The sheet discharge device includes a sheet discharge port, a discharge member, a sheet discharge tray, a support member, a drive mechanism, and a controller. The discharge member conveys sheets in a discharge direction. On the sheet discharge tray, the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge port are to be stacked. The support member is movable by the drive mechanism between a projective position in which the support member is projected to above the sheet discharge tray so as to support the sheets, and a retractive position in which the support member has retracted from the projective position to an upstream side of the sheet discharge port. The controller is enabled to adjust at least one of a projective length of the support member in its projective position and a shift timing from the projective position to the retractive position in response to characteristics of the sheets.

A method of depositing printing fluid on a sheet of corrugated media comprises determining a deformation of a sheet of corrugated media, adjusting control parameters for a plurality of nozzles based on the determined deformation, and depositing printing fluid from the plurality of nozzles onto the sheet of corrugated media according to the adjusted control parameters.

A flatbed cutter assembly includes a medium support table for supporting a recording medium, the table extending in a first direction and a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, a gantry arranged to be moveable over the medium support table in the first direction, a carriage support movably arranged on the gantry to move over the medium support table in the second direction, a cutter configured to be coupled to the carriage support and a controller for controlling the movements of the gantry, the carriage support and the cutter while moving over the medium support table. The controller is configured to cut through the recording medium from the front side to the back side along a cut path except for a plurality of bridges along the cut path, the recording medium intended to be printed on both front and back side of the recording medium, wherein parts of each bridge which are intended to be adjacent to printed images on the front and back side of the recording medium, are removed by the cutter.

An image forming method of the present invention is an image forming method of forming a halftone image on a corrugated fiberboard recording medium using an inkjet recording device that uses magenta ink and other inks with two or more colors other than the magenta ink, and is an efficient method that does not generate a mottle in an image printed in multicolor on a corrugated fiberboard recording medium using an inkjet recording device by determining a droplet ejection position of the magenta ink and then determining droplet ejection positions of the other inks with two or more colors to be positions different from the droplet ejection position of the magenta ink.

A flatbed printer assembly includes a controller for controlling the movements of a gantry, a carriage support and the print head while moving over a medium support table. The controller is configured to receive a print job including a cut path intended to circumvent a piece of the recording medium, a first image intended to be printed on a front side of the piece of the recording medium, a second image intended to be printed on a back side of the piece of the recording medium, wherein at least one of the first and second image is intended to be printed at least partially in a full bleed print mode. Shapes are selected for a first alignment mark for the first image and a second alignment mark for the second image. A first location is determined on the front side of the recording medium according to the selected shape of the first alignment mark. The first location crosses the cut path. A second location on the back side of the recording medium is determined according to the selected shape of the second alignment mark. The second location crosses the cut path. A first sub-image is extracted from the first image which is intended to be printed on the first location of the first alignment mark. A second sub-image is extracted from the second image which is intended to be printed on the second location of the second alignment mark. The first sub-image is printed at the first location as being the first alignment mark. After the recording medium is turned upside down on the medium support table, the second sub-image is printed at the second location as being the second alignment mark.

An ink jet printing device for customized printing of images on a face of a sheet material includes a frame with a top surface defining a running plane for a face of the sheet material, with guides transverse to the running direction of the material, a printing unit that can move along the guides and has a printing head therein, a supply source supplying the printing head with printing ink, and a movement system driving the printing unit along the guides. The printing head faces the running plane for depositing the ink on the sheet material, and the supply source includes a secondary reservoir, mounted in the printing unit and in fluid connection with the head, and a main reservoir in fluid connection with the secondary reservoir for refilling the secondary reservoir and maintaining the level of ink above a predetermined threshold value, ensuring supply to the printing head.

Apparatus to create on demand customized cardboard for forming individually designed packaging boxes, said cardboard having at least one corrugated layer sandwiched between two flat layers, the apparatus comprising a joining station that attaches a second flat layer to a corrugated layer attached to a first layer, supply system to supply said corrugated layer with the first flat layer attached thereto to said joining station, supply system to supply said second flat layer to said joining station, a control system operable to obtain information on the dimensions of a packaging box to be formed and on a design selected for that box and further operable to match the selected design to the dimensions of the box and a printing unit to print the matched design on the first and/or on the second flat layer.

A corrugated fiberboard printing device includes a protection device which regulates approaching of a corrugated fiberboard within a predetermined distance against an inkjet head, and a controller. The protection device includes multiple regulation devices which are juxtaposed in a width direction of the corrugated fiberboard, and a movement mechanism which moves each of the multiple regulation devices in the width direction. The controller includes a specific column setting unit which is set to classify a specific column, in which a printing quality is less influenced even when the specific column is regulated by the regulation device, with respect to the corrugated fiberboard in a sheet width direction based on order information, and a movement mechanism control unit which controls the operation of the movement mechanism and moves each of the regulation devices so as to regulate the corrugated fiberboard in the specific column.

This inkjet printing device comprises a conveyance path by which a sheet to be assembled as a corrugated cardboard box having a plurality of walls is conveyed in a conveyance direction, and inkjet heads that are positioned facing the surface of the sheet in the conveyance path and that can print a printed pattern in predetermined print ranges of an intersecting direction that intersects the conveyance direction along the surface of the sheet. The inkjet heads are positioned so that the print ranges span between first regions, which are intended to be first walls when the sheet is assembled into a corrugated cardboard box, and second regions, which are adjacent to the first regions in the intersecting direction and are intended to be second walls separate from the first walls.

A flatbed printer assembly includes a controller for controlling the movements of a gantry, a carriage support and the print head while moving over a medium support table. The controller is configured to receive a print job including a cut path intended to circumvent a piece of the recording medium, a first image intended to be printed on a front side of the piece of the recording medium, a second image intended to be printed on a back side of the piece of the recording medium, wherein at least one of the first and second image is intended to be printed at least partially in a full bleed print mode. Shapes are selected for a first alignment mark for the first image and a second alignment mark for the second image. A first location is determined on the front side of the recording medium according to the selected shape of the first alignment mark. The first location crosses the cut path. A second location on the back side of the recording medium is determined according to the selected shape of the second alignment mark. The second location crosses the cut path. A first sub-image is extracted from the first image which is intended to be printed on the first location of the first alignment mark. A second sub-image is extracted from the second image which is intended to be printed on the second location of the second alignment mark. The first sub-image is printed at the first location as being the first alignment mark. After the recording medium is turned upside down on the medium support table, the second sub-image is printed at the second location as being the second alignment mark.