The present invention is a method for measuring the varnish film thickness of a printed article by obtaining the film thickness of varnish on a sheet (1) on which a pattern is printed on a base thereof with ink and the pattern is coated with the varnish, wherein a metal foil (1c) having a smooth surface is attached to the base of the sheet (1), and the film thickness of the varnish coated directly over the metal foil (1c) is detected with a spectral interference-type film thickness meter (81) so as to determine whether the film thickness of the varnish is acceptable or not on the basis of the results detected by the spectral interference-type film thickness meter (81).

A processing machine for processing sheets comprises at least one application unit and at least one sheet sensor associated with that application unit. The at least one sheet sensor is arranged upstream of the associated application unit, along a transport path for sheets. The at least one sheet sensor is configured to detect the arrival time of sheets as the position of the sheet sensor. The at least one application unit, in each case, comprises at least one printing couple having a forme cylinder and an individual drive which is associated to that forme cylinder. The at least one sheet sensor is configured to control the position or the rotational speed of the forme cylinder in one of a closed loop or an open loop. The invention also relates to a method for processing sheets.

A device and method for the control and management of the printing parameters of a printing machine, particularly with a plurality of consecutive printing processes, is presented. The device and method include at least one video camera associable with a printing and conversion assembly and movable along a motorized guide in order to acquire a print medium. An image processor is functionally associated with the video camera to search, recognize and measure on the image of the print medium acquired by the video camera the printing values of at least one reference register mark reproduced on the print medium. The image processor is functionally connected to a unit for the actuation of the printing and conversion assembly to correct and restabilize the printing values according to the difference between the printing values measured by the image processor and the desired theoretical printing values.

According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided a method of determining the amount of fountain solution employed in a digital offset lithography printing system. Fountain solution thickness is determined from diagnostic images that are printed and analyzed using the existing Image Based Controls (IBC). An analysis of the density of solids, halftones, and background as a function of the fountain solution control parameter is performed to decide on the appropriate level of fountain solution. A latitude window of control parameters is then derived for which the digital offset lithography printing system in operation minimizes the undesirable effects of too much or too little fountain solution.

A system for decorating multiple containers in a single manufacturing run has a decorator, which includes a source of ink and print site where an ink graphic is deposited to each container in a plurality of containers that make up a manufacturing queue. An inspection station is located downstream from the decorator. The inspection station performs an optical evaluation of a quality of a pattern of ink deposited on at least one container in the plurality of containers A closed-loop feedback is responsive to the inspection station wherein the decorator is automatically adjusted in response to the optical evaluation performed at the inspection station.

A method is described in which a reflection is obtained of a laser light pattern reflected from a substrate. A reflection of diffuse light may be obtained from the substrate. A first parameter may be determined, relating to the substrate from the reflected laser light pattern. A second parameter may be determined, relating to the substrate from the reflected diffuse light and a characteristic of the substrate may be determined from the first and second parameters. A print apparatus and a machine-readable medium are also disclosed.

Some examples include checking the quality of printed products that are consecutively produced by multiple printing presses to have at least three printed patterns spaced apart from one another. The printed patterns are printed using different printing processes, such as a steel engraving process, an offset printing process, and a screen printing process that may be used for printing the three printed patterns of each printed product. A screen printing press is used for the screen printing process, with multiple steel plates being alternately used in the same production operation for the steel engraving process in an intaglio printing press. For at least two of the steel plates involved in carrying out the steel engraving process, a processing unit may selectively ascertain the deviation of the respective value of the relevant distances associated with the printed patterns, which may be instantaneously ascertained from a defined scale.

An optical media sensor includes a guide wall, a light emitter, a light receiver and a blower. The guide wall has an opening. The light emitter emits light to a medium sheet through the opening. The light receiver detects an amount of light travelling from the medium sheet. The blower generates a wind pressure that presses the medium sheet against the guide wall when detecting the amount of light.

A screen printer comprising: a board positioning device configured to convey and hold a board to a work position in the screen printer; a mask holding device configured to hold a mask above the work position; a squeegee device configured to spread a cream solder on a mask on the board; a correction device configured to correct a relative position between the board of the board positioning device and the mask of the mask holding device; a control device configured to acquire inspection data of a print state from a print inspection device provided inside or outside the screen printer and perform correction control on the correction device by a correction value corrected according to a deviation amount of printing based on the inspection data; and an input device configured to include an instruction input section that senses an inspection instruction operation of an operator and transmit, to the control device, an inspection data acquisition signal for acquiring the inspection data of the print state from the print inspection device based on an instruction operation of the operator to the instruction input section.

A sheet-fed printing unit has a first impression cylinder and a second impression cylinder, which are arranged directly and interactingly in contact and which each have an axis of rotation. An axial plane contains the axes of rotation. A reference plane is a plane which contains an axis of rotation of a cylinder of this type and has a horizontal surface normal. These two cylinders are arranged such that an intersection angle between the axial plane and the reference plane is a maximum of 15°. A transport path is provided for a transportation of sheets, which transport path has a region for the respective impression cylinder in which there is contact between sheets and a casing surface. This region of the transport path for the respective impression cylinder extends over an angular range of at least 270°. A sheet-fed printing machine has a sheet-fed printing unit of this type.