Rotary multicolor printing press

A rotary multicolor printing press comprising:

• a plurality of printing units, each said unit including an inking mechanism, a plate cylinder having a shaft, and an impression cylinder having a shaft and co-operable with said plate cylinder;
• a central drive member operable to drive each of said printing units;
• and a respective transmission means connecting said central drive member to each said printing unit and including:
• a respective first drive means non-rotatably connected to the plate cylinder of each said printing unit and connected to said central drive member for driving the respective plate cylinder;
• an adjustable parallel crank coupling disposed between the respective said plate cylinder and said first drive means non-rotatably connected thereto, said adjustable parallel crank coupling being play-free in the direction of rotation thereof;
• a second drive means non-rotatably disposed on said shaft of said plate cylinder;
• and a third drive means non-rotatably disposed on said shaft of said impression cylinder and connected to said second drive means on said shaft of said plate cylinder.

A rotary multicolor press for printing on a continuous web, the press including a plurality of printing units and a main drive mechanism, wherein each printing unit comprises:

• a plate cylinder having any diameter within a range of permissible diameters;
• inking means for inking the plate cylinder;
• first drive means engaged with the main drive mechanism for driving the plate cylinder from the main drive mechanism;
• and adjustable parallel crank coupling means for rotatably coupling together the first drive means and the plate cylinder without relative rotation therebetween, the adjustable parallel crank coupling means being adjustable radially with respect to at least the plate cylinder for coupling the first drive means with plate cylinders of different diameters.