TABLOID PRINTING PRESS AND RETROFITTING METHOD

[0001] This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/785,392 filed March 23, 2006, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The present invention relates generally to printing presses.

[0003] A 4 by 2 printing press, for example, provides for four printing plates across a plate cylinder and two printing plates around the circumference of the plate cylinder. Thus a total of eight images may be printed onto a web from one plate cylinder. The Uniliner double-wide press from Goss International for example may have such plate cylinders.

[0004] Such double-wide plate cylinders typically are at least forty six inches wide and may be for example forty inches in circumference or more. A plate cylinder for example may have fifty six inches in width and forty four inches in circumference.

[0005] These double-wide plate cylinders often have staggered plate lock-ups for the tail and lead edges of the printing plates, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 for plate cylinder 10. Since plate cylinder 10 fits two printing plates around the circumference of plate cylinder 10, for example printing plates 12 and 14, lock-ups at one axial location are 180 degrees apart, located at the lead and tail end of each printing plate 12, 14. A typical four wide plate cylinder will have a lock-up for two of the plates staggered 90 degrees with respect to a lock-up for two other plates spaced axially. This staggering improves balance in the cylinder and reduces vibration during printing. As shown in Fig. 3, a lock-up 30 for printing plates 12 and 14 on plate cylinder 10 is staggered 90° with respect to a lock-up 32 for printing plates 16, 18.

[0006] The four wide plate cylinder often is used to produce a regular tabloid or Broadsheet. A Berliner tabloid is a newspaper format with pages normally measuring about 470mm x 315mm (18.5in x l2.4in).

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a 3 by 2 tabloid printing press comprising a plate cylinder having a straight across lock-up and a blanket cylinder contacting the plate cylinder, the blanket cylinder printing a web; and a folder superstructure having at least one slitter for slitting the web into three ribbons and a folder for forming a tabloid newspaper from the three ribbons.

[0008] The at least one slitter may include a longitudinal slitter to slit the web into a 1/3 ribbon and a 2/3 ribbon, and/or a tab slitter for the 2/3 web.

[0009] The folder superstructure may include a stitcher to stitch the ribbons together, and also may include a compensator and angle bars for the ribbons.

[0010] The present invention also provides a method for retrofitting a double wide 4 by 2 printing press to form a 3 by 2 tabloid printing press comprising the steps of: removing a 4 by 2 plate cylinder and replacing it with a 3 x 2 plate cylinder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be elucidated with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0012] Figs. 1 and 3 show a prior art plate cylinder and corresponding printing plate layout;

[0013] Fig. 2 shows a printing plate layout according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Fig. 4 shows a printing plate cylinder having the printing plate layout shown in Fig. 2;

[0015] Fig. 5 shows part of the folder superstructure for a printing press according to the present invention; and

[0016] Fig. 6 shows a printing press according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0017] Figs. 1 and 3 show prior art printing plate cylinder 10 and a prior art layout for printing plates 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. The printing plates 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 are for

example, 12.5 inches wide and 22 inches long. In the prior art, printing plates 12, 14 are staggered 90° with respect to printing plates 16, 18 on plate cylinder 10, so images A, B, on printing plates 12, 14 are staggered 90° with respect to images G, H on printing plates 16, 18 respectively. As shown in Fig. 3, plate lock-ups 30 and 32 also are staggered 90° with respect to each other.

[0018] Figs. 2 and 4 show a layout for printing plates 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 and a plate cylinder 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing plates 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 are, for example, 18.5 inches wide and 22 inches long. The plate lock-ups 34, 36 are aligned straight across plate cylinder 20 so the printing plates 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 are not staggered across plate cylinder 20. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, images for a tabloid product A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L are laid out on printing plates 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, two images being on each plate. For example, images A and B are on printing plate 22.

[0019] Fig. 5 shows part of a folder superstructure 30 for one embodiment of a printing press of the present invention, a printed web 40 having a width ω being slit into two ribbons 42, 44 by a first longitudinal slitter 50. Ribbon 42 has a width two-thirds the width ω of web 40 and ribbon 44 has a width one-third the width ω of ribbon 40. Further downstream, ribbon 42 is slit further into two ribbons each having a width of l/3co by a tab slitter 52 of a former 54. A second former 56 can be provided so web 40 could also be slit 1/3, 2/3 with the 2/3ω ribbon passing over former 56 and slit by an associated tab slitter.

[0020] Fig. 6 shows a printing press 100 with printing unit 120 printing on web 40. After formers 54, 56, each of the l/3ω ribbons are combined and pass to a stitcher 60. Stitcher 60 holds the tabloid product together by placing a stitch in the spine prior to folding and cross cutting in a folder 70. Thus, printing press 100 can create a Berliner format tabloid.

[0021] Retrofitting of an existing 4x2 printing press can occur by replacing the plate cylinder with the plate cylinder 20 of the present invention, and providing a modified slitter section to provide for a 2/3, 1/3 slit. The former section may be modified to provide formers to handle 40

inch web widths so that the formers slit the 2/3ω ribbon, which can be for example 37 inches wide, further into two l/3ω ribbons, each having a width of 18.5 inches.

[0022] Nip assemblies, folding cylinders and the delivery can be modified to accept a larger format. Section capability can be provided by providing a stitcher or staple device under each former.