Markem Corporation

Robert B Scheuhing

L Edward Drew, Ii

Edward H Wilson, Jr

A cup holder for rotating a doctoring ink cup includes a housing with a cup receiving chamber and a bumper extending into the chamber. The bumper contacts the ink cup to rotate it within the chamber during inking of a gravure plate. It is the relative motion of the plate and the ink cup during inking of the plate which causes the bumper to contact the ink cup. A second bumper extends into the cup receiving chamber. A method of inking a gravure plate includes inking the plate by relative motion between an ink cup and the plate, and rotating the ink cup during inking such that an edge of the ink cup in contact with the plate rotates with respect to the plate. The rotation is caused by the relative motion.

Rotating ink cup

A doctoring cup particularly suited for inking non-flat plates includes a plate contacting edge with an 'Ease of Flex' parameter greater than about 0.020 lb.sup.-1. Ease of Flex is defined as 1/(Mt.sup.2), where t is the thickness of the plate contacting edge and M is the flexural modulus of the material from which the cup wall defining the edge is formed. By non-flat plates is meant plates out of flat by greater than 0.0002 inches/inch. The doctoring cup can be used to ink both flat and non-flat printing plates using a doctoring pressure of less than about 300 psi.

Soft doctoring cup

A doctoring ink cup for containing and applying ink to an engraved image on a printing plate includes a flexible doctoring cup drawn from a sheet of spring steel. The doctoring cup has rim forming a doctoring edge for wiping excess ink from the printing plate. A cup shaped stiffening member is bonded to the doctoring cup for stiffening the doctoring cup.

Doctoring ink cup

A gravure plate assembly having an elastomer pad sandwiched between a more rigid base plate and a less rigid metal top plate bearing an engraving surface.

Growing community of inventors

Rindge, NH, United States of America

Robert B Scheuhing