JP3756943B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide printing equipment which can reduce production costs and enhance production efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: In this gravure printing equipment 1, gravure printing and inkjet printing are done. In the gravure printing, a film 12 is pressed against plate cylinders 14a-14c by impression cylinders 13a-13c, and ink is transferred to the film 12, so that the printing can be done. The inkjet printing is done by ejecting the ink to the film 12 from inkjet heads 19a-19d. Thus, the same patterns are gravure-printed on all products, and different information can be printed on each of the products by using the inkjet heads 19a-19d. Since the plate cylinder does not have to be manufactured for each of all the products, and troublesome work for replacing the plate cylinder for use in each of the products is made unnecessary, production cost can be reduced and the production efficiency is enhanced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus that can reduce production costs and improve production efficiency.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-286161, a printing apparatus that performs gravure printing using a plurality of plates is known. The printing apparatus includes a plurality of printing units, and each printing unit includes a plate cylinder on which a predetermined plate is formed on an outer peripheral surface, and ink that stores ink supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder. Pan, a doctor that scrapes off excess ink adhering to the outer periphery of the plate cylinder, an impression cylinder that presses the printing body (hereinafter referred to as “film”) against the plate cylinder, and ink on the film surface after printing in each printing section It consists of a dryer that dries. Printing on the film is performed by the ink being transferred to the plate cylinder by the impression cylinder when the film passes between the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder. The film is conveyed through a plurality of rollers connecting the printing units, and the film passes through the plurality of printing units so that different printing patterns and color tones are printed and gravure printing is performed (see Patent Document 1). .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-286161 (FIG. 1 etc.)

  In the printing apparatus that performs gravure printing using the plurality of plates described above, the film is continuously conveyed, and various patterns and characters are printed on the film by printing different print patterns and colors in each printing unit. Products can be produced in large quantities, but when producing small quantities of products, a plate cylinder with a plate corresponding to the product pattern and letters formed on the outer peripheral surface is prepared for each product. The complicated work of replacing the plate cylinder for each product is forced.

  In particular, in recent years, films that package fresh food and the like tend to print not only the name and pattern of the fresh food but also the name, contact information, cultivation method, and the like of the producer of the fresh food. The name and pattern of fresh food can be printed in large quantities, but the producer's name, contact information, cultivation method, etc. are different for each producer, so they cannot be printed in large quantities. Therefore, it is necessary to produce a plate cylinder for each producer, which not only increases costs but also requires replacement of the plate cylinder for each producer, which complicates work and reduces production efficiency. was there.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing apparatus capable of reducing production costs and improving production efficiency.

In order to achieve this object, a printing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided with a supply roller for holding a thin film, which is a printing medium, in a wound shape, and a film wound from the supply roller. A take-up roller that is held by the take-up roller, and at least one plate cylinder that is disposed between the take-up roller and the supply roller and has a print pattern printed on a film supplied from the supply roller formed on the outer peripheral surface; A supply means for supplying a first ink to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder; an impression cylinder which is arranged opposite to the plate cylinder and presses the film against the plate cylinder to transfer the first ink to the film to print the printing pattern; Provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the film from the supply roller to the take-up roller and upstream from the take-up roller from the plate cylinder on which the film is first pressed by the impression cylinder. A print head for ejecting the second ink, and detecting means for detecting a printing pattern printed on the film by a printing pattern formed on an outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder, which is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the plate cylinder A first printing pattern that is a part of the printing pattern and for printing the first printing pattern on the film, and a part of the printing pattern that is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder, the first printing pattern And a second print pattern for printing on the film a second print pattern to be detected and detected by the detection means, and the print head is controlled to discharge the second ink from the print head. Printing on the film, and printing by the print head based on the detection timing of the second print pattern detected by the detection means. An ink jet control means for starting printing, a portion disposed downstream of the print head and upstream of the take-up roller, and a portion where the second print pattern is printed and the first print pattern printed A dividing unit that divides the portion; and a side end winding unit that winds the portion on which the second print pattern divided by the dividing unit is printed.

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect, the plate cylinder on which the printing pattern is formed on the outer peripheral surface is disposed between the supply roller and the take-up roller, and the first outer surface of the plate cylinder is first supplied by the supply means. Ink is supplied. When the film supplied from the supply roller is pressed by the impression cylinder arranged to face the plate cylinder, the first ink is transferred to the film and a printing pattern is printed. The film on which the printing pattern is printed is wound up by a winding roller and held in a wound shape. A print head that discharges the second ink is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the film from the supply roller to the take-up roller and on the upstream side of the take-up roller from the plate cylinder on which the film is first pressed by the impression cylinder. The ink jet control means controls the printing so that the second ink is ejected from the print head onto the film. Further, the printing pattern printed on the film by the printing pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder is detected by the detection unit, and based on the detection timing of the printing pattern detected by the detection unit, by the inkjet control unit, The start of printing by the print head is controlled. A first print pattern for printing the first print pattern on the film and a second print pattern for printing the second print pattern on the film are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder. Of the printed patterns printed on the film, the second printed pattern is detected by the detecting means.

  The printing apparatus according to claim 2 is the printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the print heads are provided, and the ink jet control unit individually controls the plurality of print heads and controls the film. The same or different information is printed in the transport direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the second aspect, the dividing unit is alternately arranged with the print head on the downstream side of the print head and on the upstream side of the winding roller, the same or different information you divided every the same or different information in the transport direction are printed in the conveying direction the film.

  The printing apparatus according to claim 4 is the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a printing direction of the print head is configured in the same direction as a conveyance direction of the film, and the print head is movable. And a rail bridged in a direction crossing the film transport direction.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the rail has a scale for adjusting a fixed position of the print head on the surface of the rail.

A printing apparatus according to a sixth aspect is the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the second print pattern is printed on both side edges of the film.

The printing apparatus according to claim 7 is the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein a plurality of sets of the plate cylinder and the impression cylinders arranged to face the plate cylinder are provided. A printing control means for controlling printing of a printing pattern to be printed on a film by a cylinder and an impression cylinder; and a measuring means for measuring a conveyance speed of the film, wherein the inkjet control means is controlled by the printing control means. Separately, the start of printing by the print head is controlled based on the conveyance speed measured by the measuring means and the detection timing of the print pattern detected by the detecting means.

According to the printing apparatus of the seventh aspect, in addition to acting in the same manner as the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a plurality of sets of plate cylinders and pressure cylinders arranged to face the plate cylinders are provided. The printing pattern printing performed by the plurality of sets of plate cylinders and impression cylinders is controlled by the printing control means. Printing by the print head is started by control different from the print control unit, and the inkjet control unit is based on the conveyance speed measured by the measurement unit and the detection timing of the pattern to be printed detected by the detection unit. Controlled by.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if a part of the print pattern to be printed on the film is different for each product to be produced, the different part can be printed by the ink jet control means. There is no need to produce plate cylinders corresponding to all products, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, there is an effect that production efficiency can be improved because a complicated operation of exchanging the plate cylinder for each product to be produced is not required. Furthermore, since the print head is arranged downstream in the transport direction from the plate cylinder on which the film is first pressed, the print position by the print head is set corresponding to the print position of the print pattern printed by the impression cylinder. There is an effect that can be done.

In addition to the inkjet method that prints by discharging ink, the printing method that prints a different part for each product draws an image on a charging drum by a laser, attaches toner, and applies heat and pressure for printing. There are a dot method in which a thin pin is moved to strike the ink ribbon and printing, a thermal transfer method in which the ink on the ink ribbon is thermally melted and printed while moving a print head that generates heat. In printing by the laser method, since it is necessary to print in the state of a photoconductor, a heater, and a dark room, it is necessary to mount many parts, and the apparatus becomes large. Further, in printing by the dot method and the thermal transfer method, an ink ribbon and pins are required, and a large number of parts are required as in the laser method, so that the apparatus becomes large. On the other hand, the printing method based on the ink jet method has an effect that printing can be performed by mounting a print head in the film conveyance path, so that it can be configured with simple mounting and a small-scale apparatus. In addition, there is an effect that it can be easily attached to a printing apparatus that is currently in operation. In addition, since the start of printing by the print head is controlled by the ink jet control unit based on the detection timing of the print pattern detected by the detection unit, it corresponds to the position of the print pattern actually printed on the film. Printing start by the print head can be controlled. Therefore, there is an effect that printing by the print head can be performed at a desired position corresponding to the printing position of the pattern to be printed. Moreover, since the detection means uses the second print pattern that can be detected by the detection means as the detection target, the detection means can reliably detect the detection target. Specifically, among the printed patterns printed by the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder, the first printed pattern is assumed to be printed with a wide variety of patterns and patterns, and depending on the patterns and patterns, Since there is a portion having a color similar to that of the film, when the first print pattern is detected by the detection unit, there is a problem that detection by the detection unit cannot be performed or a detection error by the detection unit occurs. Therefore, separately from the first print pattern, the second print pattern is printed on the film exclusively for detection by the detection means, and the second print pattern is detected by the detection means. Therefore, the detection target is the first print pattern. Compared with the case of making the detection target, there is an effect that the detection target can be reliably detected without the harmful effect that the detection portion cannot be detected. Further, the portion on which the second print pattern is printed and the portion on which the first print pattern is printed are divided by the dividing means, and the portion on which the second print pattern is printed is on the side edge winding means. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the collection work of the portion where the second print pattern exclusively for detection is printed, and to improve the production efficiency.

  According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus of the first aspect, a plurality of print heads are provided, and the plurality of print heads apply the second ink to the film by the inkjet control means. The same or different information is controlled to be ejected and printed in the film transport direction. Therefore, there is an effect that a plurality of types of products can be printed at a time by ejecting the second ink from the plurality of print heads onto the film supplied from the supply roller.

  According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus of the second aspect, the dividing means is arranged alternately with the printing head downstream from the printing head and upstream from the winding roller. Therefore, the film on which the same or different information is printed is divided in the transport direction by the same or different information by the dividing means. Therefore, while the film is conveyed from the supply roller to the take-up roller, a film on which the same or different information is printed can be divided into products for each same or different information. Therefore, there is an effect that a plurality of types of products can be manufactured at a time.

  According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the printing direction of the print head is configured in the same direction as the film conveyance direction. Printing can be performed with the print head fixed. Further, since the print head is movably disposed on a rail bridged in a direction crossing the film transport direction, the print head is moved to a desired position with respect to the film and fixed. There is an effect that printing can be performed at a desired position on the film.

  According to the printing apparatus according to claim 5, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus according to claim 4, the scale for adjusting the fixing position of the print head is marked on the surface of the rail. As a mark, the fixing position of the print head can be accurately adjusted.

According to the printing apparatus according to claim 6, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the second print pattern is printed on both side edges of the film. When the film is divided in the transport direction by the dividing unit, both side ends of the film on which the second print pattern is printed are divided from the printed part by ejecting the second ink by the inkjet printing unit. Therefore, since the film portion to be the product and the portion on which the second print pattern printed exclusively for detection by the detection means can be divided, the both side ends after being wound and held by the winding roller There is an effect that the work of dividing the parts can be omitted and the production efficiency can be improved. Furthermore, since the both end portions of the divided film are wound by the side end winding means, it is possible to reduce the collection work of the both end portions and to further improve the production efficiency.

According to the printing apparatus of the seventh aspect, in addition to the effect produced by the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the start of printing by the print head is detected by the conveyance speed measured by the measurement unit and the detection unit. Since it is controlled by the inkjet control means based on the detection timing of the printing pattern to be detected, separately from the printing control means for controlling printing of the printing pattern printed on the film by a plurality of sets of plate cylinders and impression cylinders, Printing start by the print head can be controlled. For example, printing by the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder is performed by printing the print patterns formed on the film by the plate cylinder and the impression cylinder so that each print pattern is printed at a predetermined printing position. Therefore, the control of the printing position of the pattern to be printed by the printing control means is a precise control. Therefore, the control by the printing control means adjusts the tension or slack of the film or changes the film transport speed in order to prevent the printing position of the pattern to be printed from shifting due to slight expansion and contraction that occurs in the film itself. And complex control is performed. Therefore, if the print start by the print head is controlled by the print control means, the control becomes more complicated. However, according to this apparatus, the print start by the print head is controlled by the ink jet control means separately from the print control means. There is an effect that the start of printing by the print head can be controlled without changing the precise control by the print control means. In addition, since the printing start by the print head is controlled in the ink jet control unit based on the conveyance speed measured by the measurement unit and the detection timing of the print pattern detected by the detection unit, the actual film conveyance speed and the film The print position by the print head can be controlled corresponding to the pattern to be printed on the film, and the print head can be printed at a desired position with respect to the film.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a gravure printing apparatus 1 in an embodiment of the present invention.

  The gravure printing apparatus 1 includes a supply roller 10 in which a film 12 configured in a thin film shape is held in a wound shape, and a predetermined printing is performed on the film 12 supplied from the supply roller 10 to be divided into predetermined sizes. Winding films 40a to 40d that hold the films 12a to 12d (see FIG. 4) in a winding form, and the first print pattern and detection marks 31a to print the patterns 32 and 33 (see FIG. 3). Of the second print pattern for printing 31b (see FIG. 3), at least one of the print patterns is formed on the outer peripheral surface with a concave groove and is rotated by a plate cylinder motor 60 (see FIG. 2). To 14c, ink containers 15a to 15c for supplying ink to the outer peripheral surfaces of the plate cylinders 14a to 14c, and excess ink supplied to the outer peripheral surfaces of the plate cylinders 14a to 14c. The film 12 is pressed by the doctors 25a to 25c, the impression cylinders 13a to 13c that press the film 12 against the plate cylinders 14a to 14c and rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the plate cylinders 14a to 14c, and the impression cylinders 13a to 13c. Dryers 16a to 16c for drying the ink transferred to the film 12 by being pressed against the plate cylinders 14a to 14c, and a follower roller 11a that rotates following the film conveyed by the rotational drive of the plate cylinders 14a to 14c. ~ 11i are mainly provided.

  In the transport path of the film 12 from the supply roller 10 to the take-up roller sections 40a to 40d, detection marks 31a and 31b printed on the film 12 are provided between the impression cylinder 13c and the follower roller 11g (FIG. 4). Position sensor 17a, 17b for detecting the reference speed), speed sensor 18 for measuring the transport speed of the film 12, and ink jet head 19a for ejecting ink for ink jet (hereinafter referred to as "ink jet ink") onto the film 12 for printing. To 19d. Further, between the follower roller 11g and the follower roller 11h, slits 20a to 20 which divide the film 12 in the film transport direction (X direction in the figure) from the supply roller 10 to the take-up roller units 40a to 40d. 20e is provided, and downstream side winding rollers 24a and 24b for winding both side ends of the film 12 divided by the slits 20a to 20e are provided downstream of the follower roller 11i in the transport direction. . Further, cutting cutters 21a to 21d that cut the film 12 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction are disposed between the follower roller 11h and the winding motor units 40a to 40d.

  The supply roller 10 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 to supply the film 12 into the conveyance path from the supply roller 10 to the take-up rollers 40a to 40d. The supply roller 10 is supplied at a speed to be supplied by a supply motor (not shown) according to the conveyance speed of the film 12 conveyed by the plate cylinders 14a to 14c and the impression cylinders 13a to 13c, the tension and slackness of the film 12, and the like. It is configured to be variable. The film 12 held in a wound shape on the supply roller 10 is a flexible packaging material, and is composed of a polyolefin film whose main component is composed of a polyolefin resin.

  The take-up roller unit 40a has two take-up rollers 41a and 42a that hold the film 12a in the form of a take-up and a shaft provided at a position approximately between the two take-up rollers 41a and 42a. 23a. The winding rollers 41a and 42a wind the film 12a by rotating clockwise in FIG. 1 by a power source of a winding motor 56a (see FIG. 2). The take-up rollers 41 a and 42 a are configured so that the take-up speed can be varied, like the supply roller 10.

  In addition, when one winding roller, for example, the winding roller 41a is winding the film 12a, and the amount of the wound film 12a is a predetermined amount, the winding roller 41a is centered on the shaft 23a. , 42a rotate clockwise, and the winding roller 41a winds the film 12a. When the rotation of the shaft 23a as a reference and the other winding roller 42a moves to a position where the film 12a can be wound, the film 12a is cut by a cutting cutter 21a driven by a power source of a cutting actuator 57a (see FIG. 2). The remaining film 12a cut by the take-up roller 41a is taken up, and the take-up roller 42a starts to take up the film 12a anew. Since the take-up roller unit 40a repeatedly performs this operation, printing can be continued without stopping the gravure printing apparatus 1 when the take-up roller is replaced, so that it is possible to prevent a reduction in production efficiency. In addition, since the winding roller parts 40b-40d are the structures similar to the winding roller part 40a, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  A tension adjusting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting slack of the film 12 and the like is provided in the conveyance path from the supply roller 10 to the take-up roller portions 40a to 40d, so that the film 12 is in a good printing state. The tension is adjusted. For example, as the tension adjusting mechanism, the tension is obtained by pressing or loosening the film 12 before and after the conveyance direction of the printing range (between the follower roller 11b and the follower roller 11g in FIG. 1) where the film 12 is printed. There are an entrance nip and an exit nip for adjusting the movement, a dancer roll for adjusting the tension by the movement of the roller which is configured to be able to move the roller which is driven and rotated by the film 12.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of an electric circuit configuration of the gravure printing apparatus 1. A control device for controlling the gravure printing apparatus 1 includes a main-control board 50, a one-chip microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 51, various control programs executed by the CPU 51, and fixed value data. ROM 52 which is a memory for storing data, RAM 53 which is a memory for temporarily storing various data and the like, and an I / F 54 which transmits / receives data to / from external devices and the like are mounted. Further, the CPU 51, the ROM 52, the RAM 53, and the I / F 54 are connected to each other via the bus line 60.

  The CPU 51, which is an arithmetic device, executes various processes in accordance with various control programs stored in advance in the ROM 52. The CPU 51 includes a cutting switch 36 for instructing cutting of the film 12 from the outside, side end winding motors 59a and 59b which are driving sources of the side end winding rollers 24a and 24b, cutting actuators 57a to 57d, winding Motors 56a to 56d, plate cylinder motor 60, and the like are connected. The operation of each connected device is controlled by the CPU 51.

  The I / F 54 is connected to an external personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “PC”) 58, and the PC 58 controls an ink jet ink discharge state of the ink jet head 19 a to give various printing instructions. Similarly, the inkjet controller 55b that controls the inkjet head 19b, the inkjet controller 55c that controls the inkjet head 19c, and the inkjet controller 55d that controls the inkjet head 19d are connected to the controller 55a.

  The signals transmitted to the PC 58 via the I / F 54 are signals for starting and stopping the operation of the gravure printing apparatus 1, and a completion signal when the printing of the film 12 reaches a predetermined amount. Based on these signals Then, stop and start signals are transmitted from the PC 58 to the inkjet controllers 55a to 55d. The PC 58 can input character information and the like. The input character information is transmitted to the ink jet controllers 55a to 55d, and printing is performed by the ink jet heads 19a to 19d based on the character information.

  The outputs from the position sensors 17a and 17b and the output from the speed sensor 18 are input to the inkjet controllers 55a to 55d, respectively. The inkjet controllers 55a to 55d control the start of printing by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d based on the timing at which the detection marks 31a and 31b are detected by the position sensors 17a and 17b and the transport speed measured by the speed sensor 18. Therefore, printing can be performed at a desired position.

  Next, a printing method in which the film 12 is printed by the gravure printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing the state of the film 12 printed by the first printing unit to the third printing unit, and FIG. 4 is a gravure printing on the downstream side in the transport direction of the film 12 from the inkjet heads 19a to 19d. It is the schematic which showed the outline of the apparatus 1 in the plane.

  The film 12 supplied from the supply roller 10 includes, via the follower rollers 11a and 11b, a plate cylinder 14a having a first print pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface, and gravure printing ink (hereinafter referred to as the first color). (Referred to as “first ink”) and is conveyed to a first printing section having an ink container 15a and an impression cylinder 13a. In the printing by the first printing unit, when the plate cylinder 14a is rotated, the first ink in the ink container 15a is supplied to the concave groove and the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 14a, and the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 14a is extra. The first ink is scraped off by the doctor 25a, and the first ink remains only in the concave groove. Then, when the concave portion where the first ink remains is rotated until it comes into contact with the impression cylinder 13a, the film 12 is pressed against the plate cylinder 14a by the impression cylinder 13a, and the first ink in the depression is transferred to the film 12, and the first Is printed. After the first printing pattern is printed by the first printing unit, the first ink printed by transferring to the film 12 is dried by the dryer 16a disposed downstream from the first printing unit in the transport direction. The

  The film 12 is provided with a plate cylinder 14b having a second printing pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof via the follower rollers 11c and 11d, and a gravure printing ink (hereinafter referred to as a “second ink”) for the second color. ) Is stored in the second printing unit including the pressure cylinder 13b, and the second printing pattern is printed in the same manner as the first printing unit, and the second ink is dried by the dryer 16b. Is done. After that, via the follower rollers 11e and 11f, a plate cylinder 14c having a third printing pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface and gravure printing ink for the third color (hereinafter referred to as "third ink"). It is conveyed to the 3rd printing part provided with the ink container 15c and the impression cylinder 13c to store, a 3rd printing pattern is printed, and the 3rd ink is dried by the dryer 16c.

  In this embodiment, the conveyance speed of the film 12 is “200 meters” per minute, and each print pattern is printed at a high speed. For this reason, only tension or slack is generated in the film 12 conveyed due to expansion and contraction of the film 12 itself, resulting in misalignment at the position where each print pattern is to be printed, resulting in a defective product. Therefore, the CPU 51 monitors the state and the conveyance speed of the film 12 in the conveyance process, and adjusts the conveyance speed that is always good and the tension and slackness of the film 12, and the patterns 32 and 33 and the detection marks 31a and 31b. Is controlling the printing.

  Each printing unit has a different printing pattern and color tone, and printing on the film 12 can be performed with various patterns such as characters, symbols, tables, barcodes, images, marks, patterns, and backgrounds according to the products to be produced. Can be printed. In this embodiment, the name, pattern, etc. of fresh food are printed on the film 12 as a soft packaging material for packaging fresh food. The soft packaging material to be packaged is not limited to fresh food, and may be a soft packaging material for packaging processed foods and processed products.

  Each printing unit is in charge of printing different colors (first to third inks) and printing patterns (first to third printing patterns), but the first to third inks have the same color. The first to third print patterns may be printed as different print patterns, respectively, or the first to third print patterns may be the same and the first to third inks may be printed as different colors. .

  The state shown in FIG. 3 is the state of the film 12 that has passed through the first to third printing sections. In this embodiment, the same pattern is printed in four rows in the transport direction of the film 12. The pattern 32 printed by the first print pattern is printed with a description of fresh food (for example, if the fresh food is lettuce, a letter that suggests lettuce and lettuce), and the first to third printing units Is printed in three colors. The pattern 33 printed by the first printing pattern is a range in which the description of the producer (for example, name, contact information, cultivation method) is printed by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d described later, and printing by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d is performed. Printing is performed at any one of the first to third printing sections as a base for clarification. The detection marks 31a and 31b printed by the second print pattern are read by the position sensors 17a and 17b, and are printed at both ends of the film 12 at substantially equal intervals in the transport direction. Since the detection marks 31a and 31b are printed for reading by the position sensors 17a and 17b, any color can be used as long as the position sensors 17a and 17b can read, and any one of the first to third printing units. Printed in one place.

  When the film printed by the first to third printing units is conveyed downstream in the conveyance direction from the third printing unit, two positions of the detection marks 31a and 31b are detected by the position sensors 17a and 17b. The conveyance speed of the film 12 is measured by the sensor 18. Based on the detection timing detected by the position sensors 17a and 17b and the conveyance speed measured by the speed sensor 18, the print start is controlled by the ink jet heads 19a to 19d, and printing is performed at a desired position. Moreover, since the printing start by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d is controlled by the inkjet controllers 55a to 55d, the control is separate from the control by the CPU 51, and various conditions of gravure printing performed in the first to third printing units are changed. In addition, the first to third printing units can maintain a printing state that is always good and controlled by the CPU 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the inkjet heads 19 a to 19 d are provided so as to be movable on a rail 37 that is bridged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction (X direction in the figure), and on the surface of the rail 37, Scales 35a to 35d are marked. Moreover, since the printing directions of the inkjet heads 19a to 19d are the same as the transport direction, the inkjet heads 19a to 19d can be printed in a fixed state. The inkjet heads 19a to 19d can be fixed easily by moving to a desired position by the rail 37, so that printing can be performed at a desired position on the film 12. Furthermore, the adjustment of the fixed position can be accurately performed using the scales 35a to 35d. Therefore, when a printing misalignment occurs, the misalignment can be easily adjusted using the scales 35a to 35d as marks. it can.

  The inkjet heads 19a to 19d can print by ejecting inkjet ink onto the film 12, and print the letter W on the portion where the pattern 33 is printed. As described above, the character W is printed with information such as the producer's name, contact information, and cultivation method.

  When printing of the letter W is completed by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d, the film 12 is conveyed through the follower roller 11g and divided by the slitters 20a to 20e. The slitters 20a to 20e divide the patterns 32 and 33 printed in four rows into four parts and also divide the side edges on which the detection marks 31a and 31b are printed from the parts on which the patterns 32 and 33 are printed. The ink jet heads 19a to 19d are alternately arranged in the transport direction and are arranged so as to sandwich the ink jet heads 19a to 19d. The film 12 divided into slitters 20a to 20e is divided into four product films of films 12a to 12d, and both end portions of the film 12 on which the detection marks 31a and 31b are printed are respectively side end winding rollers. It is wound up by 24a, 24b.

  The films 12a to 12d divided by the slitters 20a to 20e are taken up by the take-up rollers 41a to 41d and 42a to 42d. The production amount of the films 12a to 12d is constantly calculated by the CPU 51, and when the amount reaches a predetermined amount, the operator turns on an external display (not shown) or the like to indicate that it is time to cut the films 12a to 12d. To suggest. When the operator confirms that it is the cutting time and operates the cutting switch 36, the winding roller portions 40a to 40d described above start to rotate with reference to the shafts 23a to 23d, and the films 12a to 12d are cut with the cutting cutters 21a to 21a. Cut by 21d. When the CPU 51 confirms a predetermined amount of production, the information is transmitted to the PC 58 via the I / F 54, and it is determined whether or not the character information to be printed is changed by the PC 58. When changing the character information, control is performed so that a stop signal is once transmitted to the inkjet controllers 55a to 55d and new character information and a start signal are transmitted. If the character information is not changed, the current state is changed. maintain. Note that the CPU 51 may perform automatic control that starts rotation of the winding roller units 40a to 40d and outputs a drive command to the cutting actuators 57a to 57d when the production amount reaches a predetermined amount.

  As described above, the gravure printing apparatus 1 prints the patterns 32 and 33 by the first to third printing units, and prints the letter W on the pattern 33 by the inkjet heads 19a to 19d. Therefore, the same pattern can be printed on all products by the first to third printing sections, and different information for each product can be easily changed and printed by the ink jet heads 19a to 19d. Is not necessary, and the complicated operation of exchanging the plate cylinder for each product is not necessary, so that the production cost can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved.

  Moreover, since the four product films of the films 12a to 12d can be commercialized while the film 12 is conveyed from the supply roller 10 to the take-up roller units 40a to 40d, many products are manufactured from the film 12 at a time. Can do. Furthermore, since both side ends of the film 12 that are not required are wound by the side end winding rollers 24a and 24b, the operation of collecting the side ends can be reduced, and the production efficiency can be further improved.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be easily guessed.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the inkjet heads 19a to 19d, the speed sensor 18, and the position sensors 17a and 17b are disposed between the impression cylinder 13c and the follower roller 11g. The position sensors 17a and 17b may be disposed either between the impression cylinder 13b and the follower roller 11e or between the impression cylinder 13a and the follower roller 11c. When arranged between the impression cylinder 13b and the follower roller 11e, the patterns 33, 31a and 31b are printed on one of the first and second printing sections, and the impression cylinder 13a and the follower roller are printed. In the case of being arranged between 11c, the patterns 33, 31a, 31b are printed by the first printing unit. Since the speed sensor 18 only needs to be able to measure the transport speed of the film 12, it may be disposed anywhere in the transport path from the supply roller 10 to the take-up roller portions 40a to 40d.

  In the above-described embodiment, three-color gravure printing is performed by the three printing units of the first to third printing units. However, the number of printing units may be increased to 7 or 8 colors. The number of colors corresponding to characters and decorations may be any number of colors.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the film 12 shall be comprised with a polyolefin film, it may be comprised with the polyethylene film by which the main component was comprised with the polyethylene-type resin, paper, a nonwoven fabric, an aluminum vapor deposition film, an anti-proofing film. It is good also as what comprises a cloudy film etc. That is, the gravure printing apparatus 1 can be applied to any material that can be printed and formed into a film shape.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the character W printed by the inkjet heads 19a-19d printed all the same information, it is good also as what prints different information for every inkjet head 19a-19d. In this way, multiple types of products can be produced at once.

  In the above embodiment, the outputs from the position sensors 17a and 17b and the output from the speed sensor 18 are directly input to the ink jet controllers 55a to 55d. A signal for instructing the timing of ejecting the inkjet ink may be transmitted together with the information. In this case, since the outputs of the position sensors 17a and 17b and the speed sensor 18 are input to the PC 58, when the ink jet head and the ink jet controller are added, the position sensors 17a and 17b and the speed sensor 18 are connected to the ink jet controller. The amount of work is small compared to the case of connecting to the PC, and it is easy to add more and improve the expandability of the apparatus.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the ink for inkjet heads 19a-19d (inkjet ink) and the ink for gravure printing (1st-3rd ink) of the 1st-3rd printing part were used as a different kind of ink. Of course, the same kind of ink may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the detection marks 31a and 31b are detected by the position sensors 17a and 17b. However, the patterns 32 and 33 may be detected. In this case, since the pattern 33 is printed in a plurality of colors, it is assumed that there is a blurred portion of the pattern or a colorless portion that has not been printed. It is preferable to use a highly accurate sensor that can be detected.

  In the above embodiment, the inkjet controllers 55a to 55d, the position sensors 17a and 17b, and the speed sensor 18 are commercialized and commercialized by gravure printing from the supply of the film and cutting the printed film. However, it may be attached to an apparatus that performs gravure printing, an apparatus that cuts and winds a film on which printing has been performed, or the like. That is, the inkjet heads 19a to 19d can be easily attached to an existing apparatus.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the electric circuit structure of a printing apparatus. It is the state figure which showed the state of the film printed by the 1st printing part-the 3rd printing part. It is the schematic which showed the outline of the gravure printing apparatus which becomes a conveyance direction of a film downstream from an inkjet head by the plane.

Explanation of symbols

1 Gravure printing device (printing device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Supply roller 12 Film 13a-13c Impression cylinder 14a-14c Plate cylinder 15a-15c Ink container (supply means)
17a, 17b Position sensor (detection means)
18 Speed sensor (measuring means)
19 Inkjet head (printing head)
20a-20e slitter (dividing means)
21a to 21d Cutting cutters 24a, 24b Side end winding roller (side end winding means)
31a, 31b Detection mark (second printed pattern)
32, 33 patterns (first printed pattern)
41a-41d, 42a-42d Winding roller
51 CPU (part of print control means)
55a-55d Inkjet controller (inkjet control means)

Claims (7)

A supply roller for holding a thin film as a printing medium in a winding shape, a winding roller for holding the film supplied from the supply roller in a winding shape, and the winding roller and the supply roller And at least one plate cylinder formed on the outer peripheral surface with a printing pattern to be printed on the film supplied from the supply roller, and supply means for supplying the first ink to the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder, In a printing apparatus provided with an impression cylinder that is disposed opposite to the plate cylinder and presses the film against the plate cylinder to transfer the first ink to the film and print the printing pattern,
Printing that is disposed downstream of the plate cylinder in which the film is first pressed by the impression cylinder in the transport direction of the film from the supply roller to the winding roller and upstream of the winding roller, and discharges the second ink. Head,
Detecting means for detecting a print pattern printed on the film by a print pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder;
A first printing pattern for printing a first printing pattern on the film, which is a part of the printing pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder;
A part of a printing pattern formed on the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder, which is formed corresponding to the first printing pattern, and for printing on the film a second printing pattern that can be detected by the detecting means. A second print pattern;
Printing on the film by controlling the print head and discharging the second ink from the print head, and based on the detection timing of the second print pattern detected by the detection means Inkjet control means for starting printing by the print head;
A dividing unit that is disposed downstream of the print head and upstream of the winding roller and divides a portion on which the second print pattern is printed and a portion on which the first print pattern is printed; ,
A printing apparatus comprising: a side end winding unit that winds a portion on which the second printing pattern divided by the dividing unit is printed. A plurality of the print heads are provided,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet control unit individually controls the plurality of print heads to print the same or different information on the film in the transport direction. The dividing means is arranged alternately with the print head downstream from the print head and upstream from the take-up roller, and the same or different information is printed in the transport direction in the transport direction. the printing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that dividing each the same or different information. The print direction of the print head is configured in the same direction as the transport direction of the film,
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a rail that is movably disposed and has a bridge that is bridged in a direction crossing a conveyance direction of the film.   The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a scale for adjusting a fixed position of the print head is marked on a surface of the rail. Wherein the second printed pattern, the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the Ru der those printed on both side ends of the film. A plurality of sets of plate cylinders and impression cylinders arranged opposite to the plate cylinders are provided,
Print control means for controlling printing of a printing pattern printed on the film by the plurality of sets of plate cylinders and impression cylinders;
Measuring means for measuring the transport speed of the film,
The inkjet control means starts printing by the print head based on the conveyance speed measured by the measurement means and the detection timing of the print pattern detected by the detection means, separately from the control by the print control means. the printing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control 6.

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