A garment printing machine is provided with a transportable platen that can be utilized to significantly decrease the delay in printing expended in loading and unloading a garment for printing in either a digitized garment printing machine or a screen garment printing machine. The platen is provided with structure that holds a print receiving area of a garment firmly in position atop a print panel support plate that forms a part of the platen. Furthermore, the invention includes a platen support structure that cooperates with the conventional couplings' on existing conventional garment printing machines. A plurality of transportable platens constructed according to the invention are utilized interchangeably so that while one garment loaded on one of the platens is being printed upon in the printing machine, the prior garment just printed upon is unloaded and the next garment to be printed is loaded onto another identical platen. This totally avoids any delay in printing due to loading and unloading of garments on the platens.

An example system includes a color engine to separate an image into a plurality of color components. The system also includes a halftone engine to generate a plurality of halftone images based on the plurality of color components and a plurality of halftone screens. For each halftone screen, the halftone cell centers for that halftone screen occur at regular or semi-regular distances relative to a dot pitch. The plurality of halftone screens forms a high frequency moire pattern when the halftone screens are overlaid on each other. Each of the halftone screens have a granularity metric less than a threshold.

An example system includes a color engine to separate an image into a plurality of color components. The system also includes a halftone engine to generate a plurality of halftone images based on the plurality of color components and a plurality of halftone screens. For each halftone screen, the halftone cell centers for that halftone screen occur at regular or semi-regular distances relative to a dot pitch. The plurality of halftone screens forms a high frequency moire pattern when the halftone screens are overlaid on each other. Each of the halftone screens have a granularity metric less than a threshold.

A hybrid printing machine is described having both silk screening stations and a direct-to-garment digital printing station with a raster image processor to control a portion of a printing process.

A hybrid printing machine is described having both silk screening stations and a direct-to-garment digital printing station with a raster image processor to control a portion of a printing process.

In some examples, a screen printing unit includes a screen printing forme cylinder, an impression cylinder, and at least one further rotational transport body. A fixing element of the impression cylinder includes inner and outer contact surfaces for clamping sheets. The inner contact surface has a base radius as a distance from an axis of rotation of the impression cylinder. A cylinder barrel of the impression cylinder has a supporting surface for sheets that includes an impression portion having a constant barrel radius, which extends over at least 170 about the axis of rotation of the impression cylinder and the barrel radius is larger than the base radius. A fixing element of the further rotational transport body includes an inner and an outer contact surface for clamping sheets. The inner contact surface includes the base radius as a distance from an axis of rotation of the further rotational transport body.

In some examples, a screen printing unit includes a screen printing forme cylinder, an impression cylinder, and a frame including two frame side walls. The screen printing unit further includes first and second base modules, each comprising two stationary base side walls that each have a one-piece design. Each base module includes four installation areas for rotational transport bodies whose positions coincide in the base modules, and the respective first and second installation areas of each base module form a respective selection group of the base module. An impression cylinder cooperating with the screen printing forme cylinder is in one of the installation areas of the selection group of the first base module, and a respective rotational transport body is arranged in each of the four installation areas of the base modules. A functionally different rotational transport body is arranged in an installation area of the first base module.

In some examples, a screen printing unit includes a screen printing forme cylinder, an impression cylinder, and a frame including two frame side walls. The screen printing unit further includes first and second base modules, each comprising two stationary base side walls that each have a one-piece design. Each base module includes four installation areas for rotational transport bodies whose positions coincide in the base modules, and the respective first and second installation areas of each base module form a respective selection group of the base module. An impression cylinder cooperating with the screen printing forme cylinder is in one of the installation areas of the selection group of the first base module, and a respective rotational transport body is arranged in each of the four installation areas of the base modules. A functionally different rotational transport body is arranged in an installation area of the first base module.

A system or machine is disclosed which takes pre-stretched emulsion coated screens, digitally prints thereon and exposes them before further processing and use in a screen printing machine.

A system or machine is disclosed which takes pre-stretched emulsion coated screens, digitally prints thereon and exposes them before further processing and use in a screen printing machine.