An Orlof printing section (2) is provided with an Orlof printing unit that has the following: partial plate cylinders (11), a collecting blanket cylinder (12), a collecting plate cylinder (13), a blanket cylinder (9), an impression cylinder (10), and a moving inker (25). An offset printing section (3) is provided with front-side and back-side offset printing units (3a-3d, 3e-3h) that each have an ink-supply device (18), a plate cylinder (19), a blanket cylinder (15), and an impression cylinder (16). The respective impression cylinders of the front-side offset printing unit and the back-side offset printing unit are placed up against each other such that said printing units receive and output sheets between said impression cylinders. The offset printing section (3) is also provided with a front-side inspection camera (23) and a back-side inspection camera (24). The Orlof printing section and the offset printing section are connected by transfer cylinders (14).

A method for manufacturing a beverage use can, which is provided with a cylindrical part with one end portion and the other end portion, a bottom part positioned at the one end portion of the cylindrical part, the bottom part having an outer circumferential surface with an outer diameter gradually increasing with a move toward the other end portion of the cylindrical part, includes a protection layer forming process applying ink to the outer circumferential surface of the bottom part to form a protection layer on the outer circumferential surface.

In some examples, an intaglio gravure printing press includes at least one gravure printing unit having at least one forme cylinder, at least one impression cylinder, at least one inking unit and/or at least one ink collecting cylinder. Additionally, at least one assigned inking unit, at least one print head, and at least one wiping device are arranged at the at least one forme cylinder. The wiping device is arranged along the direction of rotation of the forme cylinder, and downstream from the print head when the print head is arranged at the at least one forme cylinder. In addition, the wiping device is arranged along the direction of rotation of the forme cylinder, upstream from a contact region of the forme cylinder with the impression cylinder. Alternatively, in some examples, at least one print head is arranged at the at least one impression cylinder.

Systems and methods in which dot-like portions of a material (e.g., a viscous material such as a solder paste) are printed or otherwise transferred onto an intermediate substrate at a first printing unit, the intermediate substrate having the dot-like portions of material printed thereon is transferred to a second printing unit, and the dot-like portions of material are transferred from the intermediate substrate to a final substrate at the second printing unit. Optionally, the first printing unit includes a coating system that creates a uniform layer of the material on a donor substrate, and the material is transferred in the individual dot-like portions from the donor substrate onto the intermediate substrate at the first printing unit. Each of the first and second printing units may employ a variety of printing or other transfer technologies. The system may also include material curing and imaging units to aid in the overall process.

The invention relates to a printing machine with hybrid printing technology for printing on a continuous material web. In order to create a printing machine with hybrid printing technology which is adaptable and flexible in use in the course of the current trend for digitization, the printing machine with according to the invention, hybrid printing technology for printing a continuous material web, is a printing machine with a rotating central cylinder, on the surface of which the material web is guided from a placement point to a separation point for printing; a plurality of inking units for digital printing of the material web are arranged in the region of an upper half of the central cylinder, and a plurality of inking units for flexographic printing of the material web are arranged in the region of a lower half of the central cylinder; an unwinding station is provided for unwinding the material web to be printed from a roll and a winding station is provided for winding the printed material web onto a roll, the unwinding station and the winding station being arranged on a first side of the central cylinder, with supply guide rollers for feeding the material web unwound from the unwinding station to the central cylinder and with discharge guide rollers for discharging the printed material web from the central cylinder to the winding station; the feed guide rollers and the discharge guide rollers being arranged on a second side of the central cylinder, with a feed guide roller for placing the material web onto the central cylinder at the placement point and a strip guide roller for detaching the material web from the central cylinder, the feed guide roller and the strip guide roller being designed in such a way that the placement point and the separation point are arranged on the lower quadrant of the central cylinder.

A printing machine comprises a printing module (28) having a flexographic printing mode and a gravure printing mode, wherein the printing module comprises at least two printing cylinders (34, 36) defining the printing mode of the printing module, and a printing tool handling unit being configured for withdrawing and inserting the at least two printing cylinders (34, 36) from and into the printing module, respectively. The printing tool handling unit comprises a coupling interface and the at least two printing cylinders each comprise a complementary coupling interface such that the printing tool handling unit can at least temporarily be coupled to one or more of the at least two printing cylinders (34, 36) via the respective coupling interfaces.

A printing machine comprising advancement elements for advancing material in sheet form to be printed which are provided at least with a traction drum which is designed to receive, at an entry region, the material in sheet form to be printed and to convey it toward an exit region spaced circumferentially apart, along the direction of rotation of the traction drum about its own axis, from the entry region; analog print stations are arranged around the traction drum, between the entry region and the exit region and, between at least two analog print stations, conveyance means are provided for conveying the material in sheet form to be printed which arrives from the traction drum along an advancement path that has at least one advancement portion for advancing the material in sheet form to be printed which extends substantially straight, along which at least one digital print station is arranged.

A machine arrangement sequentially processes sheet-like substrates with multiple different processing stations each having a substrate-guiding unit and a substrate-processing unit. At least one of the processing stations has, as a substrate-processing unit, at least one non-impact printing device which prints on the substrate. The processing station with the at least one non-impact printing device has a printing cylinder. Each non-impact printing device is arranged at the circumference of the printing cylinder. The printing cylinder is triple-sized or quadruple-sized. A double-sized or a triple-sized transfer drum, or a corresponding feed cylinder, is arranged directly upstream of this printing cylinder. Alternatively, a double-sized or a triple-sized transfer drum, or a corresponding transfer cylinder, is arranged directly downstream of this printing cylinder.

In some examples, a printing press includes a support element with a circulatingly movable contact surface for contacting a printing substrate. An ink jet print head includes an ejection opening arranged to be directed at the support element. Additionally, the printing press includes a charging device that includes a charging electrode, which is arranged to be directed at the contact surface. The charging device further includes a counter-electrode, and the movable contact surface is at least partially arranged between the charging electrode and the counter-electrode of the charging device. A smallest distance between the charging electrode and the movable contact surface is greater than a smallest distance between the ejection opening of the ink jet print head and the contact surface. For example, the smallest distance between the charging electrode and the contact surface may be at least 50 mm.

Provided herein are methods and systems for the custom-printing of an item including, e.g., a) accepting customer request data for a workpiece and customer request data for a graphic design to cover at least a portion of the workpiece; b) accepting workpiece identifier data from a workpiece database based on the customer request data; c) accepting print design data from a print design database based on the customer request data for a graphic design; d) associating the print design data with the workpiece identifier data; e) printing the print design data onto a hydrofilm portion; f) placing the hydrofilm portion onto a fluid surface in a dip tank; g) applying an activator to the hydrofilm portion to yield an activated hydrofilm portion; and h) dipping the workpiece into the dip tank, whereby the activated hydrofilm portion is bonded to the workpiece as a result of the dipping.