Abstract: A multi-channel droplet deposition apparatus including a body (103) having a plurality of channels (104a) terminating in a common channel termination surface (104) and a nozzle plate (102) having nozzles (102a) for selectively ejecting liquid drops originating from the channels, wherein the nozzle plate is releasably attached to the body by an adhesive layer.

Abstract: An edge phantom for assessing the sharpness response of a radiation image recording and detection system wherein the edge phantom is subjected to radiation emitted by a source of radiation to generate a radiation image and wherein the radiation image, recorded and detected by the system, is evaluated. The design of the edge phantom provides that any line outside a plane perpendicular to the edge phantom's top face, connecting the focus of the source of radiation with a point on a curved or flat lateral face of the phantom used for sharpness analysis coincides with a line part of that lateral face containing that point.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for cleaning a coating material from a surface of a print substrate mounted on the plate cylinder of a printing press using an ultrasonic acoustic cleaning apparatus. The method comprises: applying a cleaning solution onto a surface of the print substrate, rotating the plate cylinder to displace the print substrate under an ultrasonic acoustic cleaning apparatus to dislodge a coating material from the surface of the print substrate, and removing the dislodged coating material and the cleaning solution from the print substrate using a vacuum system.

Abstract: An apparatus for delivering a printing plate to an external drum platesetter includes: a plate traversing table for displacing a printing plate into a staging position; and a plate angling table, nested within the plate traversing table, for rotating the printing plate between the staging position and a loading position. The plate traversing table includes: a first shaft; a second driven shaft including a plurality of nip rollers; a plurality of pulleys mounted to the first and second shafts; a plurality of rotatable belts, extending between corresponding sets of the pulleys on the first and second shafts; and a drive system for rotating the driven shaft.

Abstract: A digital image representation of a radiological image is acquired and applied to a display device connected to a computer and displayed. A measurement scheme is retrieved from the computer and activated. Measurements are performed on the displayed image under guidance of the activated measurement scheme.

Abstract: A dot matrix printing method is provided for printing an image on a printing medium with reduced banding, by moving, with respect to the medium, a printing head in a fast scan direction during a plurality of printing passes. The method comprises writing the image during the plurality of printing passes by mutually interstitial printing steps and/or interlacing steps, wherein the writing step comprises moving the medium with a transport distance step in a slow scan direction perpendicular to the fast scan direction between the printing passes of the at least two sub-images. The sum of all transport distance steps after writing one swath of each sub-image is exactly one head length, and the transport distance steps are performed in at least two different step lengths. An apparatus for dot matrix printing an image using sub-images, and transport distance steps with at least two different step lengths, is also provided.

Abstract: A method of correcting artefacts in a processed digital image represented by a multi-scale gradient representation being obtained by non-linear processing of a multi-scale gradient representation of an original image. A modified gradient representation is generated by modifying gradient images of the multi-scale gradient representation of the processed image so that the directions of the gradient images are pixel-wise equal to those of the gradient images of the multi-scale gradient representation of the original image. A reconstruction algorithm is then applied to the modified gradient representation.

Abstract: A printing apparatus (10) for printing an image on a receiving substrate (20), the printing apparatus including: ink application means (11) for imagewise applying liquid ink to a side of the receiving substrate; a drying section (12) for drying the receiving substrate after the ink application; transportation means (13, 14, 15) for transporting the receiving substrate along a path (30-36) past the ink application means (11) and through the drying section (12); wherein the path (30-36) has a path section (30-36) between a first position (P1,P2) at the ink application means (11) and a second position (P3-P7) downstream the first position (P1,P2), the path section (30-36) having first (30) and second (32) substantially straight portions and a convex curve (31) between the first (30) and second (32) substantially straight portions.

Abstract: A thin wall external drum for an external drum imaging system includes a cylindrical portion having a hollow tube and a pair of end plates mounted to opposing sides of the hollow tube, wherein the hollow tube has the wall thickness less than or equal to about 1.5 percent of the outside diameter of the external drum.

Abstract: A method and system for laser welding non-circular or non-concentric parts, such as catalytic converter components. The present invention provides a method (and corresponding system for carrying out the method), comprising: providing a part having sections to be welded together; rotating the part on a constant speed rotary; generating a laser beam; directing the laser beam onto a surface of the part to weld the sections of the part together; and controlling the laser beam such that an angle of incidence of the laser beam on the surface of the part remains constant, the laser beam remains in focus on the surface of the part, and the laser beam moves at a constant surface speed along the surface of the part as the part is rotated on the constant speed rotary.

Abstract: An apparatus for clamping the trailing edge of a supply of recording media on the external drum of an imaging system. The trailing edge clamping apparatus includes a plurality of magnetic clamp sections. Each magnetic clamp section includes: a body having a top portion and a pair of legs, wherein a bottom surface of each leg forms a clamping surface of the magnetic clamp section; a plurality of apertures formed in the top portion of the body for receiving a corresponding plurality of lift pads of an actuating system; a set of permanent magnets mounted to an underside of the top portion of the body; and a cover for encapsulating and protecting the set of permanent magnets, wherein the cover includes a raised portion for accommodating the set of permanent magnets, and a pair of flanges for securing the cover to the underside of the top portion of the body.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing artifacts in an imaging system by directing a stream of air onto the beam deflection assembly of the imaging system. An air displacement system, such as a fan assembly or the like, is oriented to direct, a stream of air onto the rotating deflector element of the beam deflection assembly. The stream of air is positioned to distribute a substantially uniform amount of air around the rotating deflector element.

Abstract: A printing apparatus is described for two-sided colour proofing with improved registering of front- and back-side images. Improved registering is performed by: web feeding device with de-curling system tumbler unit for turning the receiving medium alignment sensing and correction system.

Abstract: A multi-resolution representation is generated of at least one color component of a color image in a selected color space by applying a decomposition procedure to the color component. The multi-resolution representation(s) is (are) modified by application of at least one non-linear modifying function. Next, modified color component images are generated by applying the inverse of the decomposition step to the modified multi-resolution representations(s).

Abstract: An apparatus and method for clamping the leading edge of a supply of recording media, such as a printing plate, on the external drum of an imaging system. The leading edge clamping apparatus includes a spring segment disposed on the external drum, wherein the spring segment may be selectively displaced between a clamping position for clamping the leading edge of the printing plate against the external drum and a release position, and an inflatable member positioned between the spring segment and the external drum for displacing the spring segment between the clamping position and the release position.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for applying a coating material onto a print substrate mounted on a plate cylinder of a printing press. The method comprising: delivering a supply of the coating material to a distributive surface of an ultrasonic horn, the distributive surface controlling a flow of the coating material to an active edge of the ultrasonic horn, and atomizing the coating material at the active edge of the ultrasonic horn and directing the atomized coating material onto a surface of the print substrate. The present invention also provides a multi-purpose ultrasonic acoustic coating/cleaning system for applying a coating material onto, and cleaning the coating material from, a print substrate.

Abstract: Printing media, a method and an apparatus for printing an image on a print medium are provided, the image having super-pixels made up of a combination of dots, wherein each of the dots is independently controlled with respect to the size of each dot, the density of each dot, and an overlap of at least two of the dots.

Abstract: For the reproduction of originals, images are generated on an image carrier, for example by printing. The imaging device that generates the image is usually not capable to cover at once the complete image area on the carrier. If the device is capable to cover the full width of the image area, the image may be generated line by line. Devices not having this capability will generate a first portion of an image line on the carrier. An adjacent second portion of the image line is then generated by another imaging device or after a period of time by the imaging device that generated the first portion. The region where the first and second portion meet on the carrier may cause visual artefacts on the final reproduction due to spatial misregistration of the adjacent line portions. This problem is solved by dividing the image in adjacent sub-images having an overlap zone on the carrier.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method for removing a slip sheet from the top of a stack of printing plates. The apparatus includes a wing for covering an end section of the slip sheet, an air manifold coupled to an end of the wing, the air manifold including a plurality of orifices for directing streams of air along an underside of the wing to lift the end portion of the slip sheet off of the printing plate and toward the underside of the wing, a plurality of idler rollers rotatably mounted about the air manifold, and a clamping bar mounted to the wing for selectively pinching the lifted end section of the slip sheet against the underside of the wing, thereby capturing the slip sheet.

Abstract: An elongate print head with a longitudinal axis is provided, which comprises at least a first array of marking elements and a second array of marking elements for printing different colours. Each array of marking elements comprises a set of equally spaced marking elements. A first marking element of the first array of marking elements is spaced apart in the direction of the longitudinal axis from a first marking element of the second array of marking elements over a distance of at least n/P or n/I of a length of an array of marking elements, n being an integer larger than 1, P being a number of mutually interstitial printing steps used when printing an image and I being a number of interlacing steps used when printing an image. A printer provided with such a print head is also provided.