Printer assembly and method for printing a prebound book in such a printer assembly

Abstract

The invention relates to a printer assembly (7), to a prebound book (9) for use in such a printer assembly, and to a method for printing such a prebound book using such a printer assembly. The printer (13) has a sensor assembly (21), by means of which the format and location of a fixed printing region on at least one page and / or the cover of the book (9) can be determined. The printer assembly (7) controller (32) connected to the sensor assembly (21) controls the printing device (14) in order to print the localized printing region in a uniformly distributed manner.

Description

[0001] PRINTER ARRANGEMENT AND A METHOD FOR PRINTING A PREBOUND BOOK IN SUCH A PRINTER ARRANGEMENT

[0002] The invention relates to a printer arrangement, a prebound book for use in such a printer arrangement, and a method for printing such a prebound book by means of such a printer arrangement.

[0003] Printing on a pre-bound book is well known, although the majority of relevant publications refer to books of a predetermined size, such as bank savings books. In all cases, mechanisms are provided to keep the book flat. Here and in the following, the term "book" encompasses all printed works with multiple bound pages and, preferably, a flexible or hard cover enclosing the pages of the book block.

[0004] In US 6036381 A, the book is opened, placed on a support surface, and moved in a feed direction parallel to the binding edge. A groove for the spine and rollers pressing on both sides of the book keep the surface essentially flat.

[0005] In US 4776711 A, two pressure devices are used to compensate for the different heights of each of the opened pages.

[0006] In US 4029193 A it is disclosed that individual spring-loaded segments positioned against the book covers compensate for the variable height of the two pages.

[0007] According to US 7547152 B2, for example, the pages of the block of the book to be printed are arranged in two interconnected stacks connected by flexible binding. Printing is performed on the upper surfaces of each of the stacks, after which a top page is transferred from one stack to the other. During the rearrangement process, the page is turned over, exposing an unprinted page. Since the height of each stack changes each time a page is newly deposited, the printing device includes two height-adjustable stack support tables, each associated with a respective one of the two stacks. The support tables are configured to adjust their height to maintain the flat alignment of the upper surfaces of each of the stacks. According to US 5267799 A, a prebound book that has been opened on a selected page is clamped.The specific page is separated from the other pages of the book by a page-turning mechanism and fed onto a print roller. The device includes a mechanism for applying tension to the specified page through the book's seam. When the page is thus held against the print roller, data is printed on the specified page.

[0008] US 2001 / 022911 A1 discloses a page-turning device for a savings book. Upon detecting that the page clamped for printing is full, a combined action of rollers and book movement is used to turn one or more pages of the book. Markings on the book pages allow the device to determine whether only a single page has been turned.

[0009] The aforementioned devices are primarily designed for printing relatively thin prebound books with a relatively small and fixed number of pages. Further adaptations are necessary for printing thicker books with a large number of pages or books of various sizes.

[0010] US 6762356 A discloses a device for turning pages of a fixed-size book. Transparent sheets or discs are manually inserted into the pages of the book in advance, allowing selected pages to be turned automatically. The page-turning device is intended for use in conjunction with an associated photocopier or similar device. However, the transparent sheets prevent the pages from being exposed for printing purposes.

[0011] US 5806991 A discloses a method and apparatus for printing a complete, prebound book. A page is lifted by a suction device, and a moving print head prints on both sides of the lifted page. Once the page has been printed, the page-turning process is complete. While the page-turning process is completing, the next page is lifted and printing begins on it. Such a device requires the print heads to move with complex movements. This can make the manufacture and maintenance of such a device difficult. The device must necessarily occupy sufficient vertical space to accommodate the print heads and their supporting structure when printing on a vertical page. These limitations may also make such a device unsuitable for use in smaller retail outlets or bookstores.Additionally, the simultaneous action of a print head and rollers on the page before the ink is completely dry can cause the ink to smear.

[0012] JP 5162485 A1 discloses a device for printing and turning the pages of a bound book. In this device, printing occurs when the printing device moves in one direction, and page turning occurs when the printing device moves in the other direction. Here, too, the separation between printing and page-turning operations slows down the printing process. Furthermore, the described interchangeability between a scanning head and a print head may not be possible with current standard printing technologies.

[0013] This type of printing is becoming particularly important due to the growth of the "book on demand" (print-on-demand; PoD) segment, where books are produced on demand in digital form and only printed after a customer has placed an order. This means that titles can always be available, while saving storage costs for retailers and providers, as well as for publishers, who also eliminate the risk of unsold stock. However, conventional systems have the disadvantage of long delivery times, as there are no pre-printed books at the sales outlets. These would have to have pre-printed, i.e. pre-bound blank books in stock for printing in all possible formats and page counts of the digital offering, which would in turn result in high warehousing costs.

[0014] The object of the present invention was to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a device, a system, and a method that enable the immediate production of an electronically stored printed work, despite the bound version, in a simple, economical manner and with a single device without the need for complex printing or bookbinding equipment. This should also enable the immediate retrieval and sale of books or magazines in an instant print-on-demand system in retail stores or branches of book or magazine chains.

[0015] This object is achieved by a device, a system, and a method according to the claims. To achieve this object, the device according to the invention is characterized in that the printer has a sensor arrangement with which the format and location of a specified print area on at least one page and / or the cover of the book can be determined, wherein the sensor arrangement is connected to the controller which controls the printing device for printing the localized print area. This means that completely prefabricated, unprinted books or magazines in one or only a few different formats can be used to produce printed works on demand, since the print content is divided according to the print area specified by the book and there is no need to use an unprinted book specially tailored to preformatted print content.

[0016] Preferably, the page-turning device is arranged in the region of a movement path between mutually opposite end positions of a printing device, for example the mutually opposite end faces of a printing bar in its two end positions, thus providing a simple and functionally reliable construction.

[0017] Another embodiment according to the invention is characterized in that the page-turning device is arranged outside a region of at least one printing bar or a movement path thereof or outside the opposite end positions of a printing device.

[0018] In order to be able to optimally adapt the printing device to the respective printing task, an actuator for changing a relative distance between a support surface for the book and the print head is preferably arranged in a direction perpendicular to the support surface and can be controlled via the control system.

[0019] Preferably, the actuator is controlled to change the relative distance during a print head movement for printing consecutive print areas of two pages of the book.

[0020] A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the printer has a sensor arrangement for determining the number of sheets of the prebound book, wherein the sensor arrangement is connected to the controller, which controls the printing device such that the content to be printed is preferably distributed evenly across the printing area of ​​the prebound book. This further expands the advantage that completely prefabricated, unprinted books or magazines in one or just a few different formats can be used to produce printed works on demand.

[0021] Preferably, the printer of the inventive arrangement is equipped with an inkjet printing device that is movable along at least one guide parallel to the book holder, with the page-turning device arranged laterally next to the guide for the printing device. This allows for a compact and simple design while simultaneously providing high print quality, high cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.

[0022] This printer arrangement can advantageously be further characterized by at least one sheet hold-down device being arranged near the active printing position in order to keep the surface to be printed as flat as possible and thus achieve an optimal printing result. Vacuum grippers are preferably provided for this purpose. Alternatively or additionally, at least one hold-down device can be arranged in front of the printing device and / or behind the printing device. These devices can be arranged directly near a UV curing device if a UV curing device is present. Another possibility is to position the hold-down devices using rollers or positioning feet.

[0023] A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the printing device is movable relative to the holder for the book parallel to the plane of the page to be printed in one direction and is height-adjustable, and the holder for the book is mounted orthogonally to the direction of travel of the printing device, preferably parallel to the front cut of the book block, so that it can move under the printing device.

[0024] In order to enable printing of the pages and cover of the book as well as, in the case of thicker books, printing of the spine without having to move or reposition the book as a whole, two printing devices are advantageously arranged in planes offset by 90° to one another or are movable along guide tracks.

[0025] According to an optional embodiment of the invention, faster production of the book or magazine can be achieved by designing the page-turning device to hold a page of the book in a position perpendicular to the remaining pages of the book, or the book cover and spine, arranged in a plane. At least one printing device is arranged for each side of the held page, movable relative to the page in at least one direction parallel to the plane of the held page.

[0026] In order to create a preview version of the book in a short time, a further optional feature of the invention can be provided for the control to include a module, preferably based on a random generator, which controls the printing device in such a way that only a part of the pages of the book are printed on their predetermined position in the book block and / or on the cover.

[0027] The invention also relates to an instant print-on-demand system, comprising a memory unit for storing at least one print file, and at least one printer assembly according to one of the preceding paragraphs. According to the invention, this system is characterized by a control device with operating devices for selecting and transmitting at least one print file to the printer assembly.

[0028] To achieve the object stated above, the invention also includes a prebound book for use in a printer arrangement according to one of the preceding paragraphs, which is provided with a cover and a book block with a predeterminable number of pages, and with unprinted or partially printed pages and / or a cover. According to the invention, this book is characterized in that at least some of the book pages of the book block and / or the cover are provided with alignment markings and / or boundary markings.

[0029] Preferably, such a book is characterized according to the invention in that the book pages and / or the cover are provided with markings for the respective page number and / or the total number of pages.

[0030] A further embodiment is characterized in that the markings are designed as watermarks, non-visible markings or markings visible only under blue light or pre-printed text parts or logos.

[0031] A further alternative embodiment provides a book in which at least one of the printing areas is defined on the cover and / or on the spine of the book.

[0032] To achieve the object posed initially, a method for printing prebound books is further provided, comprising the provision and positioning of a prebound book with cover and book block in a printer arrangement, software-controlled printing, including automatic page turning of the book pages, wherein the pages to be printed are preferably printed sequentially on the front and / or back, and wherein the printing is applied during a relative movement between the book and at least one printing device. According to the invention, this method is characterized in that the content to be printed is aligned, under software control, with markings on at least some of the pages to be printed, preferably also on the cover.

[0033] In order to ensure an attractive design with optimal use of the given material, the number of pages of the prebound book is preferably determined automatically, and the material to be printed is adjusted by software control by changing the typographical properties and / or the layout evenly to the pre-determined number of pages and per page to the pre-determined printing area.

[0034] A preferred procedure is one in which the book is turned over, removed, inserted and turned while the printing device is in a rest position or end position.

[0035] In order to produce a preview version of the book in a short time, a variant of the method according to the invention is characterized in that, under software control, preferably based on a random generator, only a part of the pages of the book are printed on their predetermined position in the book block and / or on the cover.

[0036] Optionally, the process can be carried out in such a way that all even or odd pages are printed in a first operation and all unprinted pages are printed in a second operation, whereby the book block and the cover are preferably also printed in separate operations.

[0037] Preferably, the print file is retrieved from a storage unit upon user request and transmitted to a printer arrangement.

[0038] For a better understanding of the invention, it is explained in more detail using the following figures.

[0039] They show in a highly simplified, schematic representation: Fig. 1 a schematic view of the instant print-on-demand system according to the invention;

[0040] Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a prebound book according to the invention in a configuration optimized for printing;

[0041] Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a printer arrangement according to the invention with a device for adapting to stacks of different heights;

[0042] Fig. 4 shows a detail of a printer arrangement according to the invention, in particular a device for turning the book pages during the printing process;

[0043] Fig. 5 shows the page-turning device of Fig. 4 in a partially sectioned side view;

[0044] Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of a printer arrangement according to the invention, also with a device for adapting to stacks of different heights;

[0045] Fig. 7 A shows a further embodiment of a page-turning device for a printer arrangement according to the invention,

[0046] B the page-turning device after grasping a page of the book;

[0047] Fig. 8 shows a further embodiment of a printer arrangement according to the invention for simultaneously printing the front and back of a sheet;

[0048] Fig. 9 shows a further embodiment of a printer arrangement according to the invention for simultaneously printing the front and back of a sheet;

[0049] Fig. 10 shows a further embodiment of a printer arrangement according to the invention.

[0050] By way of introduction, it should be noted that in the variously described embodiments, identical parts are provided with identical reference symbols or identical component designations, whereby the disclosures contained in the entire description can be transferred mutatis mutandis to identical parts with identical reference symbols or identical component designations. Furthermore, the positional information chosen in the description, such as top, bottom, side, etc., refers to the directly described and illustrated figure, and if the position changes, these positional information must be transferred mutatis mutandis to the new position. Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the simple instant print-on-demand system according to the invention for printed matter, in particular books (book-on-demand), but also bound magazines or the like.In such a system, the books are available in digital form, preferably on a storage medium of a publisher's central computer 1, after they have been stored there, for example, by scanning printed manuscripts 2 or uploading them from electronic systems 3 (desktop publishing, DTP), and preferably immediately converted into printable files. From this central computer, the printed work can then be downloaded or viewed as an electronic publication (e-book) via the buyer's or reader's own reading devices (e-readers) 4, directly on the screen 5, or on the buyer's or reader's computer system 6.

[0051] Of course, it is still possible to produce a printed book by processing the print file stored on central computer 1 in a print shop. This can be done in the traditional way with a predetermined print run or, more recently, increasingly only on request (book-on-demand) when a customer actually purchases the printed work. Since pre-printed, i.e., pre-bound, blank books are usually kept in stock for printing in all possible formats and page counts of the digital offering, or would first have to be bound in the required version, the effort is not insignificant and, especially for smaller companies, too high, which would in turn result in high warehousing costs.

[0052] The system according to the invention for an instant print-on-demand system is suitable for smaller printing companies, larger retail bookstores, or even for branches of book or magazine chains due to a novel design of the printer arrangements 7 used therein and connected to the central computer 1, with operating devices 8, in order to make the immediate production of an electronically stored printed work on-site and, despite the bound copy, possible in a simple and economical manner. A pre-bound book is preferably used, which must be provided in a fixed, predetermined format or at least in only a few formats and with a fixed, predetermined number of pages or only a few different page numbers. This book can already be provided with a cover, and its book block can be bound in any way, in particular glued, stitched, or thread-bound. As shown in Fig.As shown in Figure 2, a prebound book 9 for use in the system according to the invention is provided in the printer assembly 7 explained below for the printing process in a configuration in which the sheets 10 currently to be printed lie in a common plane. The sheets of the book block are arranged in two interconnected stacks 11, 12, which are connected by the flexible binding. Printing is performed on the upper surfaces of each of the stacks 11, 12.

[0053] Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of a printer arrangement 7 according to the invention, comprising at least one printer 13, with at least one printing device 14, in particular the print head and its print beam, suspension and guides, optionally in conjunction with a UV curing device. Preferably, the printer 13 is provided with an inkjet printing device that is movable along at least one guide parallel to the holder for the book 9. The structure of the printer arrangement 7 with respect to the printing device 14, its guides and / or suspension, any drying and / or curing devices, etc. can be selected from the conventional, known embodiments depending on requirements and can be selected by a person skilled in the art in the field of printing technology without inventive step.Additional devices, for example for the final treatment of the book cover, such as cellophane wrapping or the application of a UV-curable seal, can also already be integrated into the printer arrangement 7.

[0054] The printer arrangement also has a controller 32, which can preferably be addressed via the operating device 8, for retrieving and processing a print file, preferably imported from the central computer 1, and for controlling the at least one printing device 14, as well as a module for controlling the page-turning device.

[0055] The printer assembly 7 has a holder 15 for the prebound book 9, which, in the illustrated embodiment, has two height-adjustable stack support tables 16, 17, each assigned to a corresponding one of the two stacks 11, 12. During the printing process and the sequential printing of the book pages, the printed top page 10 is transferred from one stack 11 to the other stack 12 and turned over, thereby exposing an unprinted page. The stack support tables 16, 17 can be used to compensate for the changing height of the stacks 11, 12 in order to maintain the flat alignment of the top book pages 10 of each stack 11, 12.

[0056] In order to optimally adapt the printing device 14 to the respective printing task, an actuator is preferably arranged for changing a relative distance between a support surface for the book 9 and, in particular, the print head in a direction perpendicular to the support surface and can be controlled via the controller 32. Preferably, the actuator is controlled to change the relative distance during a print head movement for printing consecutive printing areas of two pages of the book.

[0057] The pages of book 9 are turned over automatically by a page-turning device 18. This is shown in an exemplary embodiment in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. The page-turning device 18, which can also be equipped for turning, removing, and inserting the book if necessary, grasps at least a majority of the pages of book 9, preferably also the cover. Turning and / or rotating the page is particularly important when taking the trim allowance into account, in order to be able to complete the overfills from the front of the book to the endpaper or from the back of the book to the endpaper page in one operation with the printing of the book block. This avoids the separate production of the cover and inside of the book, which is required in conventionally manufactured books.

[0058] The finished printed sheet 10 of the uppermost level of the stack 12 is lifted from the underlying sheets by the movement of at least one, for example, wedge-like slider 19 in a direction transverse to the spine or transverse to the front edge of the book block and folded onto the top of the adjacent stack 11. A lifting roller 20 can advantageously be provided to at least partially free the uppermost, printed page 10 from the underlying stack 12 of the book block. Alternatively, vacuum grippers, pincer-like grippers (see Fig. 7A, 7B), or other conventional devices for turning over sheets to be printed can also be used. The stack support tables 16, 17 are then automatically controlled to align the uppermost sheets of the two stacks 11, 12 again in a common plane, preferably by a movable smoothing and / or fixing arrangement with rollers 29, cylinders, or the like.to smooth it in a variety of combinations and, if necessary, to fix it in a flat position for the printing process of the next book pages. Fig. 6 also schematically shows the nozzle head 30 and the drying device 31 for the applied ink of the printing device 14.

[0059] Preferably, the page-turning device 18 is arranged in the region of a movement path between the opposing end faces of a printing bar in its two end positions. However, the page-turning device 18 could also be arranged outside of the region of at least one printing bar or of its movement path. Fig. 7A shows a page-turning device in another embodiment, here, for example, in the form of a pincer-like gripper 24, which grasps individual sheets of the respective stack 12 and transfers them to the adjacent stack 11, as indicated in Fig. 7B.

[0060] To ensure that no pages remain blank despite the specified number of pages and specified format of the book to be printed, and that the finished printed work has a consistently uniform appearance, regardless of the format and number of pages in the print file, the printer arrangement 7 has the features described below. Thus, the arrangement 7, in particular the printer 13 itself, as shown schematically in Fig. 6, is provided with at least one sensor arrangement 21. This sensor arrangement 21 is aligned with the book 9 and the uppermost sheets 10 to be printed and detects markings 22, 23 with which the book 9, its cover, and / or the sheets of the book block are provided (see Fig. 2).

[0061] In the prebound book 9, which is provided with a cover and a book block with a predeterminable number of pages, and with unprinted or partially printed pages and / or cover, alignment markings and / or limit markings 22 are applied to at least some of the book pages of the book block and / or the cover.

[0062] Advantageously, markings 23 for the respective page number and / or the total number of pages of the book 9 are also applied in the same way, as also shown in Fig. 2. The content to be printed can thus be aligned, under software control, with the aid of these markings 22, 23 on at least some of the pages to be printed, preferably also on the cover.

[0063] A further embodiment of the invention, as schematically illustrated in Fig. 6, is characterized in that the printer assembly 7 has a sensor assembly 32 for determining the number of sheets of the prebound book 9. This sensor assembly 21 is also connected to the controller 32, which controls the printing device 14 such that the content to be printed is distributed, preferably evenly, across the printing area of ​​the prebound book, controlled by the programming implemented in the controller of the printer assembly 7. Advantageously, a single sensor assembly 21 can be configured for both tasks.

[0064] These markings 22, 23 of Book 9 can be implemented as watermarks, invisible markings, or markings visible only under special lighting, such as blue light, or pre-printed text or logos. At least one of the printing areas can also be defined on the cover and / or spine of Book 9.

[0065] From the markings 22, 23, the format and location of a specified printing area on at least one page and / or the cover of the book 9 can be determined via the controller 32 of the printer assembly 7. Furthermore, the sensor assembly 21 is connected to the controller 32 of the printer assembly 7, which, taking into account the signals from the sensor assembly 21, controls the printer to print the localized printing area.

[0066] After determining the print area using the sensor array 21 or several or all of the sensor arrays, the material to be printed is adjusted by appropriate programming of the controller 32 under software control to the predeterminable number of pages and evenly and evenly distributed per page across the predeterminable print area, by automatically adjusting the typographical properties and / or layout accordingly. This includes changing the font size, spread, line and paragraph spacing, the placement of any images, etc. The algorithm used here works similarly to, for example, the open ePUB standard for e-books or the older Open eBook standard, to ensure dynamic adaptation of the print file to the specifications of the book 9 to be printed.The software in the control unit 32 can also automatically take into account the trim allowance for the edge and inside when printing the cover.

[0067] The operating device 8 also allows manual input or selection of the number of pages and / or the book format, and the printing layout automatically determined by the software of the controller 32 can be changed or completely replaced. The operating device 8 can also be used to specify, adjust, or change the alignment of the printing area on the pages via the display on a screen.

[0068] As previously explained, the method according to the invention using the described printer arrangement 7 with its sensor system 21 comprises the provision and positioning of a pre-bound book, the software-controlled printing including the automatic turning of the book pages, wherein the pages to be printed are preferably printed sequentially on the front and / or the back and wherein the printing is applied in the course of a relative movement between the book 9 and at least one printing device 14.

[0069] A preferred procedure is one in which the page turning, removal, insertion, and turning of the book 9 takes place while the printing device 14 is in a rest position or one of its end positions. However, the page turning process can also be started when only one of the top pages 10 has been completely printed or, preferably, the printing has cured, in order to achieve faster book production.

[0070] A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the printing device 14 is movable and height-adjustable relative to the holder 15 for the book 9 parallel to the plane of the page 10 to be printed in one direction, and the holder 15 for the book 9 is mounted so as to be movable under the printing device 14 orthogonally to the direction of travel of the printing device 14, preferably parallel to the front cut of the book block.

[0071] In order to enable the printing of the pages and the cover of the book as well as the printing of the spine of thicker books without having to move or reposition the book as a whole, two printing devices 14 are advantageously arranged in planes offset by 90° to one another or are movable along guide tracks.

[0072] According to an optional embodiment of the invention, faster production of the book or magazine can be achieved in that the page-turning device, preferably here using a vacuum gripper 25, is designed to hold a sheet 26 of the book 9 lifted off the remaining sheets of the stacks 11, 12 of the book 9 or of the book cover and spine, which are arranged in one plane. This variant is shown schematically in Fig. 8. Preferably, the lifted sheet 26 held by the vacuum gripper 25 is aligned perpendicular to the plane of the holder 15 for the book 9 or perpendicular to the upper sides of the stacks 11, 12. For each side of the held sheet 26, at least one printing device 27 is arranged so as to be movable relative to the sheet in at least one direction parallel to the plane of the held sheet 26 in order to print both sides of the sheet 26 simultaneously.

[0073] The page-turning device 18 of the embodiment of Fig. 9 is equipped with a gripper 24 constructed according to the design of Fig. 7A or 7B. This gripper 24 holds the page 26 of the book block to be printed essentially perpendicular to the uppermost sides of the stacks 11, 12 of the book block or the support surfaces of the stack support tables 16, 17. At least one printing device 27 is arranged for each side of the held sheet 26, movable relative to the sheet in at least one direction parallel to the plane of the held sheet 26, in order to print both sides of the sheet 26 simultaneously.

[0074] Fig. 10 schematically shows a further embodiment of a printer arrangement 7 according to the invention. Here, too, the page 26 to be printed is held essentially perpendicular to the stacks 11, 12 of the remaining book block or the stack support tables 16, 17. For this purpose, a support plate 33 is used which is connected to a vacuum device 34 in order to suck the page 26 onto the support plate 33 and thus fix it securely and completely flat. On the side of the sheet 26 opposite the support plate 33, the printing is carried out by the printing device 14 of the printer arrangement 7. Subsequently, the page 26 is fixed to a support plate 33 on the previously printed side, preferably after the print has dried and / or hardened, and is preferably again sucked in by the connected vacuum device 34. Printing is then carried out by the printing device 14.Depending on the configuration of the printer assembly 7, it is possible to work with a support plate 33, vacuum device 34, and printing device 14, which are inserted successively on both sides of the sheet 26. Alternatively, a separate support plate 33 with vacuum device 34 and printing device 14 can be used for the front and back of the sheet 26.

[0075] In order to quickly create a preview version of the book, a further optional feature of the invention can be provided for the controller 32 to include a module, preferably based on a random generator, which controls the printing device 14 such that only some of the pages of the book 9 are printed on their predetermined position in the book block and / or on the cover, i.e. on the correct page as in the final book. This avoids the extremely expensive initial outfitting of books and first produces a book excerpt extremely cheaply, so that a customer can get an impression of the book with an original view of the cover and back as well as randomly printed pages. The entire book is then printed only when the customer intends to purchase.

[0076] Optionally, the process can be carried out in such a way that all even or odd pages are printed in a first operation and all unprinted pages are printed in a second operation, whereby the book block and the cover are preferably also printed in separate operations.

[0077] The embodiments show possible embodiments, whereby it should be noted at this point that the invention is not limited to the specifically illustrated embodiments thereof, but rather various combinations of the individual embodiments with each other are also possible and this possibility of variation lies within the skill of the person skilled in the art in this technical field due to the teaching of technical action by means of the objective invention.

[0078] The scope of protection is determined by the claims. However, the description and drawings must be used to interpret the claims. Individual features or combinations of features from the various embodiments shown and described may represent independent inventive solutions. The problem underlying these independent inventive solutions can be derived from the description.

[0079] All information on value ranges in this description is to be understood as including any and all sub-ranges thereof, e.g. the information 1 to 10 is to be understood as including all sub-ranges starting from the lower limit of 1 and the upper limit of 10, ie all sub-ranges begin with a lower limit of 1 or greater and end with an upper limit of 10 or less, e.g. 1 to 1.7, or 3.2 to 8.1, or 5.5 to 10.

[0080] For the sake of clarity, it should be noted that some elements have been shown not to scale and / or enlarged and / or reduced in size to improve understanding of the structure.

[0081] Central computer 32 control

[0082] Printed Manuscript 33 Edition Suction Plate

[0083] DTP system 34 V vacuum device

[0084] e-reader

[0085] Screen

[0086] IT system

[0087] Printer arrangement

[0088] Operating device

[0089] Book

[0090] Pages to be printed

[0091] Stack of the book block

[0092] Stack of the book block

[0093] Printer

[0094] Printing device

[0095] Recording

[0096] Stacking support table

[0097] Stacking support table

[0098] Page turning device

[0099] slider

[0100] Lift-off roller

[0101] Sensor arrangement

[0102] Marking print area

[0103] Marking page number

[0104] gripper

[0105] U mblätter- vacuum gripper

[0106] Page of Book 9

[0107] Printing device

[0108] pressure bar

[0109] Smoothing / fixing arrangement

[0110] nozzle head

[0111] dryer

Claims

Patent claims 1. A printer arrangement comprising at least one printer (13) with at least one printing device (14), a holder (15) for a pre-bound book (9), a page-turning device (18) for at least a majority of the pages of the book (9), preferably also for the cover, and a controller (32) for processing an imported print file and for controlling the at least one printing device (14), as well as a module for controlling the page-turning device (18, 25), characterized in that the printer (13) has a sensor arrangement (21) with which the format and the localization of a defined printing area on at least one page and / or the cover of the book (9) can be determined, wherein the sensor arrangement (21) is connected to the controller (32) which controls the printing device (14) for printing the localized printing area.

2. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the page-turning device (18) is arranged in the region of a movement path between the opposite end positions of the printing device (14), for example between the opposite end faces of a printing bar (28), in its two end positions.

3. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the page-turning device (18) is arranged outside a region of at least one printing bar (28) or a movement path thereof or outside the mutually opposite end positions of the printing device (14).

4. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that an actuator for changing a relative distance between a support surface for the book (9) and the printing device (14) is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the support surface and can be controlled via the controller (32).

5. Printer arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that the actuator is controlled to change the relative distance during a movement of the printing device (14) for printing successive printing areas (10) of two pages of the book (9).

6. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor arrangement (21) is equipped to determine the number of sheets of the pre-bound book (9), wherein the sensor arrangement (21) is connected to the controller (32) which controls the printing device (14) in such a way that the content to be printed is preferably distributed evenly over the printing area of ​​the pre-bound book (9).

7. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the printer (13) is provided with an inkjet printing device (14) which is movable along at least one guide parallel to the holder (15) for the book (9), wherein the page-turning device (18) is arranged laterally next to the guide for the printing device (14).

8. Printer arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that at least one hold-down device for the sheets is arranged in the vicinity of the active printing position, preferably comprising vacuum grippers, and / or at least one hold-down device can be positioned in front of the printing device (14) and / or behind the printing device (14), possibly behind a UV curing device, via rollers or positioning feet.

9. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing device (14) is movable and height-adjustable relative to the holder (15) for the book (9) parallel to the plane of the page (10) to be printed, and the holder (15) for the book (9) is mounted so as to be movable orthogonally to a direction of travel of the printing device (14), preferably parallel to the front cut of the book block, under the printing device (14).

10. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that two printing devices (14) are arranged in planes offset by 90° to one another or are movable along guide tracks.

11. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the page-turning device (18, 24, 25, 33) is designed to hold a sheet (26) of the book (9) in a position perpendicular to the remaining sheets of the book (9) or the book cover and spine arranged in a plane, and for both sides of the held sheet at least one printing device (14, 27) is arranged to be movable relative to the sheet in at least one direction parallel to the plane of the held sheet (26).

12. Printer arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller (32) includes a module, preferably based on a random generator, which controls the printing device (14) in such a way that only a part of the pages of the book (9) are printed on their predetermined position in the book block and / or on the cover.

13. Instant print-on-demand system, comprising a storage unit (1) for storing at least one print file, and at least one printer arrangement (7) according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by a control device with an operating device (8) for selecting and transmitting at least one print file to the printer arrangement (7).

14. Pre-bound book (9) for use in a printer arrangement (7) according to claim 1, with a cover and a book block with a predeterminable number of sheets, and with unprinted or partially printed pages and / or cover, characterized in that at least some of the book pages of the book block and / or the cover are provided with alignment markings and / or limit markings (22).

15. Book according to claim 14, characterized in that the book pages and / or the cover are provided with markings (23) for the respective page number and / or the total page number.

16. Book according to claim 15, characterized in that the markings (22, 23) are designed as watermarks, invisible markings or markings visible only under blue light or pre-printed text parts or logos.

17. Book according to claim 14, characterized in that at least one of the printing areas is fixed on the cover and / or on the spine of the book (9).

18. A method for printing prebound books, preferably in an instant print-on-demand system, comprising the provision and positioning of a prebound book with cover and book block in a printer arrangement, the provision of a print file and software-controlled printing including the automatic turning of the book pages, wherein the pages to be printed are preferably printed sequentially on the front and / or the back, and wherein the printing is applied in the course of a relative movement between the book and at least one printing device, characterized in that the content of the print file to be printed is aligned under software control with markings on at least some of the pages to be printed, preferably also on the cover.

19. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that the number of pages of the prebound book is determined, the material to be printed is adapted under software control by changing the typographical properties and / or the layout uniformly to the predeterminable number of pages and per page to its predeterminable printing area.

20. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that the turning, removal, insertion and turning of the book takes place while the printing device is in a rest position or end positions.

21. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that, under software control, preferably based on a random generator, only a part of the pages of the book are printed on their predetermined position in the book block and / or on the cover.

22. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that all even or odd pages are printed in a first operation and all then still unprinted pages are printed in a second operation, wherein preferably the book block and the cover are also printed in separate operations.

23. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that the print file is retrieved from a storage unit at user request and transmitted to a printer arrangement.

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