Patent ID: 6957606

Claim:
A printing machine for printing on printable materials having an uneven or deformable surface comprising a form cylinder having a printing plate, a blanket cylinder adjacent the form cylinder for receiving printed images from the printing plate, a counterpressure cylinder adjacent the blanket cylinder for transferring printable material past the blanket cylinder, said blanket cylinder having a printing blanket stretched about a support surface of said blanket cylinder defining a smooth ink transferable outer surface of the blanket cylinder, said printing blanket being substantially dimensionally stable in length while being deformable in a radial direction without substantial compressive deformation such that the printing blanket maintains a substantially constant radial thickness during radial deformation, and said blanket cylinder having a removable and replaceable support layer which is directly positionable about the support surface of said the blanket cylinder in underlying relation to the printing blanket, said removable and replaceable support layer including a layer of open cell foam material which is elastically deformable in a radial direction to the blanket cylinder with a resulting change in radial thickness in response to pressure concentrations on the blanket by reason of uneven or deformable surfaces on the printable material, and said layer of foam material being fixed upon an outer surface of a dimensionally stable carrier layer having a radial thickness substantially less than the radial thickness of said layer of foam material.