Patent ID: 9646809
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: B41F,B41N,C23C,H01J

Claim:
1. An intaglio printing plate coating apparatus comprising: a vacuum chamber having an inner space adapted to receive at least one intaglio printing plate to be coated; a vacuum system coupled to the vacuum chamber and adapted to create vacuum in the inner space of the vacuum chamber; and a physical vapour deposition (PVD) system adapted to perform deposition of wear-resistant coating material under vacuum onto an engraved surface of the intaglio printing plate, which physical vapour deposition system includes at least one coating material target comprising a source of the wear-resistant coating material to be deposited onto the engraved surface of the intaglio printing plate, wherein the vacuum chamber is arranged so that the intaglio printing plate to be coated sits substantially vertically in the inner space of the vacuum chamber with its engraved surface facing the at least one coating material target, and wherein the intaglio printing plate coating apparatus further comprises a movable carrier located within the inner space of the vacuum chamber and adapted to support and cyclically move the intaglio printing plate in front of and past the at least one coating material target.