US 6,145,435 AGranted

Web-fed rotary printing press and method for simultaneously printing two webs

AssigneeHeidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

InventorJohn Sheridan Richards

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Abstract

A web-fed rotary printing press (1) which, in a first mode of operation, simultaneously prints on first and second webs (10, 18) and, in a second mode of operation, prints on a third single web (30) comprises at least one blanket-to-blanket printing unit (2a, 2b, 2c) to which, in the second mode of operation, the third single web is fed to be printed on both sides and to which, in the first mode of operation, the first and second webs (10, 18) are fed arranged on top of each other so that a first side (8a) of the first web (8) and a second side (16b) of the second web are printed on. The printing press (1) further comprises first and second further printing units (20, 22) located downstream of the blanket-to-blanket printing unit (2) and first guiding means (24) for, in the first mode of operation, guiding the first web (10) around the first further printing unit (20) and second guiding means (26) for guiding the second web (18) around the second further printing unit (22).

Claims19

Dependent claims

A web-fed rotary printing press being operative to simultaneously print a first web and second web in a first mode of operation and being operative to print a third web in a second mode of operation, comprising:

means for selectively printing either on a first side of the second web and a second side of the first web or on both sides of the third web, the means including:
first blanket-to-blanket printing unit receiving, in the first mode of operation, the first and second webs with an unprinted first side of the second web and an unprinted second side of the first web on top of each other, wherein, in the first mode of operation, the first blanket-to-blanket printing unit prints on a first side of the first web and prints on a second side of the second web and, in the second mode of operation, the third web is fed to the first blanket-to-blanket printing unit which prints on both sides of the third web;
a first further printing unit printing, in the first mode of operation, a further color on the first side of the second web;
a second further printing unit printing, in the first mode of operation, a further color on the second side of the first web;
first guiding means which, in the first mode of operation, guides the first web around the first further printing unit;
and
second guiding means which, in the first mode of operation, guides the second web around the second further printing unit.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.