Electron-beam coating device

A method of curing a flexible substrate, comprising the steps of:

• applying, using a substrate line unit, a spot or full-flood electron-beam curable coating onto a surface of a flexible substrate with regularly-spaced registration marks as it advances at a substrate line speed, said substrate line unit comprising a substrate register control scanner for detecting passing flexible substrate registration marks;
• advancing said coated flexible substrate to an electron-beam curing unit comprising an impression cylinder, an infeed nip roller, and one or more electron-beam sources;
• advancing, using a master web unit, a master web with one or more impressing images at a repeat distance and corresponding regularly-space registration marks, said master web unit comprising a master web tension nip operating at a controllable variable speed, a master web speed nip adapted to advance the master web to the electron beam curing unit at a speed equal to the flexible substrate line speed, and a master web register scanner for detecting passing master web registration parts;
• adjusting the master web tension nip speed to produce a degree of stretch in the master web so that the master web registration marks and flexible substrate registration marks are properly spaced and aligned as the master web and flexible substrate enter the electron beam curing unit;
• nipping or laminating the stretched master web to the flexible substrate by passing both over or through the infeed nip roller;
• and
• using said one or more electron-beam sources to cure the electron-beam curable coating while jointly passing the stretched master web and flexible substrate over a portion of the surface of the impression cylinder.