Roll-fed printing queue planning for finishing alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Roll-fed printing apparatuses face challenges in optimizing resource usage and ensuring faultless finishing of printed images, particularly with finishing requirements like cutting and laminating, which can result in unintended cuts or inadequate preparation for post-processing steps.
Innovation Solution
The method involves specifying planned finishing actions in print job settings, such as laminating or cutting, and adding additional jobs to the print queue either before or after the primary print job to ensure optimal resource utilization and flawless finishing, including adjusting positions and adding process steps as needed for varnishing, rewinding, or double-sided printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If finishing actions like cutting or laminating are performed on printed rolls, then the robustness and post-processing capability of printed images is improved, but unintended cuts may occur in larger images and additional preparation space is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary planning of finishing actions by inserting additional non-printing jobs into the print queue before actual printing occurs. These placeholder jobs reserve the necessary space and time for finishing operations like cutting and laminating, ensuring that when the actual printing and finishing occurs, all positioning and preparation is already accounted for, preventing unintended cuts and ensuring accurate finishing placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary planning layer that acts between the print queue and the actual printing/finishing processes. This intermediary system (the roll planner with additional jobs) mediates the coordination between printing and finishing operations, ensuring that finishing actions are properly positioned and that adequate preparation space is allocated without directly interfering with the core printing or finishing mechanisms.
2Reliability
If additional space is allocated for finishing actions like laminating, then faultless finishing is enabled, but the effective printing area on the roll is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by inserting placeholder jobs into the print queue that reserve the necessary space for finishing operations. This advance planning ensures that when printing occurs, the finishing space is already allocated and accounted for, enabling reliable finishing without requiring excessive additional material beyond what is minimally necessary for the finishing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation in the print queue by introducing jobs with zero printing parameters (additional non-printing jobs). These jobs have printing length of 0 meters but occupy queue position and time, effectively reserving space for finishing operations without consuming actual printable media, thus maintaining printing efficiency while ensuring finishing reliability.
3Productivity
If the print queue is optimized to minimize roll changes, then resource utilization is improved, but finishing requirements may not be met due to space constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by inserting placeholder jobs into the print queue that reserve the necessary space for finishing operations. This advance planning ensures that when the roll planner optimizes for minimal roll changes, the finishing space requirements are already accounted for in the queue structure, allowing both high roll utilization and reliable finishing completion.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary planning system acts as a mediator between roll utilization optimization and finishing requirements. By representing finishing space needs as queue positions rather than physical media consumption, the system allows the roll planner to optimize roll usage while the intermediary jobs ensure finishing space is reserved, resolving the conflict between productivity and finishing reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A roll-fed printing apparatus and a method for controlling the roll-fed printing apparatus for printing print jobs on a recording medium by means of a print mechanism. The method comprising the steps of receiving a print job with print job settings, adding the print job to a print queue of the roll-fed printing apparatus, specifying a first start position on the recording medium for printing the print job, due to a planned finishing action automatically adding an additional job to the print queue in order just behind the print job or in order just before the print job, specifying a second start position on the recording medium for processing the additional job in a neighborhood on the recording medium of the print job, specifying a width and a length on the recording medium for processing the additional job, the width and the length determined by the kind of the finishing action, upon arrival of the print job at the head of the print queue or upon arrival of the additional job at the head of the print queue whichever arrives at first, printing the print job and processing the additional job at the first start position and at the second start position respectively, wherein the additional job is a non-printing job during execution of which the recording medium is moved relative to the print mechanism without any printing at the second start position over an area which corresponds to the specified length and width.