Patent ID: 8069788

Claim:
A method for providing individual ones of a plurality of printing formes at individual installation positions on one of a plurality of forme cylinders disposed in a printing press and for disposing of used printing formes removed from the printing press, including: providing a plate line spatially separate from the printing press and having at least one printing forme exposure device and with a printing forme outlet; using said plate line for providing a plurality of plate-type individual printing formes which are usable for the same printing process to be carried out in the printing press, and with each of said individual printing formes being flexible at least along a length thereof, at the output of the plate line; providing a mobile collecting container having a plurality of individual printing forme storage compartments, for temporarily storing each of said printing formes in a specific storage compartment of the mobile collecting container; providing a production planning system having a control unit for providing data defining an intended individual installation position of each individual one of the plurality of printing formes to be installed on one of the plurality of forme cylinders; selecting at least one of the individual printing forme storage compartments and temporarily storing at least one of the individual printing formes on the basis of the data defining an intended individual installation position of that one of the plurality of printing formes on one of the plurality of forme cylinders; using the mobile collecting container and providing the printing formes stored in the plurality of individual printing forme storage positions in the mobile collecting container to the individual installation positions on the one of the plurality of forme cylinders and conveying the plurality of printing formes stored in the mobile collecting container and to be provided to the one of the plurality of forme cylinders to the printing press in their presorted storage condition; using the mobile collecting container for transporting printing formes that are no longer required for the printing process away from the printing press by arranging the mobile collecting container on one operating side of the printing press; providing a printing forme unloading station spatially separate from the printing press; transporting at least one printing forme away from the printing press in the mobile collecting container and automatically unloading the at least one printing forme at the unloading station; and registering the mobile collecting container at the unloading station on the basis of an identification code formed thereon for reconfiguring the mobile collecting container before receiving new ones of the printing formes into the storage compartments.