Patent ID: 7140299

Claim:
A printing press comprising: a plate cylinder for mounting a printing plate thereon; a clamping gripper disposed on said plate cylinder for gripping the printing plate; a printing plate guide plate for supplying the printing plate to the plate cylinder in a plate supply operation so as to have a leading edge of the printing plate clamped by the clamping gripper, and discharging the printing plate from the plate cylinder in a plate discharge operation, said printing plate guide plate being shiftable between a plate supply position enabling supply of the printing plate to the clamping gripper and a plate discharge position enabling discharge of the printing plate in a plate discharge direction; a guide for guiding the printing plate when the printing plate with the leading edge clamped by the clamping gripper is mounted on the plate cylinder in the plate supply operation, and guiding the printing plate in the plate discharge direction in the plate discharge operation; said guide having a leading end provided with a guide portion; said guide being shiftable between a first guide position at which the guide has the guide portion located in a plate supply passage between the printing plate guide plate and the clamping gripper and is held at a first inclined angle relative to a reference plane allowing the guide portion to contact the printing plate in the plate supply passage, and a second guide position at which the guide has the guide portion located in a plate discharge passage formed radially outward of the plate cylinder relative to the clamping gripper and is held at a second inclined angle different from the first inclined angle relative to the reference plane allowing the guide portion to contact the printing plate in the plate discharge passage; and a shifting means through which the printing plate guide plate is linked with the guide so that the guide is shifted to the first guide position simultaneously when the printing plate guide plate is shifted to the plate supply position and the guide is shifted to the second guide position simultaneously when the printing plate guide plate is shifted to the plate discharge position.