Apparatus and methods are provided to minimize waste and improve quality and production in web processing operations. The apparatus and methods provide defect detection in deposition of acquisition material, which on current machines frequently flips and is difficult to detect when it has flipped causing manufacturers to scrap thousands of products. Using the present invention, defects are able to be detected by discerning a difference in the appearance from side to side with a vision camera, and an acquisition inverter can flip the material to a correct orientation.

A method of printing and stacking sheets improves the relative alignment of images in a stack of printed sheet. The method includes feeding a sheet at least twice past a printhead assembly for printing an image on both sides of the sheet, wherein in the first and second passes the respective front and back images are aligned with respect to a first edge of the sheet by detecting a skew angle between the first and second edges and applying the skew angle to align the front and back images; and stacking the sheet, wherein the sheet is registered to a predetermined stacking reference direction by one of its edges, and wherein during the stacking, the sheet is registered by its first edge.

Disclosed is an example of a registration assembly for a media processing device, including a registration surface. The registration assembly including a bias member coupled to the registration surface to bias the registration surface toward the media processing path to apply a force to a media unit. The registration assembly including an activator coupled to a roller, the roller to be driven via contact with the media unit. The activator configured to move the registration surface toward the media processing path into the active position to engage the media unit responsive to rotation of the roller in the first rotational direction. The activator configured to move the registration surface away from the media processing path into an inactive position responsive to rotation of the roller in the second rotational direction.

A media processing device includes: a transport assembly to guide a media unit from a source past a processing head in an outbound direction, and past the processing head in a return direction toward an output; and a redirector to receive the media unit in the outbound direction, flip the media unit, and expel the media unit in the return direction. The redirector includes: a motor having an output shaft; a carriage rotatably supported by a housing; a roller supported by the carriage for engaging with the media unit; and a selector connected between the output shaft and the roller. The selector, for a first output shaft drive direction, rotates relative to the carriage and drives the roller for receiving or expelling the media unit, and for a second output shaft drive direction, engages the carriage and rotates the carriage relative to the housing for flipping the media unit.

An orientation changing apparatus includes a transport path along which a transport object is transported and that includes a portion having a space; a changing unit that changes an orientation of the transport object transported toward the space, the changing unit changing the orientation in the space by applying a rotational force to the transport object in a direction that crosses a transporting direction in which the transport object is transported; and a receiving unit that receives the transport object after the orientation of the transport object is changed by the changing unit.

An orientation changing apparatus includes a transport path along which a transport object is transported and that includes a portion having a space; a changing unit that changes an orientation of the transport object transported toward the space, the changing unit changing the orientation in the space by applying a rotational force to the transport object in a direction that crosses a transporting direction in which the transport object is transported; and a receiving unit that receives the transport object after the orientation of the transport object is changed by the changing unit.

A recording apparatus includes: a housing body in which a recording portion that performs recording is housed; a curved reversal path along a curve of which the medium, after the recording, is turned over to be guided to a position above the recording portion; a medium receiving tray that is provided over the recording portion at a position of horizontally overlapping with the housing body and receives the medium ejected through the curved reversal path; a relaying portion that is provided over the medium receiving tray at a position of horizontally overlapping with the housing body and sends the medium coming along the curved reversal path to an area horizontally outside the housing body; and a course switcher that switches a course of the medium beyond the curved reversal path to either the medium receiving tray or the relaying portion.

A folding arrangement including a flap lifting assembly located at a drop conveyor discharge end and including a pivoting arm with a flap engaging surface that is movable between a first, flap-lifting position and a second, pass-through position is provided. A folding assembly includes a receiving conveyor with a receiving conveyor feed end positioned below the drop conveyor discharge end, and a folding finger above the receiving conveyor feed end. The product-substrate combination is driven by the drop conveyor into contact with the flap engaging surface in the first position to lift the flap as the product-substrate combination is discharged from the drop conveyor discharge end towards the receiving conveyor feed end, and the folding finger contacts the flap of the product-substrate combination to complete folding of the flap to a second angled position onto the product as the product-substrate combination pivots the flap engaging surface to the second position.

An apparatus is disclosed. For example, the apparatus includes a paper feed to feed print media a single sheet at a time, a plurality of rotating discs, wherein each one of the plurality of rotating discs comprises an elastomer ring to secure a leading edge of the single sheet against a registration wall and initiate a flipping process, an air duct to force an air flow towards the print media to levitate a trailing edge of the single sheet during completion of the flipping process, and a movable platform to hold a stack of the print media.

A sheet flipping device includes a receiving member for receiving a sheet, a flipping volume being the volume which in operation is defined by the flipping movement of the sheet, and a flipping element for flipping the sheet around an axis of rotation within the flipping volume onto the receiving member. The sheet flipping device further includes an air vortex ring generator having an air vortex ring exit nozzle defining a translational direction of a generated air vortex ring when the generated vortex ring is in operation generated from the air vortex ring exit nozzle. The air vortex ring generator is mounted such that in operation the sheet is urged onto the receiving member by the air vortex ring during the flipping motion of the sheet through the flipping volume. A sheet stacking device and a printing apparatus include the sheet flipping device.