A method for controlling a drive of a machine having at least one first roll element, which rolls with a surface on a counter surface at least in subintervals of a revolution cycle with the action of a contact force under elastic deformation, that includes a speed correction method, which automatically compensates for deformation-related deviations of the peripheral velocity of the first roll element by way of an adaptation of the setpoint value for the velocity of the first roll element, and a retrospective method, which automatically compensates for deviations of the speed consistency of the first roll element within a revolution cycle by applying a correction signal determined from the curve of a control variable, in particular an actual velocity or actual position of the first roll element, in a preceding revolution cycle or in multiple preceding revolution cycles, are applied in combination.

The present disclosure relates generally to signal encoding for flexographic printing plates. One aspect is a flexographic, photopolymer printing plate having transparent layers to allow encoded signal printed or laser ablated thereon to be detectable from both sides of the printing plate. Another aspect is a flexographic, photopolymer printing plate having an encoded signal formed in a photocured layer. Still another aspect is a system for tracking such printing plates, including managing location, print impression count, location tracking, etc. Other aspects are described as well.

Techniques are disclosed for connecting a printing plate to a print cylinder or surface. The techniques may be implemented, for instance, with respect to a printing plate, a print cylinder, a print sleeve, or some combination thereof. In an embodiment, a field of mechanical fasteners is provisioned on a printing plate, and a complementary field of mechanical fasteners is provisioned on a print sleeve or cylinder. The mechanical fasteners collectively operate to provide a mechanical bond or interface that inhibits lateral and rotational movement of the plate during printing operations, and can also be configured to manage backlash between engaging surfaces of the interface. In some cases, backlash management includes use of cushion effect integral with the mechanical bond itself and/or unidirectional and possibly angled fastener elements to provide a snugging effect. The mechanical bond may be implemented with hook-and-loop, hook-and-hook, hook-to-channel, male/female-type fittings, vacuum, suction, and/or magnetics.

A method is provided of digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off-coating protected documents of at least one game using middleware. The method includes: (a) generating the secure variable indicia in non-vector raster format; (b) generating vector graphics to be imaged on physical document locations; (c) assigning the secure variable indicia in a non-vector raster format to documents in and shuffling the documents throughout a print run; and (d) linking via middleware the secure variable indicia in the non-vector raster format to associated vector graphics variable indicia to be digitally imaged on the documents and to generate vector graphics-formatted data for each document in the print run. The secure variable indicia assignment and shuffling are executed by non-vector raster game generation software output that is reinterpreted by the middleware to produce related vector graphic output for the secure variable indicia.

An application unit comprises an application mechanism with an impression cylinder, a forme cylinder, and a supply roller, along with a positioning device and a magazine for supply rollers, which magazine is located below the application mechanism. The magazine has magazine receptacles for supply rollers and a movable repositioning device, by the use of which, the magazine receptacles can be placed in different magazine positions. One of the magazine positions is a change position, and when a magazine receptacle is located in that change position, a supply roller can be transferred, with respect to a positioning direction, between the magazine receptacle and a remote region of a roller positioning path that connects the magazine to the application mechanism. The positioning direction deviates no more than 45 degrees from a vertical direction. One of the magazine positions is a loading position, and when a magazine receptacle is located in the loading position, a supply roller can be transferred along a loading path with respect to a loading direction, between the magazine receptacle and a loading area. The loading direction deviates no more than 30 degrees from at least one horizontal direction.

An application unit comprises an application mechanism with an impression cylinder, a forme cylinder, and a supply roller, along with a positioning device and a magazine for supply rollers, which magazine is located below the application mechanism. The magazine has magazine receptacles for supply rollers and a movable repositioning device, by the use of which, the magazine receptacles can be placed in different magazine positions. One of the magazine positions is a change position, and when a magazine receptacle is located in that change position, a supply roller can be transferred, with respect to a positioning direction, between the magazine receptacle and a remote region of a roller positioning path that connects the magazine to the application mechanism. The positioning direction deviates no more than 45 degrees from a vertical direction. One of the magazine positions is a loading position, and when a magazine receptacle is located in the loading position, a supply roller can be transferred along a loading path with respect to a loading direction, between the magazine receptacle and a loading area. The loading direction deviates no more than 30 degrees from at least one horizontal direction.

An application unit includes an application mechanism having an application cylinder, a forme cylinder, and a supply roller, along with a positioning device. The positioning device has a linear guide and the application unit has a magazine for supply rollers, preferably located below the application mechanism, the magazine having magazine receptacles each for receiving one supply roller. The magazine has a repositioning device, by the use of which the magazine receptacles can be placed in different magazines positions. By the use of the positioning device, a supply roller can be moved along a linear roller positioning path, one end of which is identical to a supply position and the other end of which is identical to a magazine position of the magazine that is configured as a change position. The positioning device preferably has at least one transfer supporting member, which is arranged to be movable in and counter to a positioning direction relative to the frame of the flexographic application mechanism, guided along the at least one linear guide, and on which at least one component of a bearing seat can be arranged, which is configured to receive a rolling bearing arranged on the at least one supply roller.

Disclosed is a corrugated paperboard printer comprising a chamber which reserves ink, wherein the chamber comprises a chamber frame comprising an ink reservoir which reserves the ink. A steel member and a recovery pipe are arranged on the opposite side of an anilox roll across the chamber frame. The steel member comprises a web extending in an up-down direction, and a first flange and a second flange connected, respectively, to up-down directional opposite ends of the web. The web is penetratingly formed with a maintenance opening in accordance with the position of a coupling port valve or the like. The second flange is formed with an insertion part for allowing the recovery pipe or the like to be inserted therein.

Systems and processes for making a flexo plate, and plates made thereby. Non-printing indicia defined by areas of presence and absence of polymer in the plate floor created using microdots imaged during a LAMS layer imaging step are readable downstream of the washing or other non-cured-polymer-removal step but not to print in the printing step. The non-printing indicia may define a repeating pattern of alphanumeric characters, non-text graphics, or a combination thereof. A difference in growth of plate structures corresponding to different types of microdots may be used for characterizing processing conditions.

The present invention concerns an inking for a flexographic or a rotogravure press. The inking system uses a very small amount of ink coupled with an ink source made of two tanks with two different inks. Thanks to feedback given by measuring the output directly on the printed support, the system mixes the ink in the optimal proportions to ensure an optimal printing quality at any time. It can compensate any effect due to environmental changes like the humidity or the temperature. This system, coupled with a seven colours press allows for the replacement of spot colours in most cases thereby saving times and costs.