Apparatus for a stable machine run on printing units of a rotary press for operation with part-width printing material

1. A rotary printing press comprising a plurality of printing units for operation with part width printing material, each said unit comprising:

an inking unit having at least one roll having non-printing regions, said inking unit including a rider roll, a transfer roll, and a doctor unit which can be thrown off and on said non-printing regions of said rider roll so that a mixture of printing ink and protective medium can be removed as required from said non-printing regions of said rider roll;

a damping unit having at least one roll having non-printing regions;

a forme cylinder having non-printing regions;

a transfer cylinder having non-printing regions;

a source of protective medium having a viscosity of 300 to 400 dPa*s; and

at least one metering nozzle arranged to apply said protective medium in a finely distributed manner to at least one of said non-printing regions by means of compressed air, thereby forming a thin-layer protective film on said at least one of said non-printing regions.

2. A rotary printing press as in claim 1 wherein said at least one metering nozzle is arranged to apply said protective medium to said non-printing regions of said rider roll and said transfer roll.

3. A rotary printing press as in claim 2 wherein said rider roll and said transfer roll form a nip having an ingoing side, said at least one metering nozzle being arranged to apply said protective medium to said ingoing side of said nip.

4. A rotary printing press as in claim 1 further comprising, for each said metering nozzle, a compressed air line connected to said nozzle and a metering unit comprising a pneumatically actuated valve which meters said protective medium into said compressed air line.

5. A rotary printing press as in claim 1 further comprising, for each said metering nozzle, a metering unit comprising first and second pneumatically actuated valves, and a chamber formed between said first and second valves, said first valve being actuatable to blow protective medium in said chamber through said second valve to said nozzle.

6. A rotary printing press as claim 1 wherein said metering nozzle can apply a protective medium having a viscosity in a range between 300 and 400 dPa.

7. A rotary printing press as in claim 1 further comprising a control unit for controlling time and movement sequences of throwing said at least one doctor unit on and off said non-printing regions, and of applying said protective medium.

8. A rotary printing press as in claim 7 wherein said control unit takes account of general operating states including printing material width, running speed of the press, length of a print job, and temperatures in said rolls and cylinders.

9. A method of forming a thin-layer protective film on non-printing regions of at least one of a roll of an inking unit, a roll of a damping unit, a forme cylinder, and a transfer cylinder in a printing unit of a rotary printing machine, the inking unit including a rider roll, a transfer roll, and a doctor unit which can be thrown off and on non-printing regions of the rider roll, said method comprising:

arranging at least one metering nozzle to apply a protective medium having a viscosity in the range of 300 to 400 dPa*s in a finely distributed manner to at least one of the non-printing regions by means of compressed air, and

applying a protective medium having a viscosity from about 300 to 400 dPa*s to at least one of the non-printing regions by means of compressed air, thereby forming a thin-layer protective film on the at least one of the non-printing regions; and

selectively throwing the doctor unit off and on the non-printing regions of the rider roll for removing a mixture of printing ink and protective medium as required from the non-printing regions of the rider roll.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the protective medium is metered into a compressed air line connected to the nozzle.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the protective medium is one of roll paste and roll grease.