I-tek, Inc.

A.b. Dick Company

Juergen G Lein

Daniel H Robbins

A mask is used for mounting a sensitized sheet, such as a printing plate, onto the surface of an exposure drum. The mask, acting as an intermediary between the exposure drum and the printing plate, is a flexible sheet, with a top and bottom surface, that is mounted about the exposure drum. A groove formed within the top surface of the flexible sheet is used for securing the printing plate by means of a vacuum. A passageway formed within the flexible sheet connects the groove to the bottom surface and receives a vacuum from the exposure drum. Plates of different sizes are mounted to the exposure drum by interchangeable masks of corresponding sizes.

Exposure drum mask

A simple, reliable heater-fuser station for fusing toner images upon relatively stiff, resilient and moist printing plates includes a curved heater-platen positioned between a pair of entrance squeegee rollers and a pair of exit rollers. The angles between the plate material and the surfaces of the heater-platen due to roller orientations are such that the high beam strength and resiliency characteristics of the wet plates are advantageously employed to maintain intimate contact between the leading and trailing edge portions, as well as centralized portions, of the plates and the heater-platen.

Heater-drier for fusing toner images on wet printing plates

A roller is coupled to a movable support frame which in a first position bears a flexible halftone screen which is fully wound up about said roller. As the support frame is translated in a first direction across the film mounted upon a vacuum platen, the flexible screen unwinds and is laid flat across the platen. When the movable support frame is translated in a second direction, the screen is thereafter wound up about said roller somewhat in the manner of a 'reverse windowshade.'

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West Henrietta, NY, United States of America

Juergen G Lein