Patent ID: 9662875
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: B41F,B41P

Claim:
1. A device for supplying foil to a printing press comprising: a foil input unit for inputting a foil web to the device, the foil web formed of continuous longitudinal reuse lengths of foil web, the foil web comprising a transfer layer and a carrier layer, the transfer layer comprising transfer portions of foil transferred to a substrate to be printed in the printing press; and a foil reuse unit for receiving a used reuse length of foil web from the printing press, manipulating the foil web, and feeding the same reuse length of foil web back to the printing press; wherein upon an initial pass of a reuse length of foil web to the printing press, an initial transfer portion of foil is transferred to the substrate to be printed thus leaving an initial area of carrier layer devoid of foil sized and shaped as the initial transfer portion of foil, leaving in the reuse length of foil web an amount of unused transfer portions of foil remaining on the carrier layer; wherein upon a subsequent pass of the same reuse length of foil web to the printing press, a subsequent transfer portion of foil is transferred to the substrate to be printed thus leaving the initial area and a subsequent area of carrier layer devoid of foil sized and shaped as the initial and subsequent transfer portions of foil, leaving in the reuse length of foil web an amount of unused transfer portions of foil remaining on the carrier layer; wherein after the initial pass of the reuse length of foil web to the printing press, the reuse length of foil web is received by the foil reuse unit and manipulated by the foil reuse unit so when the reuse length of foil web is fed to the printing press, the subsequent area does not fall upon the initial area; wherein the foil reuse unit continues to manipulate the used reuse length of foil web through each pass until the remaining transfer portions of the reuse length of foil web will not accommodate a subsequent transfer portion, at which point the used reuse length of foil web exits the foil reuse unit.