Stencil printing machine and method of controlling the same

A stencil printing machine comprising:

• a frame body;
• a press drum rotatably supported in the frame body;
• a plurality of printing drums rotatably supported in the frame body in close proximity to the press drum and each including an outer circumferential periphery having a first portion formed with a stencil clamping base having a stencil clamping segment and a second remaining portion formed with an ink permeable member;
• a stencil making unit supported in the frame body for making stencil sheets each having a perforated image area formed on the basis of a color original, with the stencil sheets being supplied to and mounted onto the outer circumferential peripheries of the respective printing drums;
• a plurality of ink supply rollers located inside the printing drums, respectively, for supplying ink to respective inner peripheral walls thereof;
• wherein, during printing operation, the plurality of printing drums are rotated with a given rotational phase angle relative to the press drum, and the ink supply rollers are rotated to supply ink to the inner peripheral walls of the respective printing drums;
• and
• wherein, at termination of printing operation, the printing drums are kept in respective stationary rest positions wherein the stencil clamping bases of the respective printing drums is out of respective ink stain zones defined by vertical lines intersecting rotation centers of the respective printing drums, horizontal lines intersecting rotation centers of the respective ink supply rollers and the outer circumferential peripheries of the respective printing drums.

A method of controlling a stencil printing machine having a press drum rotatably supported in a frame body, a plurality of printing drums rotatably supported in the frame body in close proximity to the press drum and each including an outer circumferential periphery having a first portion formed with a stencil clamping base having a stencil clamping segment and a second remaining portion formed with an ink permeable member, and a plurality of ink supply rollers located inside the printing drums, respectively, for supplying ink to inner peripheral walls of the respective printing drums, and a main motor for driving the press drum and the plurality of printing drums, the method comprising:

• rotating the plurality of printing drums with the main motor with a given rotational phase angle relative to the press drum;
• making stencil sheets each having a perforated image area formed on the basis of an original;
• mounting the stencil sheets onto the printing drums;
• supplying ink to the plurality of printing drums;
• and
• supplying a print medium between the printing drums and the press drum to allow ink to be transferred from the printing drums through the perforated image areas thereof to the print medium to reproduce a desired image thereon;
• wherein, at termination of printing operation, the printing drums are kept in respective stationary rest positions wherein the stencil clamping bases of the respective printing drums is out of respective ink stain zones defined by vertical lines intersecting rotation centers of the respective printing drums, horizontal lines intersecting rotation centers of the respective ink supply rollers and the outer circumferential peripheries of the respective printing drums.