Sheet-fed Printing Press with Combined Intaglio and Stencil Units
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet-fed printing presses require separate machines and extensive operational effort for intaglio and stencil printing, limiting efficiency as they cannot perform both processes on one surface of a sheet in a single pass.
Innovation Solution
A sheet-fed printing press is designed with a reversing device and combined intaglio and stencil printing units, allowing for single-sided or double-sided printing on a sheet in one pass using a rotary screen for stencil printing and a gravure plate cylinder for intaglio printing, eliminating the need for sheet reversal and registration between units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate intaglio printing press and stencil printing press are used, then each printing process can be performed independently, but installation space increases and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines both the intaglio printing unit and stencil printing unit into a single integrated printing press system. The intaglio printing unit includes a gravure plate cylinder, while the stencil printing unit includes a rotary screen, both mounted on the same press frame with shared impulsion and impression cylinders. This merging eliminates the need for separate machines, reducing installation space while maintaining the capability to perform both printing processes independently or simultaneously on the same sheet.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate printing presses are used for intaglio and stencil printing, then each process can be completed independently, but time and effort for sheet relocation and registration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges both printing units into one press with shared impulsion and impression cylinders, allowing sheets to be processed through both intaglio and stencil printing in a single continuous operation without relocation. The coordinated rotation of shared cylinders ensures proper timing and positioning, eliminating time loss associated with moving sheets between separate presses and performing registration adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary coordination of the impulsion and impression cylinders to pre-establish the correct timing and positioning for sheet transfer between printing units. The cylinders are synchronized in advance so that when a sheet exits one printing unit, it is automatically positioned correctly for entry into the next printing unit, eliminating the need for manual registration operations.
3Productivity
If intaglio and stencil printing units share impulsion and impression cylinders, then device complexity increases, but both printing processes can be performed in one pass
Solution Approach 1:
The impulsion and impression cylinders are designed as universal components that serve multiple functions: they drive both the intaglio printing unit and the stencil printing unit, transfer sheets between units, and maintain synchronization between different printing processes. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of separate cylinders needed, managing device complexity while enabling both printing processes to operate in one pass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the impulsion and impression cylinders into shared components used by both printing units. The gravure plate cylinder and rotary screen are both driven by the same impulsion cylinder, and both print onto sheets transferred by the same impression cylinder. This merging of mechanical components streamlines the overall device structure while maintaining the capability to perform both printing processes simultaneously.
4Device complexity
If conventional separate presses are used, then simple device structure is maintained, but single-sided printing on one sheet requires multiple passes and sheet reversal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges both printing units into a single press with coordinated cylinders, enabling the system to print on both sides of a sheet in one continuous pass without requiring manual sheet reversal. The shared impulsion and impression cylinders automatically manage the sheet through both printing units, doubling productivity while keeping the mechanical structure relatively simple through component sharing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A sheet-fed printing press comprises: a screen printing unit (12) for printing one surface of a sheet (S) beingtransported; a drying unit (14), provided downstream of the screen printing unit (12) in a transport direction, for drying the screen-printed one surface of the sheet (S); a gravure printing unit (15), provided downstream of the drying unit (14) in the transport direction, for performing printing on the dried sheet (S); and a reversing unit (13), provided between the drying unit (14) and the gravure printing unit (15), for switching between double-sided printing in which the other surface on the side opposite to the screen-printed one surface of the sheet (S) is gravure-printed, and single-sided printing in which the screen-printed sheet (S) is reversed, and the one surface of the reversed sheet (S) is gravure-printed.