Patent ID: 7178460

Claim:
A web-fed rotary printing press adapted for use in printing both sides of a web in a group of multiple colors in imprinter operation comprising: at least a first printing tower and a second printing tower, said at least first and second printing towers cooperating with each other to print both sides of a single web in said group of multiple colors as that single web passes sequentially through both of said first and second cooperating printing towers in said web-fed rotary printing press; at least four first printing positions in said first printing tower, each of said four first printing positions being selectively usable to print a separate one of said group of multiple colors on said single web during passage of said single web through said first printing tower; at least four second printing positions in said second printing tower, each of said four second printing positions being selectively usable to print said separate one of said group of multiple colors on said web during passage of said web through said second printing tower; a first multiple color web printing group formed by first selected ones of said at least four first separate color printing positions in said first printing tower and by first selected other ones of said at least four second separate color printing positions in said second printing tower; a second multiple color web printing group formed by second selected ones of said at least four first separate color printing positions in said first printing tower and by second selected other ones of said at least four second separate color printing positions in said second printing tower; a first imprinter operating mode of said web-fed rotary printing press, said first imprinter operating mode being usable to apply said group of multiple colors to said web by passage of said web through said first multiple color printing group in said first and second cooperating printing towers, and; a second imprinter operating mode of said web-fed rotary printing press, said second imprinter operating mode being usable to apply said group of multiple colors to said web by passage of said web through said second multiple color printing group in said first and second cooperating printing towers, said first multiple color printing group printing positions in said first and second towers being different from said second multiple color printing group printing positions in said first and second printing towers, at least one of said at least four first printing positions in said first printing tower and at least one of said at least four second printing positions in said second printing tower being in a print-on position in each of said first and second imprinter operating modes.