A substrate preparation chamber is described herein. The substrate preparation chamber comprises an enclosure, a rotatable substrate support disposed within the enclosure, and an atmosphere replacement system coupled to the enclosure. The substrate preparation chamber can be used with an inkjet printing system, where the substrate preparation chamber is coupled to a printing enclosure such that a door is operable to place the enclosure of the substrate preparation chamber in fluid communication with the printing enclosure.

This inkjet printing device comprises a conveyance path by which a sheet to be assembled as a corrugated cardboard box having a plurality of walls is conveyed in a conveyance direction, and inkjet heads that are positioned facing the surface of the sheet in the conveyance path and that can print a printed pattern in predetermined print ranges of an intersecting direction that intersects the conveyance direction along the surface of the sheet. The inkjet heads are positioned so that the print ranges span between first regions, which are intended to be first walls when the sheet is assembled into a corrugated cardboard box, and second regions, which are adjacent to the first regions in the intersecting direction and are intended to be second walls separate from the first walls.

An image forming apparatus includes a printing device, a rotator, an upstream support stand. The printing device prints an image on a plate-shaped printing medium. The rotator rotates while nipping the plate-shaped printing medium and conveys the plate-shaped printing medium to the printing device. The upstream support stand supports the plate-shaped printing medium at a position upstream from the rotator in a conveyance direction of the plate-shaped printing medium and includes a mount. The mount is detachably attached to the rotator.

A printer for printing plate-like media, in particular for printing marker cards with markers for marking electrical appliances includes a housing and at least one input station for the marker cards to be printed The printer further includes a printing station with a printing device and an output station for printed marker cards. The output station has a magazining device which has one or more guide devices so that the output station, with the magazining device, can be drawn from a position pushed into the housing into a position outside the housing and can be pushed back into the housing of the printer, Each guide device also has its own stacking unit which is pivotably mounted.

Apparatus to create on demand customized cardboard for forming individually designed packaging boxes, said cardboard having at least one corrugated layer sandwiched between two flat layers, the apparatus comprising a joining station that attaches a second flat layer to a corrugated layer attached to a first layer, supply system to supply said corrugated layer with the first flat layer attached thereto to said joining station, supply system to supply said second flat layer to said joining station, a control system operable to obtain information on the dimensions of a packaging box to be formed and on a design selected for that box and further operable to match the selected design to the dimensions of the box and a printing unit to print the matched design on the first and/or on the second flat layer.

An inkjet printing machine for printing individual sheets comprises at least one printing station and a transport system (100) for transporting the individual sheets through the printing station, along a transport direction. The transport system (100) comprises at least one gripper conveyor (150) movable along the transport direction, for gripping one of the individual sheets defining a sheet position in transport direction. The transport system (100) further comprises at least one support conveyor (190) movable along the transport direction for supporting a region of the individual sheet, wherein the supported individual sheet and the support conveyor (190) are movable along the transport direction with respect to each other. The printing machine allows for efficient and flexible handling of individual sheets, in particular large format sheets of materials such as corrugated cardboard or other materials that have a certain degree of inherent stability.

A method for decorating an unassembled packaging box (300) comprising the following steps: a) holding by vacuum suction the unassembled packaging box with its side to an air-permeable support (200) onto a vacuum support of an inkjet printer (100); and b) inkjet printing an image on the unassembled packaging box wherein the air-permeable support 200) is partly covered by said unassembled packaging box wherein the air-permeable support (200) comprises a fibrous layer in contact with the side of the unassembled packaging box (300) and wherein the fibrous layer is an unwoven fabric.

An inkjet printing machine for printing individual sheets comprises at least one printing station and a transport system (100) for transporting the individual sheets through the printing station, along a transport direction. The transport system (100) comprises at least one gripper conveyor (150) movable along the transport direction, for gripping one of the individual sheets defining a sheet position in transport direction. The transport system (100) further comprises at least one support conveyor (190) movable along the transport direction for supporting a region of the individual sheet, wherein the supported individual sheet and the support conveyor (190) are movable along the transport direction with respect to each other. The printing machine allows for efficient and flexible handling of individual sheets, in particular large format sheets of materials such as corrugated cardboard or other materials that have a certain degree of inherent stability.

A machine for processing individual sheets comprises at least one processing station, in particular in inkjet printing station, and a transport system (100) for transporting the individual sheets through the processing station, along a transport direction. The transport system (100) comprises at least one gripper conveyor (150) movable along the transport direction, for gripping one of the individual sheets defining a sheet position in transport direction. The transport system (100) further comprises at least one support conveyor (190) movable along the transport direction for supporting a region of the individual sheet, wherein the support conveyor (190) comprises a vacuum system for supporting the individual sheet on an interacting surface of the support conveyor, the vacuum system comprising a plurality of orifices in the interacting surface. The machine allows for efficient and flexible handling of individual sheets, in particular large format sheets of materials such as corrugated cardboard or other materials that have a certain degree of inherent stability.

The invention comprises a printing method, comprising the steps of: marking a markable surface with a graphical code; loading into a plotter system the markable surface; receiving a print job related to the graphical code; and plotting the set of vectors on the markable surface, such as by identifying a particular media type of the markable surface with the graphical code, receiving into the plotter system a print job, the print job comprising: (1) the set of vectors; and (2) a printable media requirement; scanning, with the plotter system, the printable media code; and confirming the printable media requirement matches the particular media type.