PURPOSE: To reduce the number of ink supply rollers and to perform a favorable printing without irregularities in ink density by a method wherein an ink on the peripheral surface of an ink ductor is made to be approximately constant in thickness using a rider roller to be transferred to an ink supply roller on the downstream.
CONSTITUTION: An ink fed to a gap between a rider roller 8 and an ink ductor 6 with the rotation of the ink ductor 6 is partially transferred to the peripheral surface of the rider roller 8 while rotating the rider roller 8. By repeating the aforesaid action a plurality of times, the peripheral surface of the rider roller 8 retains an ink film having a thickness approximating a gap dimension (a). The retained ink film is rotated in contact with the peripheral surface of the ink ductor roller 6, thereby making the ink on the peripheral surface of the ink ductor 6 to be substantially constant in thickness. Succeedingly, the ink ductor 6 rotates in contact with a most upstream roller 12, whereby the ink of a substantially constant thickness is always transferred to the most upstream roller 12.
SHINODA YOSUKE
SHIRAI SHOZO
