A printing apparatus, having a printing unit, includes a first holding unit, a conveyance unit, a first cutting unit arranged between the printing unit and the first holding unit, a second cutting unit arranged between the printing unit and the first cutting unit, and a control unit. The first holding unit holds a sheet. The conveyance unit conveys the sheet to the printing unit. The first cutting unit cuts the sheet fed from the first holding unit. The second cutting unit cuts the sheet fed from the first holding unit. The control unit determines, in accordance with a length in a conveyance direction of a product to be printed on the sheet by the printing unit, whether to cut the sheet fed from the first holding unit by the first cutting unit or the second cutting unit.

A printing apparatus includes a feeding unit, a conveyance unit, a cutting unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit nips the print medium conveyed from the feeding unit by a first roller and a second roller, and conveys the nipped print medium. The cutting unit cuts the print medium. The control unit: (1) performs control to make a command speed of the first roller lower than a command speed of the second roller until a printhead printing reaches near a trailing edge of a printing length after printing has started, (2) performs control to make the command speed of the first roller higher than the command speed of the second roller when the printing has reached near the trailing edge of the printing length, and (3) subsequently controls the cutting unit configured to cut the print medium.

An apparatus for digital printing of carton-based packaging material for packages holding liquid food products is provided. The packaging material has a first side adapted to form outer surfaces of the packages and a second side adapted to form inner surfaces of the packages. The apparatus includes an inlet configured to receive a web of the packaging material and an outlet configured to transfer the web of packaging material out of the apparatus, a web feeding assembly, arranged to feed the web in a web feeding direction from the inlet through the apparatus to the outlet, including at least one drive unit and at least one web direction device, a number of print bars provided with print heads arranged to provide food graded ink on the first side of the web, wherein the at least one drive unit and at least one web direction device provide a first web turning arrangement for turning the web after being received via the inlet such that the first side of the web is facing towards the print heads, and a second web turning arrangement for turning the web after the food graded ink has been provided by the print heads, wherein the first web turning arrangement provides a first slack upstream the number of print bars and the second web turning arrangement provides a second slack downstream the number of print bars.

An apparatus for digital printing of carton-based packaging material for packages holding liquid food products is provided. The packaging material has a first side adapted to form outer surfaces of the packages and a second side adapted to form inner surfaces of the packages. The apparatus includes an inlet configured to receive a web of the packaging material and an outlet configured to transfer the web of packaging material out of the apparatus, a web feeding assembly, arranged to feed the web in a web feeding direction from the inlet through the apparatus to the outlet, including at least one drive unit and at least one web direction device, a number of print bars provided with print heads arranged to provide food graded ink on the first side of the web, wherein the at least one drive unit and at least one web direction device provide a first web turning arrangement for turning the web after being received via the inlet such that the first side of the web is facing towards the print heads, and a second web turning arrangement for turning the web after the food graded ink has been provided by the print heads, wherein the first web turning arrangement provides a first slack upstream the number of print bars and the second web turning arrangement provides a second slack downstream the number of print bars.

A printing apparatus, having a printing unit, includes a first holding unit, a conveyance unit, a first cutting unit arranged between the printing unit and the first holding unit, a second cutting unit arranged between the printing unit and the first cutting unit, and a control unit. The first holding unit holds a sheet. The conveyance unit conveys the sheet to the printing unit. The first cutting unit cuts the sheet fed from the first holding unit. The second cutting unit cuts the sheet fed from the first holding unit. The control unit determines, in accordance with a length in a conveyance direction of a product to be printed on the sheet by the printing unit, whether to cut the sheet fed from the first holding unit by the first cutting unit or the second cutting unit.

A printing apparatus includes a feeding unit, a conveyance unit, a cutting unit, and a control unit. The conveyance unit nips the print medium conveyed from the feeding unit by a first roller and a second roller, and conveys the nipped print medium. The cutting unit cuts the print medium. The control unit: (1) performs control to make a command speed of the first roller lower than a command speed of the second roller until a printhead printing reaches near a trailing edge of a printing length after printing has started, (2) performs control to make the command speed of the first roller higher than the command speed of the second roller when the printing has reached near the trailing edge of the printing length, and (3) subsequently controls the cutting unit configured to cut the print medium.

A pre-feed system and method for a liner-less label printer includes a drive roll that is configured to peel liner-less labels from a reel and pass the labels to an in-line label printer at a consistent rate. An idler roll disposed in proximity to the drive roll creates a nip for pulling labels from the reel. The idler roll is comprised of silicone which prevents the adhesive side of the liner-less label from sticking. A print controller monitors a non-contact reflective object sensor disposed in proximity to the path of the liner-less labels between the drive roll and the in-line printer. The print controller adjusts the speed of the drive roll to maintain a consistent rate for labels entering the print feed of the in-line label printer and reduces the amount of force required to feed labels into the printer.

A printing apparatus, comprising a storage unit for storing a sheet, a printing unit for printing on the sheet conveyed by a first conveyance unit from the storage unit, a second conveyance unit, provided between the first conveyance unit and the storage unit, for conveying the sheet from the storage unit toward the first conveyance unit, a conveyance control unit for controlling driving of the first and the second convey units such that the sheet is bent between the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit, and a detection unit, provided between the first and the second conveyance units, for detecting bending of the sheet, wherein the conveyance control unit stops conveyance of the sheet by the first conveyance unit based on a detection result of the detection unit.

A method of feeding a print medium comprises receiving a print medium by a media advance system; transporting the print medium by the media advance system to a print zone wherein the transporting comprises applying a first normal force when the print medium is at a first position of the media advance system and applying a second normal force when the print medium is at a second position of the media advance system, wherein the second normal force is different from the first normal force.

An apparatus for manipulating a printable medium for the use in a printer is described. The apparatus comprises a drag device, a feed device and a lock device. The drag device conveys the printable medium to a printing area. The feed device feeds the printable medium to the drag device. The lock device is disposed between the feed device and the drag device. The lock device temporarily fixes a first portion of the printable medium so as to cause a second portion of the printable medium being in contact with the drag device to slip along the drag device.