Vacuum shuttle with stitch and roll capabilities

A printer comprising:

• a marking engine;
• a sheet transport system which conveys associated sheets on a paper path in a process direction to the marking engine;
• a vacuum shuttle positioned in the paper path upstream of the marking engine for reducing skew and lateral offset of at least some of the sheets, the vacuum shuttle comprising:
• a vacuum head for applying suction to the conveyed sheets, and
• a first actuator for translating the vacuum head in a cross-process direction, during the applying of suction, and
• a second actuator for rotating the vacuum head, during the applying of suction;
• and
• a control system which controls the first and second actuators.

A vacuum-assisted sheet registration method comprising:

• conveying a sheet on a paper path in a process direction;
• providing for detecting skew and lateral offset of the sheet;
• applying suction to the sheet with a vacuum head;
• while the vacuum is applied to the sheet, translating the vacuum head in a cross-process direction, to reduce the detected lateral offset, and rotating the vacuum head to reduce the detected skew.