Method and apparatus for aligning coupled digital print engines
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsJeffrey A. Pitas, Alan E. Rapkin, Michael T. Dobbertin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The adjustment method aligns printing engines in a print assembly that is capable of printing on a receiver to form one or more final prints and includes corrections for cross-track misregistration. These adjustments are made in one embodiment by aligning two or more printing engines in an x and y direction relative to a paper path cross track reference and then aligning each printing engines in a cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference based on measurements in the cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference.
Claims11
A method to align an electrophotographic printing engines in a print assembly that is capable of printing on a receiver to form one or more final prints including corrections for cross-track misregistration comprising:
- aligning two or more printing engines in an x and y direction relative to a paper path cross track reference;
- rough aligning each printing engines in a cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- printing one or more prints using each machine in turn to produce the one or more final prints;
- measuring the distance between two reference marks laid down during the printing relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- and
- fine aligning the two or more printing engines in the cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference
- wherein alignment of the two or more printing engines is effected prior to docking.
A method to align an electrophotographic printing engines in a print assembly that is capable of printing on a receiver to form one or more final prints including corrections for cross-track misregistration comprising:
- aligning two or more printing engines in an x and y direction relative to a paper path cross track reference;
- rough aligning each printing engines in a cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- printing one or more prints using each machine in turn to produce the one or more final prints;
- measuring the distance between two reference marks laid down during the printing relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- and
- fine aligning the two or more printing engines in the cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference
- wherein alignment is achieved through the use of positionable pins and/or holes in the printing engines.
An apparatus for digitally printing comprising:
- a plurality of electrophotographic printing engines in a print assembly that prints on a receiver to form one or more final prints wherein the printing engines are alignable in an x, y and z direction relative to a paper path cross track reference wherein the paper path cross track reference is based on measurements in the cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- print modules to print one or more prints using each of at least two printing engines in turn to produce the one or more final prints such that each printing engine produces at least one mark to use as a reference mark on a final print;
- a measurement device to measure the distance between each of the at least two reference marks laid down during the printing relative to the paper path cross track reference;
- and
- an alignment device having alignment pins on at least one side of a first print engine module:
- and alignment holes on at least one side of a second print engine module wherein alignment pins on the first module fit into the alignment holes in the second module to align the two or more printing engines in the cross track direction (z direction) relative to the paper path cross track reference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.