Abstract: In methods and systems for reducing the undulation of a recording medium that has been printed to in an inkjet printer, operating parameters—such as the applied drying energy and/or the web tension of the recording medium during the drying of the recording medium—are set or adapted for or during the printing operation in order to reduce the undulation of the printed and dried recording medium.

Abstract: In preparation for an ejection pulse for printing a dot in a subsequent line, the actuator of a nozzle of an inkjet printer is activated in a current line with an excitation pulse via which no ink ejection is produced although an oscillation of ink in the nozzle is produced. The oscillation that is produced by the excitation pulse is thereby matched to the ejection pulse such that the ink droplets that are ejected by the ejection pulse in the subsequent line at least approximately has a defined target droplet velocity. The droplet velocity of the ejected ink droplets, and thus the droplet positioning, may thus be made uniform via the use of excitation pulses.

Abstract: A printing system and method of printing a digital image resulting in an elevated print on a support. The elevated print has a surface of varying height. The printing system is configured to print a number of pass images on top of each other in a number of passes. The definition of the digital image comprises color data for each pixel of the digital image and height data for indicating a height of each pixel of the digital image. A raster image processor is connected to the printing system and rasterizes the digital image into a raster image. A digital slicer is connected to the printing system and derives from the raster image a number of pass images to be printed on top of each other. The printing system is then printing the pass images on top of each other by applying a number of recording materials on the support. The printing system receives information related to the print order of the recording materials in the pass images for each pass pixel for establishing a special effect.

Abstract: A media roll holder assembly for a roll is detachably supported in a printing system. A rotational drive includes a roll engaging element configured for fittingly engaging and driving a drive engaging element of a roller, for example an Oldham coupling. A first guide surface is configured to support and direct the roller in a loading direction. A second guide surface at least partially extends at an angle with respect to the first guide surface, such that movement of the roller over the first guide surface brings the drive engaging element in contact with the second guide surface. The second guide surface directs the drive engaging element into a predetermined orientation, which orientation aligns the drive engaging element with the roll engaging element in a loading orientation, such that further movement of the roller in the loading direction inserts the drive engaging element into the roll engaging element.

Abstract: A document processing system includes a print controller and a user interface for displaying production routes for a print job leading to an end product due to printing by at least one printer and finishing by at least one finisher. The user interface is configured to receive a user selection of a document type of the print job and at least one selection criterion for the print job. The print controller is configured to determine production routes based on simulation of the print job by device models for the at least one printer and the at least one finisher, and to select from the determined production routes a production route with smart settings which corresponds to the document type and fulfills the selection criterion.

Abstract: A controller for a printer, a printing system, method for controlling a printer and a software medium are disclosed. The controller includes a process monitor configured to determine which images of a plurality of images are currently being processed simultaneously by the printer; and a display configured to indicate to a user, based on the determining by the process monitor, which images of the plurality of images are currently being processed simultaneously by the printer.

Abstract: In a method for controlling printing elements of an ink print head, an idle time between the ejection of two dots from the same nozzle is determined. In the event that the idle time exceeds a predetermined threshold (?tS), a determined number of vibration cycles is performed (e.g. in immediate succession). The number of vibration cycles is determined based on the idle time, such that more vibration cycles are performed the longer that the idle time lasts between the ejections of two dots from the same nozzle.

Abstract: A support structure defining a flat support surface for supporting a web material includes a number of beams, each having a cross-section elongated in a first direction normal to the support surface. The beams have a ruler edge extending in a second direction in parallel with the support surface, which is defined by the ruler edges. The support structure includes a number of adjustment mechanisms for adjusting the positions of the ruler edges in the first direction. Each beam has a base part and a ruler part, the ruler part defining the ruler edge and being connected to the base part by at least three adjustment mechanisms distributed over the length of the beam. Each adjustment mechanism includes a lever that is pivotable relative to the base part about a fixed fulcrum, is connected to the ruler part, and has an adjustment arm with an adjustable free end.

Abstract: An apparatus for handling take-up rolls in a printing system includes a holder device for holding a take-up roll in a take-up position. The take-up roll is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof in the take-up position for taking-up printed sheet output from the printing system. The holder device is movable to release or discharge the take-up roll from the holder device when the take-up roll is full or when a print job is finished. A movement of the holder device to release or discharge a full take-up roll also operates to load a new take-up roll onto the holder device and into the take-up position. A corresponding method of handling take-up rolls in a printing system is disclosed.

Abstract: An ink jet printer includes a number of print heads, each of which has a first port and a second port; an ink supply; a drain line; a first manifold connecting the ink supply to the first port of each print head; and a second manifold connected to the second port of each print head and connectable to the drain line. A valve system is arranged to disconnect the second manifold from the drain line and to connect the second manifold to the ink supply.

Abstract: Described is an assembly of a guiding structure and a print head carriage, the print head carriage comprising a base carriage controllably movable relative to the guiding structure along a first horizontal axis, the print head carriage comprising a sub-carriage controllably movable relative to the base carriage along a second horizontal axis. The print head carriage comprises an intermediate carriage controllably movable relative to the base carriage along a vertical axis, the sub-carriage mounted on the intermediate carriage for moving together with the intermediate carriage relative to the base carriage, the sub-carriage controllably movable relative to the intermediate carriage along the second horizontal axis.

Abstract: A transporter can transports a recording medium on a transport belt through a print group with at least one print head. The transport belt has a plurality of holes via which a negative pressure may be produced to draw/hold a recording medium onto the transport belt. To avoid an air flow below the print head, a decoupler can selectively cover, seal, and/or decouple a source of the negative pressure such that no negative pressure is produced through the holes that are located below the print head and that are not covered by a recording medium.

Abstract: A job programming method includes using a processor to assemble a printable file based on more than two reference pages and print instructions; including printer readable instructions in the printable file to print more than one copy of a reference page; grouping a first set of reference pages into a first group based on a first plurality of print instructions to assemble a first part of the printable file; grouping a second set of reference pages into a second group based on a second plurality of print instructions to assemble a second part of the printable file; including printer readable instructions in the printable file to direct printed pages corresponding to the printer readable instructions to print more than one copy of the reference page to a common stack, and to direct printed pages corresponding to the first and second parts of the printable file to the common stack.

Abstract: A method of printing a color surface of an object by printing dots of curable ink in several superposed layers includes defining a micro-texture, the micro-texture being a repetitive pattern of elevated parts and depressed parts; establishing a gloss function that indicates a gloss value of a surface having the micro-texture, as a function of a height difference between a maximum height of the elevated parts and a minimum height of the depressed parts of the micro-texture; assigning a target gloss value to at least a part of a surface area of the object; determining, on the basis of the gloss function, a required local height difference corresponding to the target gloss value; and forming, on the at least a part of a surface area of the object, the micro-texture with a height profile scaled to the required local height difference.

Abstract: In an method for double-sided printing to a recording medium, a first side of the recording medium is printed to with a liquid first color separation, the liquid first color separation is pre-dried such that a predetermined final drying state remains unachieved, where the pre-dried state is a transportable intermediate state that is between a wet print image directly after printing and the predetermined final drying state, a second side of the recording medium is printed to with a liquid second color separation, and the pre-dried first color separation and the second liquid color separation are jointly dried to entirely achieve the predetermined final drying state for both the first and second color separations.

Abstract: An inkjet print head for generating a droplet of ink includes an ink supply substrate having an ink supply channel; a droplet forming unit arranged on the ink supply substrate; and a manifold chamber formed over an ink inlet surface of the droplet forming unit. The manifold chamber has a first wall formed by the ink inlet surface, a second closed wall formed opposite to the first wall and a side wall extending between the first wall and the second wall and surrounding the manifold chamber. The manifold chamber extends in a manifold plane. A manifold supply channel is arranged in the manifold plane and surrounds the manifold chamber. The ink supply channel is in fluid communication with the manifold supply channel. A number of manifold feed openings in the side wall provide for a fluid connection between the manifold supply channel and the manifold chamber.

Abstract: A degassing device can include one or more passive components, such as a gas-permeable membrane. The passive components may not directly be monitored. The state (e.g. the permeability) of the passive components may be reliably determined via evaluation of pressure information with regard to the pressure (e.g. negative pressure) in the degassing device.

Abstract: A droplet ejection device has a nozzle head with a plurality of ejection units, each of which includes a nozzle, a duct connected to the nozzle, and an electromechanical transducer arranged to create a pressure wave in a liquid in the duct so as to expel a droplet of the liquid from the nozzle. The device further includes an electronic control circuit arranged to apply control signals to the transducers and to receive detection signals that are generated in the transducers in response to the transducer being exposed to pressure fluctuations. The nozzle head includes a reference duct which has an electromechanical transducer serving as a reference transducer. The control circuit is arranged to subtract a detection signal of the reference transducer from a detection signal of at least one of the ejection units.

Abstract: The invention provides a paper path structure that is able to perform the following four functions: pass a sheet of paper through the paper path structure with is original orientation maintained; pass a sheet of paper through the paper path structure with its original orientation reversed; stack a sheet of paper in a stack repository with its original orientation maintained; and stack a sheet of paper in the stack repository with its original orientation reversed. The invention also provides a method to operate said paper path structure as well as a stacker and a printer comprising said paper path structure.

Abstract: A method for processing a print job on a document processing system including a plurality of devices which includes at least one printer and at least one finisher in order to deliver an end print product according to print specifications of the print job. Each device is described in a dedicated device model including constraints and capabilities of the device. The method includes receiving a print job with print specifications, generating a production route for the end product by selecting at least one printer and at least one finisher to deliver the end product, simulating the production route for the end product by executing the device models for the selected devices, generating finishing instructions for the at least one finisher, and processing the print job by printing the end product by the at least one printer and by finishing the end product by the at least one finisher according to the generated finishing instructions.