Abstract: There is disclosed a sheet handling apparatus wherein sheets are delivered onto a conveyor belt traveling at a slower speed than the speed at which the sheets are delivered. The leading end of a sheet is sucked against the conveyor belt such that a trailing end of the sheet flips upwardly and allows the leading end of the succeeding sheet to pass therebeneath. These sheets are conveyed in lapped relationship by the conveyor belt. At a discharge end of the conveyor the lapped sheets drop sequentially in vertical orientation onto a carrier. A movable retainer plate contacts the initial sheet of the stack and is horizontally displaced thereby as the stack builds up, to maintain the sheets upright and in tightly abutting relationship. The retainer is mounted at the end of a freely movable, horizontally extensible pair of rods onto which the sheets fall, such that displacement of the retainer produces extension of the rods to accommodate additional sheets.

Abstract: An offset printing system and method wherein a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder and ink applying means are arranged in cooperative relationship. The ink applying means applies ink to a plate removably carried by the plate cylinder and the ink applied to the plate is transferred as an image to an image receiving surface of a blanket secured to the blanket cylinder and having an image receiving surface comprising a solid fluoroelastomer. In the disclosed embodiment, the fluoroelastomer is a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoropropylene of a grade which remains solid and deforms elastically at temperatures in excess of 150.degree. F. The fluoroelastomer has a specific gravity between about 1.82 and 1.86 and the ink applying means may also be provided with a surface comprising a fluoroelastomer which remains solid and deforms elastically at temperatures in excess of 150.degree. F.