A method operates a facility, which serves for the continuous production of multiple gang runs for forming individual signatures or signature packs from which type-specific print products are made in a downstream print further processing machine. An endless web is the basis for the formation of these multiple gang runs. The endless web, in the non-folded state, is imparted complementary handling by facility-internal means according to the following criteria: i) in a 2-gang run, the individual signatures or the folded signature packs are only deflected in a second longitudinal air folding station disposed downstream of the first longitudinal air folding station; and ii) in a 3 or 4-gang run, the individual signatures or the folded signature packs are additionally folded in a second longitudinal air folding station disposed downstream of the first longitudinal air folding station.

The present invention provides a mechanism (100a or 100b) for preventing the folding of an intermediate item (300) in a knife folder (200). Presently, there are no mechanisms to prevent the folding of the intermediate item in the knife folder. The mechanism includes a deflector (50). For preventing the folding of the intermediate item by the knife folder (200), when the intermediate item is moving on folding rollers (230a and 230b) of the knife folder, the deflector is moved to an operating position (50b) for deflecting the received intermediate item towards a roller gap (232) of the folding rollers by the deflector end (20) of the deflector. Upon rotating the folding rollers, the intermediate item moves away from the knife folder through the roller gap. The mechanism (100a) prevents the folding of received the intermediate item (300) in the knife folder (200).

An interfolding machine produces interfolded sheets according to an interfolding configuration and, starting from a web of paper provides a feeding section, which applies a tension on the web and moves the same along a feeding direction feeding the same to a cutting section, in which the web of paper is cut into a series of sheets at a cutting point between a cutting roller and a counter-cutting element. Downstream of the cutting section, a folding section includes a first and a second folding rollers counter-rotating with respect to each other. The first and second folding rollers rotate about respective rotation axes with a first peripheral velocity vP, and fold, at a folding zone, a plurality of sheets in a plurality of panels and form the stack of interfolded sheets. The cutting roller alternately distributes the aforementioned sheets between a transfer roller and the first folding roller.

To prevent displacement of first fold positions and collapse of discharged and stacked sheets when sheet fold processing is performed a plurality of times for each sheet. First fold processing is applied to a sheet conveyed to a conveying path by a rotating body pair 22. The sheet that has been subjected to the first fold processing is fed back to the conveying path while a first fold line is being opened. Then, second fold processing is applied to the sheet that has been fed back to the conveying path by the rotating body pair 22. The resultant sheet is discharged with the first fold line opened.

A web processing system is provided. The web processing system supplies a processed continuous web of material to a cutting arrangement. The cutting arrangement forms sheets from the continuous web of material. The sheets are then supplied to multiple folding arrangements such that a single web of material is used to supply sheets to multiple folding arrangements.

An image forming system is configured to execute a printing process to a sheet based on a job for generating output products, and to print index information required for sorting the output products for the respective jobs on a partition sheet. A folding process unit is allowed to designate a folding position of the partition sheet so that at least a part of the index information printed on the respective partition sheets is visible from a predetermined direction.

A sheet processing apparatus includes a transport path for transporting a sheet in a predetermined transport direction; a folding unit disposed along the transport path to perform folding processing on a sheet transported through the transport path; and a downstream-side unit disposed on a downstream side in the transport direction along the transport path to perform processing on a sheet transported from the folding unit. The folding unit includes a space section disposed at a lower side of the transport path for forming a cylindrical shape on a sheet; a transport roller disposed in the transport path to transport a sheet to the space section; and folding rollers to form a fold at a predetermined position on a sheet in which the cylindrical shape is formed. The space section is provided in a range of overlapping the downstream-side unit in a height direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

A sheet folding device includes a sheet conveyance path, first and second side plates, a first folding roller pair, a first folding guide, and a guide drive mechanism. The first folding guide is reciprocatable between a folding position and a retracted position, and includes a guide main body and first and second arms provided respectively at both ends of the guide main body. The guide drive mechanism includes a drive source provided on the first side plate, a first drive transmission portion that transmits a drive force of the drive source to the first arm, a second drive transmission portion that transmits the drive force to the second arm, and a drive coupling portion that couples the first drive transmission portion to the second drive transmission portion and transmits the drive force from the first drive transmission portion to the second drive transmission portion.

A sheet folding apparatus for folding a sheet is provided with a hold member that holds a transported sheet in a substantially cylindrical shape, a shift member that presses the outer circumferential surface of the sheet of the substantially cylindrical shape held by the hold member to make a substantially flat shape, and a discharge section that further presses the sheet made the substantially flat shape by the shift member, while discharging in a direction crossing a transport direction. By this means, it is possible to provide a relatively compact sheet folding apparatus.

A folding apparatus includes: a folding unit configured to fold a recording medium at an intermediate portion in a transport direction of the recording medium; an upstream roller pair disposed on an upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium with respect to the folding unit, and configured to transport the folded recording medium toward the folding unit with a fold as a leading end; and a downstream roller pair disposed on a downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium with respect to the folding unit, and configured to sandwich and transport the recording medium sandwiched between the upstream roller pair, the downstream roller pair being configured to apply a transport force to a portion of the recording medium that is connected to a portion of the recording medium that is sandwiched between the upstream roller pair.