the state which transfers the organic coloring agent 40 which remains in. It is a flowchart showing the method of implementing height adjustment of the blanket cylinder 2 etc. based on the measurement result by the non-contact sensor. It is a chart showing the swelling condition of the blanket 2a.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing machine 2 Blanket cylinder 5 Plate surface plate 6 Plate to be printed 7 Control device 14 Non-contact sensor 15, 15A Adjustment mechanism

Claims (5)

A printing machine that applies ink to a rotatable blanket cylinder, presses the relief plate on the ink application surface, and transfers the ink in the blanket cylinder excluding the portion crimped to the relief plate to the printing medium,
A printing machine comprising measuring means for measuring a displacement amount of a surface portion of the blanket cylinder.   Based on the amount of displacement measured by the measuring means, the height of at least one of the letterpress platen and the printing platen can be adjusted relative to the blanket cylinder. The printing press according to claim 1, wherein the printing press is configured.   An adjustment mechanism that relatively adjusts the height of at least one of the platen plate and the platen plate relative to the blanket cylinder; and a drive source that drives the adjustment mechanism. The printing machine according to claim 2, wherein:   The printing press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a drying unit capable of drying the ink applied to the blanket cylinder. A printing method of applying ink to a rotatable blanket cylinder, pressing the relief plate on the ink application surface, and transferring the ink of the blanket cylinder excluding the portion crimped to the relief plate to the printing medium,
A measuring step of measuring the amount of displacement of the surface portion of the blanket cylinder;
Adjustment that relatively adjusts the height of at least one of the letterpress platen and the printing platen with respect to the blanket cylinder based on the amount of displacement measured in the measuring step A printing method comprising the steps of:

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