Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F21/00—Devices for conveying sheets through printing apparatus or machines
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F19/00—Apparatus or machines for carrying out printing operations combined with other operations
  • B41F19/001—Apparatus or machines for carrying out printing operations combined with other operations with means for coating or laminating
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F23/00—Devices for treating the surfaces of sheets, webs, or other articles in connection with printing
  • B41F23/04—Devices for treating the surfaces of sheets, webs, or other articles in connection with printing by heat drying, by cooling, by applying powders
  • B41F23/044—Drying sheets, e.g. between two printing stations
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
  • B41F5/00—Rotary letterpress machines
  • B41F5/24—Rotary letterpress machines for flexographic printing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO PRINTING, LINING MACHINES, TYPEWRITERS, AND TO STAMPS
  • B41P2200/00—Printing processes
  • B41P2200/10—Relief printing
  • B41P2200/12—Flexographic printing

Definitions

• the invention relates to a machine and a method for printing on rigid sheets such as cardboard and the like.
• the sheets of cardboard are normally inserted into a machine which includes various printing stations that are flanked and together define a straight trajectory for the cardboard sheets, each of which stations prints a colour on the cardboard.
• These printing stations are normally provided with a true and proper printing group and a suction plane which holds the cardboard sheets in position while they are advanced, usually by rollers or conveyor belts comprised in each printing station, along the various printing stations.
• the suction planes of the various stations are all reciprocally flanked such as to define a single sliding plane of the cardboard sheets which transit internally of the machine.
• various printing stations are flanked to one another to realise a straight continuous trajectory for the sheets, which are retained by one side and conveyed along the printing trajectory in order to receive the relative colour on the other side, in each station.
• the cardboard sheets used for die-cutting and the realisation of packaging are of various types and thicknesses. At times, when the packaging has to exhibit limited moisture absorption properties, a waterproof coating is previously applied at least on a surface thereof; sometimes, due to special uses, cardboard sheets are used which have the two surfaces thereof differently coloured. For these special operations special pre-worked blank sheets are used which, obviously, incur extra expense.
• the aim of the present invention is to provide a machine and a method actuated by the machine which renders the operations of preparation and printing of the cardboard sheets destined to be die-cut for obtaining packages more rapid and less expensive.
• An advantage of the present invention is to provide a machine and a method actuated by the machine which make the operations of printing the sheets destined for die-cutting more versatile, as well as limiting the nned for use of special cardboard.
• FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a schematic lateral view of the machine of the invention.
• rigid sheets normally cardboard, which in order to give the packaging its final appearance are inserted in a machine which prints the decorations on the cardboard sheet; thereafter the cardboard sheets are die-cut then to be folded to make the packaging.
• machines For performing the printing operations, machines are known which are provided with printing stations 2 that are flanked to one another in order to define a straight trajectory 3 along which the cardboard sheets to be printed on move in an advancement direction. These machines are assemblable and are normally composed of a number of printing stations which coincides with the number of colours with which the cardboard sheets are to be decorated; once the number of printing stations has been set up, the machines are normally completed by an infeed station 5, which is located at the start of the machine and inserts the sheets therein, and a cutting station 6, which is located at the end of the machine and performs the die-cutting of the printed sheets.
• the printing stations which are of known type and to which the present invention makes specific reference, each comprise a tract of trajectory for the cardboard sheets, a printing group 2a and a blocking group 2b of the sheet, which are arranged on opposite sides with respect to the tract of trajectory;
• the printing group is realised with a flexographic roller while the blocking group is pneumatic and is realised by a plane provided with numerous holes through which air is aspirated in order to create, when a cardboard sheet is transiting, a depression between the hole and the sheet which enables the sheet to be blocked, with lifting and lateral movements blocked with respect to the advancement direction of the sheet itself.
• small conveyor belts are positioned on each tract of trajectory, which belts act on the cardboard sheets in order to move them advancingly along the trajectory and to enable them to pass from one station to another.
• at least one of the printing stations 2 is an inverted station 2i which exhibits the printing group 2ia and the blocking group 2ib located on the opposite side, with respect to the straight trajectory, to the printing groups 2a and the blocking groups 2b of the remaining printing stations 2 of the machine.
• the inverted printing station 2i exhibits the same printing groups and blocking groups as the remaining stations, with the only difference that the two groups are upturned with respect to the straight trajectory.
• the blocking groups 2ib of the inverted stations 2i define a blocking plane which is parallel to a blocking plane defined by the blocking groups 2b of the remaining printing stations 2 and which is distanced from the latter blocking plane by a distance which is about the same as the thickness of the cardboard sheet being processed (observe that in the figure the thickness of the sheet has been illustrated with greater than usual dimensions in order for it to be more easily identified).
• the machine preferably comprises an inverted station 2i which is arranged, with reference to the movement direction of the cardboard sheets, before the remaining printing stations 2; the inverted station 2i is therefore the first printing station that the cardboard sheets encounter when they transit along the straight trajectory.
• drying station 4 is also preferably comprised, after the inverted station 2i, which is of known type.
• the machine By introducing the sheets into the machine and performing only one passage on the straight trajectory, the machine enables actuation of a method for printing cardboard sheets and the like which, beyond performing a stage of printing on a surface of the sheet by the printing stations 2, also enables, using the inverted stations 2i, a stage of printing on the opposite surface of the sheet from the one on which the preceding printing stages are performed.
• the blocking of the sheets occurs on a surface thereof in the stations 2 and on an opposite surface thereof in the inverted stations 2i.
• the printing stage and the blocking stage of the inverted station are preferably performed once only and before the printing and blocking stages performed in the remaining stations.
• a stage of drying is preferably performed.
• the drying stage is particularly useful when the whole surface of the cardboard sheet is to be covered with a waterproofing material, or when the whole sheet is to be coloured with a particular colour. This enables normal sheets to be used to attain results which previously could only be obtained with the use of special cardboard (for example waterproofed or with surfaces of different colours). The result cannot be achieved with the known machines as, very often, the surfaces of the sheets to be completely coloured or waterproofed are those not destined to be printed on with words or decorations.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Making Paper Articles (AREA)
• Printing Methods (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=41718990

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 2009
  • 2009-06-18 IT ITMO2009A000163A patent/IT1394755B1/it active
• 2010
  • 2010-05-11 WO PCT/IB2010/052075 patent/WO2010146479A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2010-05-11 EP EP10723338.9A patent/EP2442982B1/en active Active
  • 2010-05-11 PL PL10723338T patent/PL2442982T3/pl unknown
  • 2010-05-11 ES ES10723338.9T patent/ES2443832T3/es active Active

Patent Citations (2)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events