Reeves Brothers, Inc.

Trelleborg Engineered Systems Italy S.p.a.

Gianpietro Invernizzi

Francesco Castelli

Silvia Bergamaschi

Fausto Zeni

Omar Reale

A metal backed printing blanket for mounting on a blanket cylinder that includes a gap, the printing blanket having a thin metal base plate with top and bottom surfaces and ends which include leading and trailing edges adapted for engaging the gap in the cylinder; a compressible, elastomeric printing blanket secured to the top surface of the base plate but not the ends and having an upper face adapted for contact transfer of ink to a printable substrate; and a specialized coating applied to the bottom surface to prevent deformation of the printing blanket and to prevent delamination of the printing blanket from a blanket cylinder. The method for making a metal backed printing blanket for mounting on such a cylinder is also disclosed.

Metal-backed printing blanket

A metal backed printing blanket for mounting on a cylinder that includes a gap. The blanket comprises a metal base plate having top and bottom surfaces and ends which include leading and trailing edges adapted for engaging the cylinder gap. The article further comprises a compressible, elastomeric printing blanket secured to the top surface of the base plate, but not to the ends, and having an upper face adapted for contact transfer of ink to a printable substrate. In addition, the blanket is provided with an anti-slip layer upon at least a portion of the top surface of at least one end of the base plate to facilitate retention of the base plate ends within the gap during rotation of the cylinder. The anti-slip layer has a coefficient of friction that is greater than that of the base plate and a thickness sufficient to permit insertion of the base plate edges and ends into the cylinder gap. In alternate embodiments, the invention is further directed to the method of making the above-described blanket, as well as to a method of securing the blanket to a blanket cylinder in a printing press.

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Lodi, Italy

Gianpietro Invernizzi