APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DIRECT ROTARY PRINTING COMPOSITIONS ONTO CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES

摘要

An apparatus includes a rotary printing assembly (110) operative for directly printing a layer of radiation curable material onto the cylindrical surface of individual articles (114). The rotary printing assembly (110) includes a rotationally supported belt (122)defining an interior region, the belt (122) having a planar portion for contact with the cylindrical surface of the articles (114) for directly printing a layer of the radiation curable material thereon. At least one squeegee (198) is arranged within the interior region of the belt (122) having a portion engaging the belt (122) with the cylindrical surface of the article (114). The squeegee (198) is moveable longitudinally within the interior region of the belt (122) during the printing operation. A radiation emitting device (126) can be positioned adjacent the rotary printing assembly (110) for at least partially curing the layer of radiation curable material applied to the articles (114).