The invention concerns a process and a system for the digital printing of printed publications, for the flexible production, on demand, of a single publication or small series of publications. The process of the invention is an automated process for the manufacture of at least one publication printed from at least one sheet, comprising the steps wherein: a plurality of pages (1, 4, 5, 8) of the publication is printed (A) on the sheet (10) that is moved through a series of stations wherein, subsequently, the sheet (10) is folded (C) in half perpendicular to the direction of travel; the folded sheet (10) is pivoted (D) by 90 with respect to the direction of travel, and the edges (18, 19) of the folded sheet are trimmed to obtain separate, superposed leaves (16, 17).

The invention relates to a device for feeding products in sheets into an insertion device before a digital printer, including a lifting system for a stack of laminar elements, which in turn includes an extraction mechanism for the last board, an insertion system with an advance mechanism, a rotation system for the stack(s), a positioning stop, connected to an advance and reverse mechanism, a squaring and scaling station, able to create a loading and accumulating hopper, and a telescopically-adjustable transportation system, with the capacity to move the previously-scaled sheets until the insertion device is fed.

A banknote processing apparatus capable of properly storing and dispensing a banknote is provided. The banknote processing apparatus includes: a transport unit that transports a banknote; a long-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a first orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the first orientation being an orientation in which a short edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; a short-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a second orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the second orientation being an orientation in which a long edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; and a control unit that selects, by controlling the transport unit, a storage destination for the banknote transported by the transport unit, from among any of the long-edge orientation storage unit and the short-edge orientation storage unit.

A conveyance apparatus includes a change conveyance unit. In a case where a first sheet in a sheet storage unit included in the feeding apparatus is fed in a landscape orientation to the conveyance apparatus, the change conveyance unit changes a conveyance orientation of the first sheet to a portrait orientation. The landscape orientation is an orientation in which a short side of the first sheet is parallel to a sheet conveyance direction of the first sheet. The portrait orientation is an orientation in which a long side of the first sheet is parallel to the sheet conveyance direction. The change conveyance unit changes the conveyance orientation of the first sheet from the landscape orientation to the portrait orientation on a substantially horizontal region between the image forming apparatus and the feeding apparatus.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a transporting a discrete element, by activating a discrete vacuum zone on a puck at or before an acquisition, rotating the puck about an axis (and optionally twisting the puck), and deactivating the discrete vacuum zone at a deposition point, through tightly controlled piecewise vacuum porting particularly in applications where vacuum commutation length changes in radial direction.

A banknote processing apparatus capable of properly storing and dispensing a banknote is provided. The banknote processing apparatus includes: a transport unit that transports a banknote; a long-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a first orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the first orientation being an orientation in which a short edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; a short-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a second orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the second orientation being an orientation in which a long edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; and a control unit that selects, by controlling the transport unit, a storage destination for the banknote transported by the transport unit, from among any of the long-edge orientation storage unit and the short-edge orientation storage unit.

A sheet transfer device for transferring a sheet between two sheet processing devices comprising a switch for directing sheets from a first transport path coming from the first sheet processing device onto a two-way transport path or for directing sheets from the two-way transport path onto a second transport path for feeding sheets to the second sheet processing device. A transport pinch is provided along the two way transport path for reversing a sheet on the two-way transport path. When in use, the two-way transport path extends downward in a vertically extending free-hanging chamber wherein the sheet engaged by the transport pinch is allowed to hang freely under the influence of gravity. Thereby, a compact device is formed which is able to adjust the sheet to a suitable orientation for the second processing device. The device further prevents forces from the first processing device to disrupt the sheet's orientation in the second processing device.

The invention concerns a process and a system for the digital printing of printed publications, for the flexible production, on demand, of a single publication or small series of publications. The process of the invention is an automated process for the manufacture of at least one publication printed from at least one sheet, comprising the steps wherein: a plurality of pages (1, 4, 5, 8) of the publication is printed (A) on the sheet (10) that is moved through a series of stations wherein, subsequently, the sheet (10) is folded (C) in half perpendicular to the direction of travel; the folded sheet (10) is pivoted (D) by 90 with respect to the direction of travel, and the edges (18, 19) of the folded sheet are trimmed to obtain separate, superposed leaves (16, 17).

A banknote processing apparatus capable of properly storing and dispensing a banknote is provided. The banknote processing apparatus includes: a transport unit that transports a banknote; a long-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a first orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the first orientation being an orientation in which a short edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; a short-edge orientation storage unit that receives and stores, in a second orientation, the banknote transported by the transport unit, the second orientation being an orientation in which a long edge of the banknote is a leading edge thereof; and a control unit that selects, by controlling the transport unit, a storage destination for the banknote transported by the transport unit, from among any of the long-edge orientation storage unit and the short-edge orientation storage unit.

Systems and methods utilizing stationary and/or moveable cutting components provide limited interference with web processing operations, such as pad spin and pitch alteration. Heat, laser, fluid, or mechanical cutting operations may be used, including respectively, a heated element (e.g., wire, ribbon, bar, or embossing or perforating element) that may be triggered inductively, water or steam jets, or improved knife/anvil cooperation.