Apparatus for decorating stiff objects by screen printing

An apparatus for decorating inherently stiff objects using at least a screen printing process, comprising

• a transport path in the apparatus,
• at least one screen printing station on the transport path,
• object carriers for carrying respective objects along the transport path,
• at least one screen printing stencil in the at least one screen printing station,
• a drive operable during a printing operation to advance the object carriers with objects carried thereby and the at least one screen printing stencil synchronously along the transport path, the drive for the object carriers including, at least in a region of the at least one screen printing station, a transport screw with at least one screw flight engageable with the object carriers,
• a doctor co-operable with the at least one screen printing stencil,
• means for moving the doctor in the printing operation in an opposite relationship to a direction of movement of the at least one screen printing stencil and the object carriers, and
• means for actuating the drive for the object carriers and the at least one screen printing stencil during the printing operation to cause the object carriers with respective objects and the at least one screen printing stencil to pass synchronously through at least an acceleration phase and a deceleration phase,
• such that a printing stroke movement of the at least one screen printing stencil is less than a total stroke movement thereof in the direction of movement of the object carriers.