Systems and methods for laser assisted deposition of a material includes a printing unit configured to print individual dot-like portions of a material from a donor substrate onto a receiving substrate, and a vacuum shuttle configured to be positionable in two or three dimensions between the printing unit and the donor substrate and to engage the donor substrate upon application of a vacuum to the vacuum shuttle. The printing unit may include a coating system and a laser. The vacuum shuttle includes a vacuum channel about its periphery and an open window through which the laser irradiates the donor substrate. The vacuum channel is fluidly coupled to a vacuum inlet for receiving a vacuum suction, thereby to engage the donor substrate and hold it taught against the bottom of the vacuum shuttle in operation. The vacuum shuttle may also include one or more distance measuring sensors and fiducial markers.

A can decorator comprising a spindle disc, a blanket drum, a transfer wheel, a pin chain drive, and a controller. The spindle disc is adapted for (i) receiving beverage cans from an infeed and (ii) carrying and rotating each can body on a corresponding spindle. The blanket drum is adapted for (i) applying ink to printing cylinders and (ii) rotating the print cylinders in registration with beverage cans on the spindle disc to decorate the cans. The transfer wheel is adapted for receiving beverage cans from the spindle disc after decoration by the blanket drum. The pin chain drive is adapted for receiving cans from the transfer wheel and transporting the cans on a chain through an oven. The controller adapted for receiving encoder information and matching or adjusting speeds of a spindle disc motor, a blanket drum motor, a transfer wheel motor, and a pin chain drive motor.

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.

There is described a process of measuring print-to-print register of a multicolour print (A-D) provided in an effective printed area (EPA) of the surface of printed material, which multicolour print (A-D) is formed on the printed material by means of one or more printing presses and includes at least a first pattern (A) and a second pattern (B) distinguishable from the first pattern (A), the effective printed area (EPA) being provided with a matrix arrangement of individual imprints (P) which are each provided with the multicolour print (A-D) and are repeated over the surface of the effective printed area (EPA) along a pattern of rows and columns. Measurement of an actual print-to-print register between the first and second patterns (A, B), as reflected on the printed material, is derived from processing and finding a correspondence between (i) at least one sample image (SI.sub.A, SI.sub.B) of the printed material covering at least a portion of the first and second patterns (A, B), and (ii) at least one corresponding reference image (RI.sub.A, RI.sub.B) generated using prepress design data of the first and second patterns (A, B). Furthermore, the process is repeated for multiple ones of the individual imprints (P) so as to derive a set of multiple measurements of the actual print-to-print register between the first and second patterns (A, B) at various imprint locations over the effective printed area (EPA), which set of multiple measurements is mapped into a corresponding print-to-print register map (M.sub.B-A, M.sub.C-A, M.sub.D-A, . . . ) that is representative of print-to-print register deviations at the various imprint locations. Also described is a measuring device for carrying out this process and a process of measuring and correcting print-to-print register of a multicolour print.

The multiple printing plate mounting system of the present disclosure may be used to mount multiple flexible printing plates simultaneously onto a printing sleeve. The system has a back rotary vacuum plate with a plurality of distinct vacuum zones and may be controlled via valve by a computer control system. A filler plate may also be controlled with the same vacuum patterns. The filler plate will move minutely side-to-side. A front plate with match-controlled vacuum patterns may also have a servo to control front-to-back-movement. The distinct vacuum zones are used together with the movable front, back, and filler vacuum plates to selectively, individually, and independently align the flexible printing plates prior to mounting.

A printing assembly (400) may include a first continuous cylinder (420) and a first jogging assembly (424). The first continuous cylinder (420) may be configured to apply print media to a flexible substrate (300) responsive to contact with the flexible substrate. The first continuous cylinder (100, 420) may include a plurality of partitions (210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260) configured such that only one of the partitions is aligned for contact with the flexible substrate at any given time, and each of the partitions may have a unique print characteristic associated therewith. The first jogging assembly (424) may be operably coupled with the first continuous cylinder (420) to move the first continuous cylinder along an axis thereof to change alignment of the partitions relative to the flexible substrate.

An apparatus, a printing press and method for correcting the printing position of a printing unit of a printing press that has at least one sensor unit, where the method incudes the steps of detecting an actual position of at least one print mark via the sensor unit, where the print mark is printed onto a printing material via the printing unit, determining of a deviation of the detected actual position from a setpoint position, determining at least one difference value that characterizes the deviation, determining a buffer value from a number of basic values previously stored in a memory, determining a correction value by subtracting the buffer value from the difference value, storing the determined correction value in the memory as one of the basic values, and correcting the printing position based on the determined correction value.

A system can include one or more image sensors, a processor system, one or more output devices, and one or more computer-readable storage media. The output devices can include a printing device configured to apply a graphic on an article. The one or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processing system, cause the system to perform a method of processing an article. The instructions can include instructions to receive an image of the article from the one or more image sensors, instructions to determine a location of one or more fiducials in the image of the article, instructions to determine a print location on the article based on the location of the one or more fiducials in the image of the article, and instructions to send a signal to the printing device to print the graphic on the article at the print location.

This invention relates to an apparatus and a process for transferring images, barcodes, optical patterns, latent images, Fresnel lenses, holograms, sterling lenses etc from a stamping foil (116) at desired locations on to a substrate (110) such as paper, polymeric film, flexible laminates, woven or non-woven substrate and combination of these in roll to roll form and more particularly to an apparatus and a process for registered transfer of images, barcodes, optical patterns, latent images, Fresnel lenses, holograms, sterling lenses etc from a stamping foil (116) to a substrate (110) in accurate registered relation. The use of high resolution and high speed sensors (135, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168) provides continuous precise data to the regulating device which results in the continuous correction in the corresponding position of stamping punch/es (137) and stamping foil (116) to match the locations on substrate (110). This provides accurate registered transfer of prints, latent images or Fresnel lenses on the substrate (110) with efficient utilization of stamping foil (116).

An inspection system has a plurality of detection regions. The plurality of these detection regions of the inspection system are arranged to jointly inspect a printed sheet which has a plurality of printed regions. A first detection region is arranged to inspect a first printed region of the printed sheet and a second detection region is arranged to inspect a second printed region of the same printed sheet. A first measurement technology sensitivity is set for the first detection region and a second measurement technology sensitivity is set for the second detection region in the inspection system. The first measurement technology sensitivity and the second measurement technology sensitivity are set to be different from one another. The first measurement technology sensitivity and the second measurement technology sensitivity are set in each case either manually, by the use of an operating element, or automatically by the use of a program.