Example implementations provide a controller comprising circuitry to align a substrate; the controller comprising: circuitry to control varying the tension of an unspooled portion of the substrate between a spool bearing the substrate and a pinch roller; said circuitry comprising circuitry to control varying the pinch load exerted by the pinch roller on the unspooled portion of the substrate.

Provided is a device for correcting meandering of a strip material capable of correcting meandering caused in the strip material and conducting stable conveyance even when the meandering amount is small. The device for correcting meandering in a non-contact conveyance of a strip material that supports and conveys the continuously travelling strip material at a non-contact state by floating the strip material using a group of one or more floaters arranged in series, is characterized in that a gas nozzle for jetting a gas to a lower surface of the strip material is disposed in at least one section between the most upstream floater among the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately upstream of the floater, between adjacent two floaters and between the most downstream floater among the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately downstream of the floater as a mechanism for imparting tilting to the strip material to operate the tilting of the strip material in the widthwise direction above the floater.

In a printer, an accommodating portion accommodates roll paper. A supply roller pair is disposed upstream of a recording unit in a transport direction, and nips the roll paper. The intermediate roller pair is rotatably disposed between the supply roller pair and the accommodating portion, and nips the roll paper. A second motor and a third motor apply tension to the roll paper between the intermediate roller pair and the accommodating portion. A control unit can switch between a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, first tension is applied to the roll paper between the intermediate roller pair and the accommodating portion. In the second mode, second tension smaller than the first tension is applied.

An apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a transducer to transform a load in the housing to an electric current, upon receipt of a load exceeding a load threshold. The apparatus further comprises a light source coupled to the transducer to emit light upon receiving the electric current.

A sheet processing device has a moveable beam (36) that moves in the vertical direction, a gripper bar (30) for gripping a sheet that travels through the sheet processing device (10), and a gripper bar locking device (40) that can lock the gripper bar (30) in a precise position. The gripper bar locking device (40) has a locking lever (68) that is pivoting between a rest position and a locking position. The locking lever (68) is connected to a vertical linear guide coupled with the moveable beam (36) resulting in a precise, compact and simple system to lock the gripper bar.

In a printer, an accommodating portion accommodates roll paper. A supply roller pair is disposed upstream of a recording unit in a transport direction, and nips the roll paper. The intermediate roller pair is rotatably disposed between the supply roller pair and the accommodating portion, and nips the roll paper. A second motor and a third motor apply tension to the roll paper between the intermediate roller pair and the accommodating portion. A control unit can switch between a first mode and a second mode. In the first mode, first tension is applied to the roll paper between the intermediate roller pair and the accommodating portion. In the second mode, second tension smaller than the first tension is applied.

A sheet conveying device, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a first detector to detect an angle deviation of a recording medium to a sheet conveying direction, a second detector to detect a lateral shift of the recording medium to a width direction, a third detector to detect at least one of the angle deviation and the lateral shift after correction of the angle deviation detected by the first detector and the lateral shift detected by the second detector, and a rotary body to perform a primary movement by (1) rotating in the sheet conveying direction and returning to a reference position and by (2) moving in the width direction and returning to the reference position, and a secondary movement by performing at least one of (1) and (2) after the primary movement.

In a method of operating a flat-bed die-cutter a printing substrate in the form of a web is fed to a die-cutting module of the flat-bed die-cutter, a web section is severed from the web and removed as waste. The web is guided through the die-cutting module and the web section is severed from the web in or downstream of the die-cutting module and removed as waste. Products are thus formed by die-cutting a web while reducing waste and periods of standstill.

A conveyor includes: a receiver that detachably receives a roll-like sheet; a conveyance unit that conveys the sheet in a conveyance orientation along a conveyance surface; and a tensioner that applies tension to the sheet at a position upstream of the conveyance unit in the conveyance orientation. The tensioner includes: a frame having a groove pair extending in a first direction along the conveyance orientation; a guide having a curved surface that contacts the sheet and an engagement member pair that engages with the groove pair; a pivoting member that pivots around an axis extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and parallel to the conveyance surface; a transmission member that transmits pivoting of the pivoting member to the guide; and an urging member that applies urging force including a component in the first direction to the guide.

An image recording apparatus for recording an image on a sheet includes a recording section which records the image on the sheet in a transport passage for transporting the sheet in a transport direction and multiple plates which are spaced apart from each other in a widthwise direction. These multiple plates include a first type of plate and a second type of plate. Plates of a first type of plate are configured to overlap a sheet when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction and the widthwise direction, while plates of the second type of plate do not.