Gerber Technology, Inc.

A Bruce Plumley

Darryl Colburn Stein

Matthew Reardon

In a printer having a continuously moving web, a method is disclosed for accelerating the moving web in the areas where printing is not to occur such that the throughput of the print can be increased without sacrificing print quality.

Multi-mode continuous printing

In an apparatus for printing on a continuously moving sheet of work material, a frame is provided and defines a work supporting surface over which a sheet of work material is advanced in a first coordinate direction longitudinally of itself. An elongated support is mounted to the frame and extends transversely across the work supporting surface. A print head is mounted to the elongated support and is movable across the support, as well as between a forward and rearward position. During operation, as the work material is continuously advanced through the apparatus, the print head traverses the support and simultaneously moves between the forward and rearward positions, such that the print head has a component of speed in the first coordinate direction approximately equal to the rate at which the work material is advanced. This causes the print head to print successive lineal portions of a graphic oriented approximately perpendicular to the first coordinate direction while the work material is continuously advanced.

Method and apparatus for printing on a continuously moving sheet of work material

In an apparatus for printing on a web of work material continuously advanced in an X coordinate direction at a velocity v.sub.wx, at least one print head having a plurality of print elements arranged in a scanning array extending in the X direction is repetitively movable relative to the apparatus. The scanning array moves at a velocity v.sub.a along a path that includes at least one scan segment and at least one repositioning segment. As the scanning array traverses the scan segment it has a first velocity component v.sub.ax in the X direction, and a second velocity component v.sub.ay in a Y direction perpendicular to the X direction. The first velocity component v.sub.ax is equal to the velocity v.sub.wx so that the scanning array in traversing the scan segment, scans a swath on the web parallel to the Y direction, having a swath height h.sub.s. The velocity component v.sub.ay is such that in the time taken for the array to move along the full extent of the scan segment the web advances a distance h.sub.w in the X direction that is less than h.sub.s. The array then travels along the repositioning segment such that prior or equal to a time taken for the web to advance a distance d=h.sub.s -h.sub.w the print head is positioned for movement along the scan segment, thereby causing successive swaths of the web scanned by the array to be positioned immediately adjacent to one another.

Growing community of inventors

Middletown, CT, United States of America

A Bruce Plumley