printing press

Print registration in roll-to-roll (R2R) printing process is investigated in this dissertation. Print registration is the process of aligning multiple images that are printed in consecutive print units. The quality of the print output depends on the proper alignment of these images. A new mathematical model for print registration is developed by considering the effect of key process variables, such as web tension and transport velocity, print cylinder angular position and velocity, and the compensator roller position. Sources of machine induced disturbances and their effect on print registration are also investigated and machine design recommendations to mitigate these disturbances are given. Propagation of disturbances between print units due to web transport is investigated. The interaction, or the disturbance propagation behavior, between print units is studied by developing a new interaction metric called the Perron Root based Interaction Metric (PRIM). The new interaction metric, for large-scale interconnected systems employing decentralized controllers, is developed using tools from the Perron-Frobenius theory. A systematic procedure to minimize interaction is given by designing pre-filters for decentralized control systems. The disturbance propagation behavior with two registration control strategies is compared using the PRIM and it is found that a compensator based registration control (CRC) has smaller magnitude of disturbance propagation when compared to a print cylinder angular position based registration control (PARC). It is also found that a simple, decentralized, memoryless, state feedback controllers stabilizes print units with CRC. Results from a number of model simulations and experiments are provided to support the recommendations and conclusions.

Control of print quality (registration) in roll-to-roll (R2R) printing is challenging because of the presence of transport delays involved in the printing process. In this work we present a delay-independent state feedback control design to stabilize a R2R printing press by considering all the significant dynamics involved in the printing process. State feedback control design using past state measurements (controllers with memory) are discussed first. Since controllers with memory are less desirable in industrial applications, we investigate and discuss the feasibility of designing a simple, memoryless, delay-independent state feedback controller for printing applications. The feasibility is shown by the use of a control design procedure that exploits the structure information in the system matrix to find a stabilizing controller. The design procedure is also extended to other common industrial R2R control strategies, such as decentralized control and state feedback with integral action for R2R printing applications.

Roll-to-roll (R2R) printing is a continuous process in which thin flexible materials such as paper are passed through a printing press to print the required pattern onto the material. Each printing press may have several printing units depending on the number of colors to be printed and the complexity of the pattern. The flexible material, often referred to as a “web,” is passed successively through each print unit to create a multicolor pattern. Print registration is the process of overlapping successive printed patterns to form a complex multicolor pattern and the registration error is the position misalignment in the overlapped patterns. This paper develops a machine direction print registration model in a printing press with multiple print units whose print cylinders are driven using mechanical line shafts. The registration model considers the effects of interaction between adjacent print units due to variations in material strain and machine dynamics, including various dynamic elements, such as the print cylinder, doctor blade assembly, print unit compensator roller, print unit motor, friction at various locations, etc. Measured data from typical production runs on an industrial printing press are used to corroborate the developed print registration model. Mechanical design and control design recommendations to reduce registration error in print units are also provided. The developed registration model is applicable to many R2R printing technologies, such as offset, flexo, and rotogravure printing.