JP4608065B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus capable of multicolor printing using a specific color ink.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a printing apparatus as an apparatus capable of forming a large amount of images from a single original, and there are methods such as offset printing and stencil printing.
Generally, in a printing apparatus, a mechanism is used in which a plate is mechanically pressed against a printing material, and the color material on the printing plate is adhered and transferred to the printing material surface by this pressure. In stencil printing, the above-described mechanical pressure is used to push ink toward the surface of the printing material.
[0003]
As a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus capable of performing multicolor printing including full color (hereinafter referred to as a color printing apparatus) has also been proposed.
As an example of a color printing apparatus, a printing cylinder capable of forming an image for each color, a plate making apparatus and a plate discharging apparatus for the printing cylinder, and an ink supply device provided in the printing cylinder are provided as main parts. There is. In this apparatus, when ink is supplied from the ink device in the plate cylinder while the recording paper is in contact with the master that has been made and is mounted on the plate cylinder, the ink image is transferred onto the recording paper. In the case of a color image, this transfer is repeated for each color. A full color image or a specific color image is formed on the recording paper by superimposing and transferring the ink images of the respective colors on the recording paper.
[0004]
As a method of superimposing and transferring ink images of respective colors in the recording paper conveyance process, a configuration in which plate cylinders equipped with a plate making apparatus and a plate discharging apparatus are juxtaposed along the recording paper conveyance path (for example, JP-A-10-316919). ) Or, a stencil printing apparatus having a plate making apparatus and a plate making apparatus is combined with a stencil printing apparatus not having a plate making apparatus, and a plate cylinder made by a stencil printing apparatus having a plate making apparatus is not equipped with a plate making apparatus. By replacing the stencil printing apparatus with a plate cylinder on which a master of a desired color is mounted on a stencil printing apparatus not equipped with a plate making apparatus, an ink image of a desired color is transferred by continuous printing on a recording sheet. There exists the structure (for example, Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 11-208085) made into.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the configuration disclosed in each of the above-mentioned publications, a space for providing an intermediate transfer cylinder is eliminated by eliminating the conventionally used intermediate transfer cylinder and directly transferring it onto the recording paper. There is an advantage that the batch transfer process to the recording paper can be omitted.
Compared to the configuration disclosed in the former publication, the configuration disclosed in the latter publication does not provide a plate cylinder capable of dealing with all colors, and an image of a desired color can be obtained by replacing the plate cylinder of the selected color. Since it is obtained, there is an advantage that an increase in size of the configuration can be suppressed.
[0006]
However, it is assumed that the plate cylinder installed in the stencil printing machine used for continuous printing is a black color or other color (color), and other colors are the selected colors. You may not know if you do not print.
In recent years, as a method for forming a printed image, unlike a full-color image in which the amount of ink transferred is different for each color of an image to be superimposed, a part of a print area using a single color and a different color is used. It has been required to perform print editing using a method such as designating an image to form an image or designating a print area for an image formation area on a recording sheet. The function used in the former method is called a makeup function, and the function used in the latter method is called a digitizer function.
However, when performing such an editing function, the configuration disclosed in the latter publication, when the color of the image obtained by the plate cylinder capable of forming a color image other than black is different from the specified color It is necessary to make a new plate again. For this reason, not only is the master consumed wastefully, but printing time using the master is wasted and an image of a designated color cannot be obtained efficiently. Therefore, in order to eliminate such problems, it is necessary for the operator to check the color type of the plate cylinder capable of forming an image other than black one by one, but it is troublesome because it is unrelated to the printing work. Not only is there a possibility that the above-described useless printing may be performed if the confirmation is neglected.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem in the conventional printing apparatus, and it is possible to smoothly obtain a single color image in a specified area and to perform an unnecessary alarm when the color is not equipped. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that can eliminate work.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention described in claim 1 includes a plurality of plate cylinders that perform printing processes of different colors and a master plate-making device for the plate cylinder, and is equipped with image forming masters of different colors that are made by the plate-making device. In a printing apparatus capable of printing using a plurality of colors,
Image reading means for reading an image necessary for the plate making, and
Printing form of the image read by the image reading means Information and the specification of the color used for the print area or part of the print area can be set as information Display editing means, image color detection means for detecting the color of the print image in each plate cylinder, the print editing means and the image color detection means are connected to the input side, and an alarmable display is provided on the output side means And a drive unit of a printing mechanism having a plate cylinder used for the printing process of different colors. Connected control unit, the control unit, When the color information specified by the print editing means and the color information from the image color detection means for the plate cylinder selected from the plate cylinders are compared, and both color information matches. The plate making process is performed on the selected plate cylinder, and when the two pieces of color information do not match, the color information from the image color detection means for the plate cylinder other than the selected plate cylinder is specified as above. If both pieces of color information match when compared with the color information, plate making processing is performed in a plate cylinder other than the selected plate cylinder, and the specified color information and image color detection means are used in any plate cylinder. If the color information does not match, a warning is given that the specified color cannot be printed. It is a feature.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to examples shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing apparatus for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a printing apparatus 1 includes a plurality of plate cylinders 2 and 3 in a casing, and each of the plate cylinders 2 and 3 includes plate making apparatuses 4 and 4 ′ and plate discharging apparatuses 5 and 5 ′, respectively. ing. For convenience, in the following description, the plate cylinder, the plate making apparatus, and the plate discharging apparatus in FIG. 1 are referred to with the first and second distinctions.
The first plate cylinder 2, the first plate making device 4, and the first plate discharging device 5 constitute the first printing unit 100, and the second plate cylinder 3, the second plate making device 4 'and the third plate discharging device 5' are the second. The printing unit 200 is configured.
[0014]
The plate making apparatus and the plate discharging apparatus in the first and second printing units 100 and 200 have the same configuration except for the presence or absence of the paper feeding device 14, and the configuration will be described by taking the first printing unit 100 as an example. As shown in FIG.
In the first printing unit 100, the first plate making apparatus 4 is equipped with a roll-shaped first master M1 for stencil printing composed of a thermoplastic resin film and a porous flexible support. A first storage unit 6, a first thermal head 7 for perforating and engraving the first master M 1 based on image information, and a first platen roller 8 that can convey the first master M 1 while pressing the first master M 1 are provided. In the vicinity of the head 7, a first cutter 9 for cutting the first master M <b> 1 that has been punched and made is disposed.
[0015]
The first thermal head 7 has a well-known structure in which heating elements are arranged in a row, and generates heat in a pulsed manner according to reading information from a document reading unit (not shown), and the thermoplastic resin of the first master M1. The film is selectively perforated.
The first master M1 after punching is fed out toward the holding portion of the first plate cylinder 2 by the guide 10 and the transport roller 11 disposed in the vicinity of the first cutter 9.
[0016]
The first plate cylinder 2 includes, as an example, a support cylindrical body in which a large number of fine openings are formed, and a structure in which a mesh screen is mounted on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and a motor (not shown) via the first rotation support shaft 2A. Can be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise.
[0017]
A part of the outer peripheral surface of the first plate cylinder 2 is provided with a projecting stage 2B along the axis of the first plate cylinder 2, and an axial direction parallel to the stage 2B is provided on the stage 2B. A first clamp member 2 </ b> C that can be swung by a support shaft 2 </ b> C <b> 1 is provided. The first clamp member 2C is opened and closed at a predetermined position by an opening / closing means (not shown), and is closed to sandwich the end portion of the first master M1.
[0018]
A first ink supply means 12 is provided inside the first plate cylinder 2. The ink supply means 12 is adjacent to the first ink roller 12A that can be rotated in synchronization with the first plate cylinder 2 by a driving source (not shown) with a slight gap, and is indicated by the symbol P. A doctor roller 12B capable of forming a first ink reservoir and a first ink pipe shaft for supplying ink to the first ink reservoir P also serving as the first rotation support shaft 2A are provided.
[0019]
A press roller 13 that can be brought into contact with and separated from the peripheral surface of the first plate cylinder 2 is disposed at a position facing the first ink roller 12A in the first plate cylinder 2, and is in contact with a cam and a spring (not shown). When the sheet S that receives the image transfer from the first plate cylinder 2 is conveyed by the separation mechanism, the sheet S is pressed against the circumferential surface of the first plate cylinder 2 while being pressed against the circumferential surface of the first plate cylinder 2.
[0020]
The sheet S is supplied from the sheet feeding device 14. In this embodiment, the paper feeding device 14 has a paper feed table 14A on which the paper S is stacked, a feeding roller 14B that can contact and separate from the uppermost one of the stacked paper S, and a feeding roller 14B. The transfer timing between the separation roller 14C capable of pushing back the sheet S other than the topmost sheet S to the sheet feed table 14A and the image position on the first master M1 on the first plate cylinder 2 is set. And a registration roller 14D. A first sensor 15 for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet S is disposed between the registration roller 14D and a transfer position formed by the first plate cylinder 2 and the press roller 13.
[0021]
In the rotational direction of the first plate cylinder 2 indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1, a separation claw 16 that can swing in a direction in which the first plate cylinder 2 can contact and separate is provided behind the transfer position. Thus, when the leading edge of the sheet S after the transfer is peeled off from the first plate cylinder 2, the leading edge comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the first plate cylinder 2.
[0022]
The sheet S peeled from the first plate cylinder 2 by the peeling claw 16 is conveyed toward the first printing unit 200 (see FIG. 1) via the conveyance belt 30, and the second printing unit 200 sets the resist timing. Then, a new transfer is performed on the paper S by being fed out. The conveying belt 30 is formed with a large number of small holes, and conveys the sheet S while adsorbing it by the suction negative pressure from the suction box 30 </ b> A disposed inside the extending portion. A paper sensor 30 </ b> B for detecting a jam or non-conveyance of the paper S is disposed above the transport belt 30.
[0023]
A first plate discharge device 5 is provided at a position facing the first plate making device 4 across the vertical center line of the first plate cylinder 2 in the first printing unit 100.
The first plate removal device 5 scoops up the rear end of the first master M1 when the first plate cylinder 2 rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction when the first master M1 is mounted and when the transfer is performed. First and second discharge plate rollers 18 and 19 to be disposed toward 17 are provided.
[0024]
In FIG. 1, the sheet S that has been transferred by the second printing unit 200 is peeled from the second plate cylinder 3 by a peeling claw (not shown) similar to the peeling claw 16 provided in the first printing unit 100. Then, the sheet is discharged toward the sheet discharge tray 21 via the discharge belt 20.
[0025]
Although not shown, the ink supply means provided in the first plate cylinder 2 and the second plate cylinder 3 has a configuration for identifying the color of the ink stored in the ink reservoir P. This configuration is a configuration in which the ink supply means and the place where the ink supply unit is installed can operate mutually, and is generally the following configuration.
(1) A bar code distinguished for each color is displayed on the surface of the ink pack.
(2) A limit switch or an optical sensor that is operated by engaging a convex portion or a concave portion having a different color distinguishable type in a part of the ink pack, and engaging with the convex portion or the concave portion.
(3) A magnetic sensor that attaches a magnetic tape that can identify each color to the surface of the ink pad and reads the contents of the magnetic tape.
(4) A dip switch or an optical sensor that uses a plate cylinder having a different shape for each ink pack of the color to be used and can detect a difference in the shape of the plate cylinder.
It is.
[0026]
A switch or sensor used as a configuration for identifying the color of the ink accumulated in the ink reservoir P is an image color detection means, and is electrically connected to a control unit 22 described later.
In the block diagram shown in FIG. 3, the main part of the control unit 22 is constituted by a microcomputer, and an image color detection unit 23, an image reading unit 24, and a print editing unit 25 are provided on the input side via an I / O interface (not shown). Are connected, and driving units 100A and 200A for operating the mechanisms of the first and second printing units 100 and 200 and the alarm / display unit 26 are connected to the output side.
[0027]
The image detection means 23 is as described above, and the image reading means 24 is arranged in the upper part of the casing of the printing apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 by a document placing table or an automatic document feeding device (both not shown). A scanner that reads and scans a document placed on a document placing table by a reading element such as a CCD is used.
[0028]
Print editing means 2 5 Is a means for designating the print form of the image read by the image reading means 24. The printing form here means the following.
(A) An area to be printed in the read image is designated, and printing is performed by the designated master or plate cylinder.
(B) A region to be printed in a different color is designated as a part of the entire region in the read image, and the entire region is printed including a region of a different color.
The printing methods listed in (A) and (B) are functions called a digitizer function and a make-up function. These functions target a scanned image and a command sheet of the same size as that of the scanned image. In addition, reading scanning is performed, and designation information on the command sheet is read in addition to the read image information, whereby the print image editing process is performed in the control unit 22. That is, the printing form is set by collating the information designated by the command sheet with the read image. In this case, the print editing means 25 corresponds to means for selecting the functions (A) and (B). In this embodiment, although not shown, the print editing means 25 is provided on an operation panel provided in the printing apparatus 1. This corresponds to a selection switch.
[0029]
In the make-up function, the area is specified using a sign pen or the like in the command sheet, but as a method, the inside or outside of the enclosing line is specified, or only the diagonal line is drawn inside the rectangle that includes the diagonal line or In some cases, the outside is designated, and in addition to the image read from the document, a pattern stored in advance can be applied to the designated area.
[0030]
The control unit 22 selects a plate making apparatus and a plate cylinder in each printing unit 100, 200 corresponding to the above-described printing form, and further determines a corresponding state in each printing unit 100, 200 with respect to the printing form. Accordingly, a warning is given that the printing process cannot be executed or the printing process cannot be performed based on the determination result of matching or mismatching.
[0031]
FIG. 4 shows a procedure for executing the function shown in FIG. 4A. In FIG. 4, the first printing unit 100 can print a black image, and the second printing unit 200 can print a blue image. Suppose that printing is possible.
When an area indicated by reference characters B and C is selected and printed in black with respect to an image area (portions indicated by reference signs A, B, C, and D) in the document S1 to be printed, the print editing means 25 When the function is selected, an image is read by superimposing the document S1 and a command sheet (designated by the symbol CS for convenience) designating the print region, and the region designated image (code B, C) on the paper S. The image indicated by is printed.
[0032]
In the control unit 22, in order to realize this function, processing as shown in FIG. 5 is performed.
In FIG. 5, a printing unit capable of forming an image corresponding to the color of the image in the designated area is selected. In this case, the first printing unit 100 having the first plate cylinder matches, so A printing process is performed by one printing unit 100 (indicated by case 2 in FIG. 5).
[0033]
In FIG. 5, when the second printing unit 200 can form an image corresponding to the color of the image in the designated area, a printing process is executed by the second printing unit (shown as case 3 in FIG. 5). ).
[0034]
If the image forming color does not match the color of the image in the specified area in either of the first and second printing units 100 and 200, an alarm is given that the specified image color cannot be printed (FIG. 5). Middle, indicated by case 1).
[0035]
In FIG. 5, the plate making apparatus during the printing process shown in case 2 and case 3 4,4 ' Is started, and a plate making process corresponding to the original is executed (in FIG. 5, “plate making” is described in the result column in case 2 and case 3).
[0036]
When the printing process is executed by one of the first and second printing units 100 and 200, the alarm / display unit 26 in FIG. 1 displays the printing unit executing the printing process and the printing unit. The colors used in the display are respectively displayed.
[0037]
Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 22 as shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 shows the process when the makeup function is selected in the function selection. In FIG. 6, when the function selection which is one of the printing forms is performed by the print editing means 25 (ST1), the first , The color capable of image formation in the second printing unit 100, 200 is confirmed (ST2), the thermal head for writing in the printing unit capable of image formation of the designated color is selected (ST3), and the function Discrimination is executed (ST4).
[0038]
In this process, the alarm / display unit 26 displays in advance a color capable of forming an image in the first and second printing units 100 and 200 equipped in the printing apparatus 1, and the operator designates that color as the color. It is assumed that the printing work is started after confirming that the colors match.
[0039]
The printing unit corresponding to the function selected in accordance with the function determination result in step ST4 is determined, and in the makeup mode, it is determined that image reading using a command sheet is executed and the prepress key is operated. A master outfitting process is performed by a plate making process in the printing unit and a plate making process corresponding to the read image information (STT5 to ST8).
[0040]
In the above flowchart, the makeup function, which is one of the functions, is illustrated as an example. However, instead of this, a digitizer function for designating an image area may be used.
[0041]
Next, another example regarding the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 shows a case where printing is performed with a designated color in addition to the area designation described with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG. When the designation is made (ST10), the presence / absence of a printing unit capable of forming a designated color image is determined (ST11). Here, when there is no plate cylinder capable of image formation of the designated color in the first and second printing units 100 and 200, the alarm / display means 26 issues a warning that there is no designated color and printing is not possible. (ST12).
[0042]
When there is a printing unit capable of forming an image of a specified color, when a plate making key is operated on a printing unit having a plate cylinder of that color (ST13), as shown in FIG. The designated color is printed for the area designated by the command sheet 1.
Next, similar to the processing shown in FIG. 6, the image reading using the command sheet 2 is executed, and the color in the range designated by using the printing unit different from the printing unit on which the printing has been performed is performed. A plate removal process and a plate making process for printing are executed (shown using the same reference numerals (ST4 to ST8) as those shown in FIG. 6 for convenience). In this case, in addition to the print image by the command sheet 1 in FIG. 8, the print image by the command sheet 2 is transferred to the paper S.
[0043]
Next, another example of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 9 shows a procedure for forming an image of a different color in a part of the read image area. In FIG. 9, the areas indicated by reference characters A and D are the first plate cylinder of the first printing unit 100. 2, the region indicated by reference characters B and C indicates a case where a color different from that of the image formed by the first printing unit 100 is designated.
[0044]
When the first printing unit 100 is capable of forming a black image and the second printing unit 200 is capable of forming a red image among the first and second printing units 100 and 200 in the designated area, the symbols A and D are used. When the designated area is designated to form a blue image, printing by the first printing unit 100 is executed, while the alarm / display unit 26 displays that the designated color image cannot be formed. . As a result, the printing process is automatically executed only when the designated color information matches the image forming color in the existing printing unit obtained from the image detection means 23.
[0045]
When a mismatch occurs between the color information described above, the operator can be identified by an alarm. For this reason, the plate cylinder may be exchanged so as to match the color information designated by the operator. When the plate cylinder is replaced by the operator, a plate making process for newly forming an image of a specified color is executed for the plate cylinder, and printing performed by the first and second printing units 100 and 200 is performed. The image of the designated color in the area designated by can be obtained.
[0046]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 22 in this case. In FIG. 10, the control unit 22 selects a printing unit and inputs designated color information (ST20, 21). Color information in the printing unit is discriminated by a signal from the image color detection means 23 (ST22). In FIG. 10, step ST1 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is omitted, but is actually provided as a processing step.
If the image forming color in the selected printing unit matches the designated color information, the processes indicated by reference numerals ST13 and ST4 to ST8 in FIG. 7 are executed, and the color information designated in step ST22. If the image forming color in the selected printing section does not match, the image forming color in the other printing section is determined (ST23). Here, if the designated color does not match the image forming color in any of the printing sections, an alarm is given that the designated color image cannot be formed (ST12).
[0047]
The operator specified the plate cylinder in the printing department, watching the alarm The When the color is changed so as to correspond to the color, the changed color of the ink is detected by the image color detecting means 23, so that the changed color information is displayed on the alarm / display unit 26 (ST24), The processes shown in ST13 and ST4 to ST8 are executed.
[0048]
As a result, if a part of the area is an image of a different color, it is executed as it is when an image of the color specified by the existing printing unit can be formed, and image formation of the specified color is not possible. If possible, if a state corresponding to a designated color is set while an alarm is given, a plate making process is executed to form an image corresponding to that color.
[0049]
According to the above-described embodiment, if it is not possible to determine whether or not image formation in the existing printing unit is possible for the designated printing form, this is displayed and wasteful printing processing is performed. You can prevent it from running.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the plate-making means and the plate cylinder corresponding to the information from the print editing means can be selected, so that specific printing different from other plate cylinders is possible depending on the selected state. In particular, if the color information of the selected plate cylinder is compared with the specified color information and does not match, the color information of other plate cylinders is also compared and matched to automatically select the plate cylinder and make the plate. Can reduce work such as plate cylinder replacement by the operator, As a result, it is possible to eliminate the problem that useless printing is executed even when the information from the print editing means cannot be handled depending on the selected state.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a partial configuration of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a control unit used in the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a printing procedure according to one of printing forms.
5 is a table summarizing the printing procedure shown in FIG. 4; FIG.
6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a control unit according to the printing mode shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control unit according to another one of the printing forms.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a printing procedure obtained by the operation of the control unit shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a printing procedure according to another example of a printing form.
10 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in a control unit for executing the printing procedure shown in FIG. 9;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Printing device
2 First edition cylinder
3 Second edition cylinder
4 First plate making equipment
4 'Second plate making device
5 First plate removal device
5 'Second plate removal device
22 Control unit
23 Image color detection means
24 Image reading means
25 Print editing means
26 Warning and display means
100 First printing section
200 Second printing section
S paper
S1 manuscript
C Command sheet used for printing configuration

Claims (1)

Printing with a plurality of printing cylinders that perform printing processing of different colors and a master plate-making apparatus for the printing cylinders, and equipped with a master for image formation of different colors that has been made by the plate-making apparatus. In a printing device capable of executing
Image reading means for reading an image necessary for the plate making, and
A print editing means capable of setting, as information, designation of a print form of an image read by the image reading means and designation of a color used for a print area or a part of the print area ;
Image color detection means for detecting the color of the print image in each plate cylinder,
The print editing means and the image color detection means are connected to the input side, and a display means capable of alarming is connected to the output side, and a drive unit of a printing mechanism having a plate cylinder used for the printing process of different colors is connected. A control unit,
The control unit compares the color information specified by the print editing unit with the color information from the image color detection unit for the plate cylinder selected from the plate cylinders, and both color information is obtained. If they match, the plate making process is performed in the selected plate cylinder, and if the two color information do not match, the color information from the image color detection means targeting the plate cylinder other than the selected plate cylinder Is compared with the specified color information, and if both color information matches, plate making processing is performed in a plate cylinder other than the selected plate cylinder, and the color information specified in any plate cylinder A printing apparatus that warns that printing processing with a designated color cannot be performed when the color information from the image color detection means does not match .

Images