A machine for printing on articles having two inking stations each with a printing block and a carriage carrying a squeegee movably mounted for sweeping over and inking the printing block and a single printing station common to the two inking stations. A transfer unit with two transfer arms carrying transfer pads is pivotally mounted for reciprocating movement parallel to the stations and axial reciprocating movement perpendicular to the stations, and the inking stations are arranged symmetrically with respect to a plane passing through the pivotal axis of the transfer unit and the central zone of the printing station. Each transfer pad may print the same or different colors. With two-color printing the same color order can be maintained with a high printing rate. The transfer arms may also be provided with a plurality of said transfer pads for simultaneously printing on a plurality of objects.

A method for printing designs, patterns, characters, letters, and other desired images on an object having a convex or raised surface, wherein the images to be transferred onto the object is first carried on a flexible image carrier, then this flexible image carrying medium is disposed in a mutually opposed relationship with the object to be printed at a predetermined space interval provided therebetween, thereafter the flexible image carrying medium is caused to expand or bulge out toward the raised surface of the object to be printed by a fluid pressure to act on the flexible medium from one side thereof opposite to that where the image is carried, while controlling a degree of expansion of the flexible image carrying medium is controlled by a restrictive frame for the flexible image carrying medium to attain an intimate contact between the flexible image carrying medium and the object to be printed over the entire surface thereof.

A printing machine comprises a printing station at which two shells are adapted to enclose the object to be printed, the shells being subject to a drive mechanism which acts directly on one of them, whereas it acts on the other through the intermediary of at least two movement reverser columns. The machine further comprises a conveyor equipped with at least one object-carrier support and which is mobile in order to move the support between the shells of the printing station. The conveyor is a turntable rotating about one of the movement reverser columns. Applications include the printing of synthetic material bottles.

The invention provides for a screen printing method for printing on ceramic articles, wherein color in the form of an image to be printed is transferred via intermediate carriers on to the article to be imprinted wherein the improvement resides in that four intermediate carriers are each provided simultaneously with a color extract to produce a four-color print from a plurality of circulating intermediate carriers, and these color extracts are then transferred to four of a plurality of circulating articles, the cycle of the articles being staggered in relation to that of the intermediate carriers so that each intermediate carrier with a different color extract is brought up to each article in succession. The invention has particular application to a four-color print.

Process for transferring overlayed multiple ink patterns from the surface of a release blanket to a receiving surface on a container or other formed article being printed. A substantially transparent film is first formed on the release blanket, with each ink pattern being printed sequentially over this release film. Proper printing on the release film without picking the release film or previously applied ink films is obtained when certain adhesive and cohesive relationships are maintained between the ink films and the release film. An adhesive film may be formed on the article to be printed, or it may be formed over the ink films and the release film on the release blanket. The receiving surface on the article to be printed is brought into contact with the films on the release blanket, with a resulting total transfer of the films on the blanket to the surface of the article.