A stub plucking device includes a transfer mechanism, a grasping mechanism, and a sensing mechanism. The grasping mechanism is driven by the transfer mechanism to move toward or away from a reel. The grasping mechanism includes a connector mounting a movable clasp, a fixed clasp, and a grasping driving member. The grasping driving member drives the movable clasp to move toward the fixed clasp to grasp an end stub of the reel. The sensing mechanism senses whether a contact force between the fixed clasp and the reel has reached a predetermined force. When the sensing mechanism senses that the contact force between the fixed clasp and the reel has reached the predetermined force, the transfer mechanism drives the grasping mechanism to move a predetermined distance away from the reel.

A web printing system has a loading tool to aid in the loading of new wide format web media. The loading tool is pivotable between a first position for loading a leading edge portion of the web onto the loading tool and a second position wherein an end portion of the loading tool extends above a print surface when in use. The end portion of the loading tool includes a beam element protruding from the loading tool in its pivoting direction towards the print surface, wherein in the second position the beam element is positioned with respect to the turn element, such that an S-shaped curve is formed in a web held on the loading tool. The curvature in the web significantly enhances the friction exerted by the beam element on the web, thereby stably holding the web in place.

The present invention relates to a method to remove an adhesive label (22) from a bobbin (28), the bobbin including an end portion (24) and an outer surface (25), the method including: providing a bobbin of a coiled sheet closed by an adhesive label positioned on top of the end portion of the coiled sheet (26) to attach the same to the outer surface of the bobbin; locating the adhesive label; applying a sucking force to the location of the adhesive label so as to detach the adhesive label and the end portion of the coiled sheet from the bobbin; and cutting a part of the detached end portion including the adhesive label from the bobbin. The present invention also relates to an apparatus to detach an adhesive label from an end portion of a coiled sheet in a bobbin, the adhesive label being located between the end portion and an outer surface of the bobbin.

A method for cutting at least an outermost film of rollstock across a width direction of a film, the rollstock formed by a film sheet rolled from base end to tip end, the method including: separation step of generating a gap between the inner peripheral film and the outer layer by separating first edge portion of the outer layer from the inner peripheral film in a radial direction of the rollstock, in a state where the outer layer is remained to be rolled as a part of the rollstock; step of displacing a portion of the outer layer defining the gap in a first width direction from the first edge portion to second edge portion in the width direction; and step of cutting the outer layer across the width direction during the displacement step, while the first cutter is moved from the first edge portion to the second edge portion.

A roll sheet with a continuous sheet wound in a roll form is rotated in a forward direction to supply the sheet to a printing unit. A sensor whose output is changed in accordance with a distance between the sensor and the sheet is used. A rotation direction of the roll sheet is switched from an opposite direction to the forward direction on the basis of the output of the sensor during rotation of the roll sheet in the opposite direction.

A method for removing outer layer of rollstock includes: first step of cutting rollstock's outermost circumferential film in a first cut portion, the rollstock formed by a film sheet rolled from base end to tip end and the tip end temporarily fixed to an outer circumferential surface; second step of cutting the film in a second cut portion closer to the base end than the first cut portion, a length from the tip end to the second cut portion being equal to or more than one round of the rollstock's outermost circumference; and step of discarding a first cut-film piece from the first cut portion to the tip end and a second cut-film piece from the first cut portion to the second cut portion by drawing the first and second pieces with a drawing device while driving an unwinding roller mounted with a hollow portion of the rollstock to rotate.

The disclosed supply roll (5) comprises a roll core (6); flat material and/or strip material (8) being carried on the roll core (6) in a multitude of windings; and at least one functional marker (2). The at least one functional marker (2) is placed in a specified relative position at an externally arranged free end section (7) of the flat material and/or strip material (8) such that information about the relative position of the free end section (7) is optically identifiable by way of the at least one functional marker (2).

A web printing system has a loading tool to aid in the loading of new wide format web media. The loading tool is pivotable between a first position for loading a leading edge portion of the web onto the loading tool and a second position wherein an end portion of the loading tool extends above a print surface when in use. The end portion of the loading tool includes a beam element protruding from the loading tool in its pivoting direction towards the print surface, wherein in the second position the beam element is positioned with respect to the turn element, such that an S-shaped curve is formed in a web held on the loading tool. The curvature in the web significantly enhances the friction exerted by the beam element on the web, thereby stably holding the web in place.

A sheet delivery system includes: an end section detector which detects a position of an end section of a sheet; an end section conveying apparatus which holds the end section of the sheet and which conveys the end section of the sheet to a joining unit; a roll driving motor which rotationally drives a standby-side original material roll around a central axis thereof; and a suction roller which is capable of coming into rolling contact with an outer peripheral surface of the standby-side original material roll, and which includes an outer peripheral surface capable of suctioning the end section of the sheet in order to separate the end section of the sheet from the standby-side original material roll. The end section detector is attached at a position which enables detection of the end section of the sheet separated from the standby-side original material roll by the suction roller.

A media feeding system comprises a driver configured to rotate a media roll in a first direction; a vacuum roller positioned in a media feed path and configured to rotate in the first direction; and a media end detecting sensor positioned in the media feed path, the media end detecting sensor being configured to detect a leading edge of the media; wherein the driver rotates the media roll in a second direction opposite the first direction in response to the sensor detecting the leading end of the media.