A printer includes a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium; a winding unit that winds the printing medium on which the printing is performed by the printing unit; and a frame unit which is positioned between the printing unit and the winding unit on a feeding path of the printing medium, in which in a case where the printing medium is not wound by the winding unit, a receiving member for receiving the printing medium is detachably mounted to the frame unit, and in a case where the printing medium is wound by the winding unit, the receiving member is detached such that the frame unit comes in contact with the printing medium.

A media-sheet stacking system (10) for stacking media sheets on a device output tray (OT) comprises a kicker (25) to advance a media sheet along the output tray by pushing a trailing edge of the media sheet as it exits the device, and a movable element (32a) arranged to face the output tray across a space that receives media sheets exiting the device. A drive mechanism (33) is provided to drive the movable element in the direction of advance of the media sheet along the output tray.

A reception apparatus that receives an article discharged from a processing apparatus includes a first rod, a second rod, a reception sheet and two side rods. The reception sheet has flexibility, is supported by the first rod and the second rod and receives the article between the first rod and the second rod. The two side rods can rotate, extend and contract independently from each other with respect to the processing apparatus while respectively supporting both end portions of the second rod.

A reception apparatus that receives an article discharged from a processing apparatus includes a first rod, second rod and a reception sheet. The first rod extends in a direction crossing a direction of the discharge below a discharge port of the processing apparatus in a gravity direction. The second rod extends in the direction crossing the direction of the discharge at a position farther away from the discharge port than the first rod. The reception sheet has flexibility, is supported by the first rod and the second rod, and receives the article discharged between the first rod and the second rod. The first rod is capable of being disposed at a first position and a second position which are different from each other in the gravity direction.

A handoff mechanism for use with a media stacker of a media production apparatus comprises a plurality of kicker units (101) arranged across a width of the handoff mechanism. A common drive mechanism (103) is provided to move the plurality of kicker units (101) between a closed position and an open position. Each kicker unit (101), when in the closed position during use, applies a pressure to any media sheets that are already stacked in a stacker tray (105) while a new media sheet is being fed to the stacker tray. The pressure provided by each kicker unit (101) is independent of the pressure provided by the other kicker units.

The present invention concerns a device for handling flat elements for a printing machine (M), the device comprising a supporting structure (12) defining a supporting surface (14) and at least one arm (22) provided with pick-up means (24), configured to grip a flat element and to move it between the supporting surface (14) and loading and unloading positions and to turn said flat element over if necessary.

A medium placement device is configured to stack a plurality of sheets of a medium discharged from a discharge unit of a processing device. The medium placement device includes a plurality of support units being provided in a width direction intersecting with a discharge direction of the medium discharged from the discharge unit, and being configured to support the medium at a support surface from below in a gravitational direction. A first support unit and a second support unit are provided in an alternating manner in the width direction, the second support unit being arranged at a position lower than the first support unit in the gravitational direction when viewed in the width direction. The first support unit is provided with a bridging member configured to couple a lower side of the discharge unit in the gravitational direction and the support surface of the first support unit.

A receiving device that is connected to a sheet processing device to receive a sheet comprising: a receiving port that receives the sheet discharged from a discharge port of the sheet processing device: casters that support the receiving device on a floor; and a roller that rides up a support part provided with the sheet processing device at the time of connecting the receiving device and the sheet processing device to receive a part of the weight of the receiving device on the support part, wherein when the roller rides up the support part, a part of the casters floats up from the floor, and the receiving port is positioned to the discharge port.

A stacking apparatus is provided with a stacking member that stacks a sheet as a recording medium that is discharged from a recording apparatus such that the sheet hangs on the stacking member, a guiding part that guides the sheet down to a point lower than a top of the stacking member, and an urging unit that controls movement of the sheet.

According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and apparatus for folding a stack of superposed sheets. The method comprises transferring the stack to a folding station, gripping a first part of the stack with a first grip and forming a crease on the stack to facilitate the folding. Then the at least a part of the stack is folded over the first part of the stack that has been gripped by utilizing the crease, the folded stack is gripped with a second grip and the folded stack is transferred from the folding station to a next handling stage and releasing the first grip.