Agfa-gevaert

Agfa Gevaert Nv

Agfa Graphics Nv

Agra-gevaert

Aofa-gevaert N.v.

Bart J Verlinden

Bart Peter Verhoest

Patrick Van Den Bergen

Jean-Pierre D Tahon

Luc H Leenders

Leo Vermeulen

Dirk F De Ruijter

Werner Van De Wynckel

Albert Brals

Joan T Vermeersch

Rudi A Goedeweeck

Herman Van Gorp

Arend-Jan Johan Beltman

Hilbrand Vanden Wyngaert

Hieronymus Andriessen

Frank Louwet

Leo N Vackier

Tom Cloots

Johan Hubert Van Hunsel

Jan Claes

Marc A De Niel

Ludo Van Schepdael

Dirk De Ruyter

Markus Hilpert

Albrecht F Domen

Freddy J Van Humbeeck

Konrad Vosteen

Francois Joos

William Fobelets

Kris Vangeel

Wim Helsen

Hilbrand Van Den Wyngaert

Luc De Coux

Luc De Brabandere

Marc Van Kalmthout

Eddi Daems

Bart Van De Wynckel

A digital printer is provided with an automated printing sheet transport system, operating in an intermittent manner of feeding a printing sheet to the digital printer, halting the transport to allow printing onto the printing sheet while the printing sheet is maintained in a fixed position, and removing the printed sheet from the digital printer after printing. The digital printer may be combined with a screen print station, both operating on top of a single printing sheet transport system, to form an integrated multifunctional and hybrid printing press.

Method for printing with digital printing press having automated media transport

In a digital printer the elements involved directly in the print process, which are located on a shuttle assembly are mounted upon a metrological frame which is isolated from the base frame by vibration dampers. Because the elements of the shuttle drive systems, such as a belt drive system having a motor and pulleys, are mounted upon the base frame, the drive and reaction forces from the motor drive systems are led to the base frame while the shuttles assembly is guided by the force-free, vibration free metrological frame. This allows for higher accuracy during printing as the metrological frame serves as a vibration free reference element.

Forceless support frame for printhead shuttle in digital printers

A digital printer includes a digital printing unit for digital printing an image onto a printing substrate during relative movement between a print head and the printing substrate, and a printing table for holding the printing substrate during the digital printing. The printing table is firmly fixed to the digital printing unit during the digital printing of the image onto the printing substrate and is released from the digital printing unit prior to and after the digital printing of the image onto the printing substrate. The printing table may be moved between a printing position, in which it is firmly fixed to the digital printing unit, and a printing substrate feeding position, in which it supports feeding and removing of the printing substrate from the printing table.

Printing system with printing table releasably clamped to printing unit

A printhead positioning system is provided wherein the shuttle assembly is split up in a printing shuttle, having a high accuracy positioning capability and a utility shuttle needing only a low accuracy positioning system. Due to this split-up the mass of components which have to be positioned accurately is greatly reduced and therefore making it easier to position the lighter load accurately and allowing for use of cheaper drive systems while maintaining the high accuracy in printing.

Double shuttle configuration for digital printers

Upon a substrate subsequent layers of elastic ink are jetted using an ink jet printing system. Each layer is immobilised by a immobilisation step before jetting the following layer. A printing relief is gradually formed to obtain a flexographic printing plate allowing accurate control over the relief and slopes of the printing plates. Use can be made of different inks or immobilisation step to obtain different layer characteristics. Inks can be immobilised using UV curing. The recorded relief of the layers can be measured and corrections can be applied using a feed-back loop. A rejuvenation process for printing plates can be constructed using the described method. An elastic base layer can be provided on the substrate to provide better plate characteristics.

Preparation of flexographic printing plates using ink jet recording

A multi-channel droplet deposition apparatus including a body ( ) having a plurality of channels ( ) terminating in a common channel termination surface ( ) and a nozzle plate ( ) having nozzles ( ) for selectively ejecting liquid drops originating from the channels, wherein the nozzle plate is releasably attached to the body by an adhesive layer.

Droplet deposition apparatus with releasably attached nozzle plate

Compact printing apparatus and method

An ink jet printer including a first and a second nozzle array, arranged one after another in the printing direction, wherein the second nozzle array is movably arranged in the printer for being displaced so that the number of nozzles in the second nozzle array experience a displacement having a component in a direction orthogonal to the printing direction.

Ink jet printer with nozzle arrays that are moveable with respect to each other

An ink jet printer wherein a belt transports an image receiving member past a printhead is equipped with guiding means ( ) for creating a bulge, d, in the belt, extending towards the ink ejecting means, thus keeping the &ldquo;throw distance&rdquo; constant and/or with rollers for moving the belt, one of the rollers having a flange and being positioned so as to force the belt agains the flange.

Ink jet printer equipped for avoiding undesired belt movement

An ink-jet printer includes pagewidth printheads mounted in a frame, wherein the printheads are coupled to mechanical devices for aligning the printheads with respect to each other, with respect to an edge of the image receiving substrate, or with respect to both. The printer may include devices for sensing the possible misalignment, coupled to a computer for automatically aligning the printheads.

Ink-jet printer equipped for aligning the printheads

A method for thermally processing a sheet of a thermographic material provides good flatness and dimensional stability together with a high optical homogeneity. The method incorporates the steps of supplying a sheet of thermographic material m ( ) to a thermal processor ( ) having a processing chamber ( ), heating the processing chamber to a predetermined processing temperature, and transporting the sheet of thermographic material through the processing chamber in a sinuous way ( ). This transporting is carried out by a first drivable belt ( ), a second drivable belt ( ) and backing means ( ).

Thermal processing of a sheet of thermographic material

A material for making a lithographic printing plate is provided comprising on a glass support a surface capable of being differentiated in ink accepting and ink repellant areas in accordance with an image pattern, characterised in that the glass support has a thickness of not more than 0.5 mm, a failure stress of at least 10 Pa and a Youngs modulus of not more than 10 Pa.

Material for producing a lithographic printing plate comprising a glass support

A method is disclosed for making a module that can be used in an electric or electronic device such as a flat panel display, a light emitting diode or a photovoltaic cell. The figure shows as a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention a schematic section of a panel consisting of three adjacent modules (liquid crystal display cells; only one is shown completely). The panel is obtained by assembling two substrates ( ) and ( ) which carry functional layer ( ) and ( ) respectively. The substrates are preferably flexible plastic foils. Thin glass sheets ( ) are laminated to the substrates ( ) so as to obtain an efficient barrier layer which protects the functional layers ( ) from mechanical damage, heat and degradation due to diffusion of oxygen or water vapor. The method is especially suitable for making flexible, low-weight flat panel displays, e.g. LCDs comprising a liquid crystal composition ( ), spacers ( ) and seals ( ).

Method for making an electric or electronic module comprising a glass laminate

A flexible laminate is disclosed wherein a thin borosilicate glass substrate is bonded to a support, which is preferably a transparent plastic support. The glass substrate protects the support from scratches, moisture, solvents and gases, and improves the dimensional and thermal stability of the support, whereas the support protects the glass from breakage. The use of borosilicate significantly reduces the chance of breakage compared to e.g. sodium or chemically hardened glass. The laminate can be used for carrying a functional layer such as an image recording layer. The laminate is especially suitable for carrying color filters and electroconductive layers in flat panel displays.

Laminate comprising a thin borosilicate glass substrate as a constituting layer

A security card is disclosed which comprises a laminate of a flexible glass layer and a support, characterised in that the glass layer has a thickness of not more than 350 &mgr;m. The thin glass layer has sufficient flexibility to allow substantial bending of the card without causing breakage of the glass. In addition, the glass layer acts as a security feature because delamination in order to falsify information stored in the card is very difficult without breaking the glass. The glass is also an efficient barrier layer protecting the information stored in the card from mechanical damage and from degradation due to permeation of gases such as oxygen or water vapour.

Security card comprising a thin glass layer

Growing community of inventors

Tongeren, Belgium

Bart J Verlinden