Drg (uk) Limited

Strachan Henshaw Machinery Ltd.

Roger F Maslin

Kenneth A Bowman

Jonathan H Ripper

David Godden

John D Rolfe

A printing apparatus has an array of cartridges for printing a web of e.g. paper passing through the array, and one or more units containing printing medium. The cartridges each are capable of transferring the printing medium from the unit(s) to the web. The unit(s) and the cartridges of the array are relatively movable, to allow the unit(s) to interact successively with at least two of the cartridges. In this way it is possible to change printing from one cartridge to another, allowing changes to be made to what is printed, without halting the movement of web significantly. The present invention also proposes that the cartridges may have printing cylinders of different sizes, and furthermore that a mobile unwind stand may be used to move web material to the printing apparatus, and the web output from the printing apparatus processed by sheet folding techniques.

Processing paper and other webs

Sleeves with different circumferences (and hence print repeat lengths) are removably mountable on a roll core, making use of radial compressibility of the radially inner region of each sleeve. The radially outer regions are incompressible, to ensure good print quality. A sleeve may have inner and outer regions of different foam materials. Alternatively it may employ spaced discs having resilient arcuate tongues engaging an inner sleeve. An outer sleeve may be defined by slats engaging the discs, or peripheral flanges of the discs.

Growing community of inventors

Downend, United Kingdom

Roger F Maslin